We are welcoming good news in affordable child care this week: New Mexico has just made child care free for all parents in the state!

It's the kind of bold, no-nonsense move that we have been itching to see. They're the first state in the nation to tackle this problem so directly – but we're sure they won't be the last.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made it clear from the start of her term: parents can't work if they don't have childcare, so we have to make affordable childcare a reality.

New Mexico is a largely rural state with large percentages of residents living in rural communities, small towns, or on tribal lands. As of 2023, it also ranks third-highest in poverty in the country.

To kickstart local economies, we have to support workers and families in the ways that make the most substantial positive impact. In ways that they can touch and feel and see when they check their bank accounts.

This isn't a piecemeal policy or half-hearted help. Families are expected to save an astonishing $12,000 per year!

With the absence of a federal universal childcare or preschool policy, states have been taking up the mantle as best they can, with New Mexico leading the pack.

Not only is funding in place to make childcare free, they will also construct, expand, or upgrade facilities, and they hope to increase childcare workers' salaries to at least $18/hour.

This is a massive step in the right direction toward something One Country Project has been pushing for for years: a comprehensive, federal paid family and medical leave policy.

It's hard to overstate how transformative this program will be for parents, families, and workers – particularly in rural areas, small towns, and on reservations.

Come this November, New Mexico parents will finally breathe a big sigh of relief.

Heidi

Heidi Heitkamp, Former U.S. Senator for North Dakota
Founder, One Country Project