ECEC NEWS
The Department of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECECD), the state agency responsible for administering the child care program for families in New Mexico, released updated child care regulations yesterday. ECEC wants to ensure that all families and young children in New Mexico have access to quality and safe early childhood care. She believes that early intervention, care and monitoring are the best tools in New Mexico to address systemic issues such as youth justice, social and societal issues, economic inequality and intergenerational poverty.
The new regulations improve access to care, clarify current practices, and reduce the administrative burden on families and providers to better serve New Mexico’s families and young children. The changed regulations (8.15.2 NMAC) can be found here: http://164.64.110.134/parts/title08/08.015.0002.html
Some of the updates released yesterday take the pressure off families in need of care, such as: B. considering “teleworking” and “online job search” as qualifying activities for which subsidies are available. Other changes not only relieve the burden on families seeking care, but also reduce the burden on the private early childhood providers who receive the grant by streamlining the “recertification” process and removing other unnecessary burdens.
“We are fully committed to supporting parents and working families who need safe, high-quality early education opportunities for their children,” said Elizabeth Groginsky, cabinet secretary for ECEC. “New Mexicans deserve every opportunity to thrive, no matter the circumstances. In addition to making it easier for parents and guardians to care for them to work or go to school, these changes kick off children’s education and help them thrive and thrive in school and later in life. “
The changes to 8.15.2 NMAC simplify the requirements for providers and families by allowing more care breaks and ensuring that providers are paid for all care time. For example, ECEC has changed the “notification process” that providers use to update ECEC of changes to a family’s childcare or deregistration to make it easier for everyone involved. In addition, the changes also remove the requirement that custody parents file an application for child benefit with the New Mexico Human Services Department in order to receive the child care grant.
“I’m delighted that the Early Childhood Education and Care Department takes the concerns of parents in New Mexico so seriously. These changes in regulations mean that more parents can qualify for childcare without barriers, so they can focus on caring for their families, ”said Karina Pizarro, director of the OLÉ Education Fund.
“When families have access to childcare assistance, they can better access quality childcare and have more resources to meet their families’ basic needs and progress in their careers and education. These rule changes will enable many new families in New Mexico to receive the care they need for their children. We thank ECEC for its guidance and collaboration with lawyers and the community in improving the childcare assistance program, ”said Tim Davis, attorney for the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty.
Overall, the changes in ECEC regulations will not only provide childcare and educational opportunities for New Mexico’s youngest citizens, but will also help boost the New Mexico economy by enabling parents and guardians to keep working, educating, and looking for new job opportunities search.
ECEC invites parents and guardians who believe they might benefit from any of these changes to contact their eligibility interviewer to discuss their case. For more information on how to contact your eligibility interviewer or more information on childcare, please visit: https://www.nmececd.org/information-forparents/
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