When A State Leads Boldly

Building a Shared Voice

The road to no-cost universal childcare in New Mexico started 15 years ago with efforts to establish a new cabinet-level state agency that combined all early childhood services across three departments into one. In 2019, New Mexico created the Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) under the leadership of Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky. The decisions that were made to create this department and the legislative actions that have been taken since have been deliberately focused on bringing New Mexico from 50th in the nation on child well-being to first.

One of the most remarkable aspects of New Mexico’s journey is how a diverse network of partners, advocates, funders, tribal leaders, educators, and policymakers found ways to move forward with a shared purpose. In a field where priorities often compete, New Mexico’s leaders cultivated a rare ability to “speak with one voice.”

A backbone to developing “one voice” came from philanthropy-funded coalition groups led by Growing Up New Mexico, Voices for New Mexico’s Children, and ENGAGE New Mexico. Weekly meetings became spaces for real-time updates, strategy refinement, and adjusting messaging so that every sector stayed coordinated. This culture of openness allowed leaders to stay agile while maintaining a unified narrative about what families need most. 

Philanthropy was instrumental in sustaining that alignment. Local and national funders not only provided resources to fund those coalitions but also modeled collaboration themselves—meeting monthly to align grantmaking, co-funding shared initiatives, and ensuring investments reinforced rather than fragmented progress. The LANL Foundation further funded the Rio Arriba County Early Childhood Collaborative and launched the Pueblo Outreach Project along with the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Councils, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, to lay essential groundwork for Tribal and Rural partnership in New Mexico’s early childhood system.

This shared voice was also fueled by science and moral urgency. With New Mexico historically ranked near the bottom in child and family well-being, leaders understood that the data told a story they could no longer accept. Brain science had long underscored the importance of early development, and in New Mexico, it was a clear, evidence-based reason to act with urgency and compassion.

Above all, relationships remain at the heart of this success. In a state where access to leadership is direct and personal, advocates can walk into a cabinet secretary’s office or call a legislator to talk through ideas. That proximity has created a culture of accountability and possibility that continues to define the state’s progress.

Lessons for the Nation

A defining lesson from New Mexico’s journey to no-cost universal childcare is the value of resilience. Legislation failed seven times before passing to achieve the first step of this journey, which was the creation of ECECD. Meanwhile, state leaders, coalition groups, and philanthropists worked together to get creative to secure key wins, such as establishing the Early Childhood Trust Fund, the interest of which helps fund the department. This persistence, rooted in generational commitment, is one of the state’s most transferable lessons for others seeking transformation.

Another is the recognition that systems change must be multidimensional. Early on, the notion of a “Power Flower” was introduced to recognize that in order to move policy that is community and family-centered, there needs to be alignment among coalitions to engage decision makers and hold them accountable. In New Mexico’s journey, each petal mattered. Grassroots mobilization worked hand in hand with philanthropy, government, and everyday citizens to create pressure and momentum that no single institution could generate alone.

New Mexico’s success also offers a reminder that every state starts from a different place, and progress can take many forms. Across the U.S., there are promising echoes of this movement with more states redefining early childhood care and governance, from Texas securing new early childhood investments, to Illinois and Colorado creating their own departments of early childhood, to the Navajo Nation Early Childhood Collaborative. 

Leadership has also been key, with significant appreciation for Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky (ECECD) specifically. The combination of her systems thinking and deep knowledge of childcare have guided the department through rapid growth and implementation. And while New Mexico benefited from unique financial resources, such as revenue from oil and gas reserves, other states are finding creative pathways of their own—whether through wealth taxes, excise taxes, or philanthropic partnerships. The lesson is not to replicate New Mexico’s exact formula, but to embrace its spirit: persistence, partnership, and belief in the collective power of families and communities to drive transformation.