New Mexico Invests in Otero, Doña Ana Counties and Albuquerque Child Care

Otero and Doña Ana Counties plus Albuquerque will benefit from a program that recently received a large amount of state funding.  The Growing Up New Mexico program must create what’s known as a "staffed family child care network specifically designed to support child care providers."

A contract signed in January between the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department and nonprofit Growing Up New Mexico invests up to $870,684 to increase coaching capacity, incentivize professional development and provide more support to providers and educators.

The organization has historically provided services with programs in Santa Fe and Rio Arriba.  The  investment into the nonprofit tasks it to bring support and attention to a workforce that has historically been neglected in the two rural counties and to Albuquerque as an expansion of services. 

In a statement reported on in the Santa Fe New Mexican a conference call was held where, Early Childhood Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky said the investment will bring support and attention to a workforce that has historically been neglected. The call was designed in part to attract educators and providers to Growing Up New Mexico’s programs

“For too long, our family child care providers, our home-based child care providers, have been overlooked and under-supported in our early childhood system,” she said. “But that’s not the case anymore, and this truly marks a turning point for New Mexico.”

The Santa Fe New Mexican continued, that somd may think of home-based child care providers as babysitters. But Director of Community Programs Monica Archuleta said providers who participate in Growing Up New Mexico programs do much more than watch young children: They bring professional education techniques into homes and, in some cases, large classroom settings.

Growing Up New Mexico's methodology is to usr in-home visitors who meet parents where they are and model healthy relationships. This secures attachments, creates emotional awareness and mitigates infant trauma. Their staff leaders support the whole family. They offer programs in English and Spanish, and deliver thousands of books in both languages every year to promote early literacy in the home. They believe it is "this scaffolding of opportunities" that fosters natural curiosity and promotes emotional resiliency for children and the adults in their lives during the most critical development years.

Otero County sufferes a severe need for day care providers, adding to the poverty rate of the county.  Many mothers apply for jobs locally but are very limited in the hours thay can work due to an inability to find care providers for young children. The result, is families who have a need for a working mother, can't secure child care and a cycle of financial stress and poverty follows. 

Karla Pineda is a local success from the progam , a child care provider in Chaparral, said Growing Up New Mexico coach Maria Granados gave her confidence that she could have her own home-based child care program, guiding her through how to obtain a license with the state early childhood department.

Obtaining a license, “elevated the quality of my service. I was able to host more children with a license,” Pineda said in Spanish. “That increased my income, allowed me to have better facilities and hire a teacher to help me.”

The more than $870,000 through the contract will also help fund the nonprofit’s Escalones Rewards program, which uses $25 to $1,000 cash awards as incentives for providers and educators to further professionalize their practice. That could include getting CPR certification, obtaining a child development certificate or even opening business bank accounts.

With the planned expanded focus in Otero County it os not clear exactly how many new staff the money will fund per Rebecca Baran-Rees, vice president for policy and community development at the nonprofit. The staffing needs will be determined based on interest expressed by locals into the Growing Up New Mexico’s programs.

To learn more or to reach out to the program administrators visit https://growingupnm.org/programs/bridges-to-opportunity/

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