My View: Rebecca Baran-Rees

For Universal Child Care, Invest In Workforce

By Rebecca Baran-Rees

Nov 29, 2025

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s announcement of universal free child care marked a historic milestone for New Mexico families.

This bold step means that thousands of parents across our state will now have access to affordable, reliable care — removing one of the greatest barriers families face in raising young children.

But access also requires qualified early childhood professionals. To truly deliver on the promise of universal child care, we must also invest in the workforce that makes it possible.

In New Mexico, we know early childhood educators are the foundation of a strong system. They nurture children during the most critical years of life, shaping lifelong learning and success. Yet too often, these educators face low wages, limited career pathways and high turnover.

Without stable, well-supported professionals, we cannot build the high-quality care and learning environments families deserve.

According to targets from the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department, to meet existing demand for child care, New Mexico will need 12,000 new child care slots — delivered through an estimated 55 newly licensed centers, and over 1,100 licensed and registered homes.

Coming as no surprise to families with young children, Santa Fe is one of the counties in greatest need of more early education and care — with an unmet need of roughly 1,500 child care slots and anywhere from 150-250 educators. While New Mexico continues to take important steps to increasing early educator wages, many of these professionals still average between $35,000-$40,000 per year.

That is why programs like APRENDE, offered through Santa Fe Community College, are so essential. APRENDE provides a robust apprenticeship model, blending hands-on learning with college coursework and mentoring. This innovative approach allows new educators to earn while they learn, while also building toward degrees and credentials that expand their career opportunities. Apprenticeship models like APRENDE honor the expertise of educators, strengthen retention, and grow the pool of skilled professionals who are prepared to meet our community’s needs.

We, as members of the Santa Fe Early Childhood Steering Committee, pushed for APRENDE, with a clear-eyed understanding that qualified early childhood teachers are the linchpin to the system we need. Since its launch with an initial investment from the city of Santa Fe in fall 2022, 65 pre-apprentices and 38 apprentices have participated — these numbers are huge for a city our size, and the impact is already clear.

Local higher education leaders note APRENDE is producing teachers who are “not just certified but actually qualified to start practicing.”

Local employers, including public schools, Head Start and Early Head Start, and private child care providers report benefits such as connections to qualified new hires, a stronger supply of bilingual staff, extra employees in the classroom and opportunities to professionalize existing staff. These are exactly the outcomes needed to stabilize and strengthen the workforce that makes universal child care possible.

As New Mexico leads the nation with its investment in universal child care, Santa Fe can continue to be at the forefront by expanding programs like APRENDE. We urge our city, county and state leaders to prioritize sustained funding for apprenticeship models, professional development, and fair compensation.

Universal child care is a promise to families. But it can only succeed if we ensure that educators have the training, resources, and compensation they deserve. Santa Fe has already shown what is possible when we innovate and collaborate. Now is the moment to build on that progress, so that we can fulfill the vision of a child care system that works for every family.

Rebecca Baran-Rees wrote this for the Early Childhood Steering Committee of Santa Fe, established in 2013 and coordinated by Growing Up New Mexico. It is a coalition of organizations and community partners focused on improving Santa Fe’s early childhood system.