Permanent Funding for Early Childhood

The constitutional amendment, Permanent Funding for Early Childhood, House Joint Resolution 1 (HJR1), invests resources into early childhood education and care programs throughout New Mexico.

Once approved by voters, the legislation will help expand access to programs that work for children and hard-working families in New Mexico and eliminate long waiting lists.

An Investment in New Mexico’s Future

Studies show that children are most likely to succeed in life when they enter school with specific language and early math skills, as well as a strong and positive sense of self-identity. Quality early childhood programs that develop young minds through culturally and linguistically appropriate methods are crucial to their future — and ours.

Investing in New Mexico children and families isn’t just the right thing to do, it's also the fiscally responsible thing to do. Research, including that of the Legislative Finance Committee, has proven that funding early childhood programs yields a 7%-13% return on investment. This return exceeds the average annual return from the stock market.

The Need is Great

Experts estimate that filling the unmet need in New Mexico for early childhood education and care services would require more than $400 million per year. Current investments in early childhood education and care programs fall far short according to a 2017 study by CHI St. Joseph's Children and Kenny Associates. To secure an adequate and sustainable source of funding, Invest in Kids NOW proposes extending the Common Schools portion of the annual distribution from the Land Grant Permanent Fund (LGPF), which is currently worth $20.8 billion, to include early childhood to assure reliable funding for services delivered during children’s most formative years.

HJR1’s proposed constitutional amendment will provide 1% of the Common Schools portion of the LGPF to fund early childhood education and care, representing about $180 million toward the unmet need.

HJR1 Supports Our Families and Our Future

House Joint Resolution 1 (HJR1) invests in hardworking New Mexican families and our future by improving educational and life outcomes. It will:

Build an affordable, accessible, high-quality child care system that fits the needs of all families.
Increase quality by supporting early educators (most of whom are women of color) with the just compensation and career ladders needed to raise this profession to higher levels.
Support parents of young children with information about pregnancy, breastfeeding, the milestones of growth and development, positive discipline, and techniques to manage stress and anger.
Ensure that our children are ready for kindergarten, reading by the 4th grade, and graduating from high school ready to contribute to their community.

Infographic about achievement gap in reading k-5th grade, for more info contact jessa@stjosephnm.org

House Joint Resolution 1 – HJR1

Providing funds to support:

pre-kindergarten programs
expanding home visiting
increasing child care assistance
implementing a robust wage and career ladder for teachers
expanding access to family services/supports
assuring accountability/evaluation of implemented programs

pre-kindergarten programs
expanding home visiting
increasing child care assistance
implementing a robust wage and career ladder for teachers
expanding access to family services/supports
assuring accountability/evaluation of implemented programs

Resolution Sponsors:

Representative Eliseo Lee Alcon
Representative Anthony Allison
Representative Deborah A. Armstrong
Representative Brittney Barreras
Representative Karen C. Bash
Representative Gail Chasey
Representative Meredith A. Dixon
Senator Katy M. Duhigg
Representative Daymon Ely
Representative Doreen Y. Gallegos
Senator Siah Correa Hemphill
Representative Raymundo Lara
Senator Linda M. Lopez
Representative Georgene Louis
Representative Antonio "Moe" Maestas
Representative Javier Martínez
Representative Marian Matthews
Representative Brenda G. McKenna
Representative Matthew McQueen
Representative Roger E. Montoya
Representative Kristina Ortez
Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino
Senator Michael Padilla
Representative Patricia Roybal Caballero
Representative Angelica Rubio
Representative Debra M. Sariñana
Representative Linda Serrato
Representative Nathan P. Small
Representative Elizabeth "Liz" Thomson
Representative Christine Trujillo

Representative Eliseo Lee Alcon
Representative Anthony Allison
Representative Deborah A. Armstrong
Representative Brittney Barreras
Representative Karen C. Bash
Representative Gail Chasey
Representative Meredith A. Dixon
Senator Katy M. Duhigg
Representative Daymon Ely
Representative Doreen Y. Gallegos
Senator Siah Correa Hemphill
Representative Raymundo Lara
Senator Linda M. Lopez
Representative Georgene Louis
Representative Antonio "Moe" Maestas
Representative Javier Martínez
Representative Marian Matthews
Representative Brenda G. McKenna
Representative Matthew McQueen
Representative Roger E. Montoya
Representative Kristina Ortez
Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino
Senator Michael Padilla
Representative Patricia Roybal Caballero
Representative Angelica Rubio
Representative Debra M. Sariñana
Representative Linda Serrato
Representative Nathan P. Small
Representative Elizabeth "Liz" Thomson
Representative Christine Trujillo

What do New Mexicans think?

In 2021, CHI St. Joseph’s Children and LD Insights conducted a statewide survey to collect up-to-date data on New Mexican’s attitudes toward expanding access to early childhood programming by slightly raising the distribution from the state’s permanent fund.

Survey Finding 1:

83% agree that the single greatest investment we can make to build New Mexico’s economy is to educate our children.

Today’s students are tomorrow’s work-force. Early childhood education can unleash our state’s potential if children are provided access to high quality programs like childcare, preschool and home visiting for families with a new baby.

Survey Finding 2:

74% agree that the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that creating a level playing field for all New Mexico’s children is even more important.

This is an opportunity for state leaders to fundamentally reform the state’s education system by investing in early childhood programs to address poverty at the root and help to create long-term life opportunities for children.

Survey Finding 3:

75% of respondents support using 1% of the Permanent Fund each year to provide more funds for early childhood programs.

Survey Finding 4:

75% of Democrats and Republicans agree that the legislature should let New Mexican voters decide whether to raise the LGPF distribution.

This poll of 500 randomly drawn New Mexico registered voters conducted January 3 – January 9, 2021. Surveys were conducted with respondents in a blended approach including web-based and telephone interviews (both landlines and cell phones) and was available in both English and Spanish at respondent’s discretion. Voters were identified and confirmed to be registered voters from the voter file based on their registration date and vote history. Data were compared to the best-known estimates of the U.S. Census Current Population Survey (CPS) for demographic profile of New Mexico registered voters and post-stratification weights were applied to bring the data into direct balance with Census estimates. The poll carries a margin of error of 4.4%.

The poll was led by Dr. Gabriel Sanchez and Dr. Matt Barreto from LD Insights, LLC. Dr. Sanchez is a leading expert of New Mexico politics and policy and has led numerous surveys focused on early childhood both in New Mexico and nationally. In 2020 Sanchez directed multiple surveys of New Mexico voters on education, health, covid, and electoral politics. Sanchez was joined by Dr. Barreto who is coming off of a very successful effort as the lead Latino pollster for the Biden Presidential campaign and continues to advise the Biden Transition Team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Early childhood development is one of the most important ways New Mexico can invest state dollars and it deserves permanent and sustainable funding. By committing 1% of the Land Grant Permanent Fund to early childhood we are ensuring we build programs that will not get cut from one year to the next.

This constitutional amendment will not change how early childhood funds are disseminated. Currently, private providers are recipients of state funding for early childhood education and care services and this legislation only increases the amount of money available. Private centers and non-profit entities provide an important part of our early childhood education and care capacity in the state and this will not undermine them.

The Early Childhood Education and Care Department will oversee the distribution of the funding. They will follow the guidance established by the Legislature in the enabling legislation. HJR 1 mandates that the constitutional amendment be placed before the voters on the next General Election ballot. The constitutional amendment will likely be on the November 2021 ballot, per the interpretation of State statute by the Secretary of State’s office. First, the joint resolution must be approved by the Legislature.

Who We Are

The Invest In Kids NOW Coalition has been advocating since 2010 to invest a tiny portion of our state's "Common Wealth" – the Land Grant Permanent Fund – into high quality early childhood programs. During this timeframe, New Mexico has fallen to 50th in the nation for child well-being while the Land Grant Permanent Fund has more than doubled in size.

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Permanent Funding for Early Childhood

An Investment in New Mexico’s Future

The Need is Great

HJR1 Supports Our Families and Our Future

House Joint Resolution 1 – HJR1

House Joint Resolution 1 – HJR1

What do New Mexicans think?

83% agree that the single greatest investment we can make to build New Mexico’s economy is to educate our children.

74% agree that the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that creating a level playing field for all New Mexico’s children is even more important.

75% of respondents support using 1% of the Permanent Fund each year to provide more funds for early childhood programs.

75% of Democrats and Republicans agree that the legislature should let New Mexican voters decide whether to raise the LGPF distribution.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who We Are

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