New Mexico gives most US funding to child care of any state

New Mexico is directing the nation’s biggest chunk of federal coronavirus relief money to helping middle-class families pay for child care

SANTA FE, N.M. -- New Mexico is directing the nation's biggest chunk of federal coronavirus relief money to helping middle-class families pay for child care, a vast expansion aimed at getting parents back to work in one of the poorest states in America. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday that the state will subsidize child care at 350% of the federal poverty line, or about $93,000 for a family of four. That’s up from about $54,000. “We’re going to double the subsidies for child care,” said the Democratic governor, who was flanked by balloons and overlooked a gaggle of young children wearing party hats. She added that the state could one day go even further: “Why don’t we have universal access for child care?” New Mexico's two-year spending commitment will expand eligibility to the highest income levels of any state. It’s the largest and latest example of states using pandemic relief aid to subsidize child care. Others include Georgia and Montana, while California is debating a child care funding package.