At least one state in the country, though, isn’t willing to accept the White House’s rollbacks on programs like Head Start; in New Mexico, families will have access to no-cost universal childcare beginning in November.
Ahead of the initiative’s rollout, Vogue spoke to New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham about her own family’s struggles to afford childcare, her plans for making New Mexico a “cradle-to-career investment state,” and how she sees the Trump administration’s legislative priorities negatively affecting children and families in New Mexico and across the country.
Vogue: As a mother of two, do you think New Mexico’s new free-childcare initiative would have helped you when your kids were younger?.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham: Oh, no question.
I’ll be 66 this month, and earlier in my career, you weren’t allowed to miss work.
I’m a grandmother, and my daughter is lucky, but navigating childcare, finding it, and paying $1,800 a month—it’s crazy expensive, more than her mortgage.
This was a 2018 commitment, and we got it all done before I’m leaving this job, and I’m really excited and very proud that we are a cradle-to-career investment state in New Mexican families. »