Prenatal to Three Initiative

Brokering solutions for New Mexico’s children and families

Studies show that the prenatal to age three period of development is the foundation for a child’s future health and wellbeing.

The science is clear: in order to thrive, infants and toddlers need loving, stimulating, stable, and secure environments. That’s why we work for policy solutions that foster nurturing environments for New Mexico’s youngest children.

New Mexico’s Prenatal to Three Initiative aligns early childhood systems towards improving outcomes and increasing access to services for all young children. Created in partnership with the Early Childhood Education and Care Department, and in coordination with a broad statewide coalition, the initiative is funded through a three-year Pritzker Children’s Initiative grant.

Goals of the Prenatal to Three Initiative

  1. Address racial, economic, linguistic and other inequities
  2. Increase access to programs that support safe and healthy births and ongoing healthy maternal and child development
  3. Increase number of families served by home visiting programs
  4. Increase access to high-quality, affordable infant and toddler care for low income families
  5. Increase the qualifications and capacity of the early childhood workforce serving infants and toddlers

To propel outcomes, a statewide coalition of over 80 members convenes quarterly to provide guidance, share information, and champion the importance of the earliest years. Materials from these meetings are available below. 

Guiding Principles for Equity

The Prenatal to Three Coalition adopted the Prenatal-to-Three Guiding Principles for Equity in the Spring of 2021. Download the Guide below, along with social media materials you can share widely.

Child Care Cost Estimation Model

Child care has long had a serious problem – families can’t afford it, and child care providers can’t afford to pay professionals what they deserve.  Child care businesses often struggle with burnout and staff turnover making it hard for children to receive the quality care they need for long-term success.  

The rate for child care subsidies has long been determined by a ‘market rate study’ that looks at what families can afford to pay for care. In 2021, New Mexico became the first state to set ‘alternative rates’ based on what it actually costs to provide high-quality child care.

To that end, Growing Up New Mexico engaged hundreds of child care providers, in both rural, frontier, and urban areas to build a “Cost Estimation Model” that provides the foundation for child care subsidies driven by the true costs of quality care. This outreach ensured a broad range of voices, including prenatal to three caregivers, who were engaged in transforming New Mexico’s child care system. 

You can read about New Mexico’s Child Care Cost Estimation Model here.

Questions? Please contact us at engage@growingupnm.org

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