Early childhood education professionals Valeria Holloway and MJ Lord joined Walt Rubel and Jamie Bronstein to discuss New Mexico's new universal child care legislation and what it means in practice for providers and families. Holloway, who has run a home daycare for 24 years, and Lord, a teaching assistant at a preschool in Albuquerque, explained that the program covers children from birth to age 12 at licensed home daycares and centers, with new funding tied to a minimum wage floor of $18 per hour for child care workers. Both guests emphasized that workforce shortages and waitlists remain a significant challenge, particularly in rural communities, and that the funding flowing in July will take time to translate into new capacity. The conversation also touched on the developmental benefits of early group care, the state's star rating system for providers, and the particular rewards of working with children who have special needs or developmental delays.
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