“When care is treated as infrastructure—not charity—families thrive, women advance, and economies strengthen,” says C. Nicole Mason
Washington, D.C. — Future Forward Women (FFW) today released a new policy brief detailing how New Mexico became the first state in the nation to offer universal, no-cost child care for all families — and announced new efforts to train and support state elected officials interested in replicating the program.
The report, *New Mexico Launches Universal Child Care: The Nation’s First Universal Child-Care Program Will Cut Costs for Families, Boost Women’s Labor-Force Participation, and Strengthen the Workforce*, outlines the policy design, financing mechanisms, and measurable economic benefits of the program. Funded through constitutionally protected early-childhood trust funds — not new taxes — the initiative provides free child care to every family with a child under age 13, saving families an estimated $12,000 per child each year and generating nearly $900 million in annual economic activity statewide.
“New Mexico stands as proof that when care is treated as infrastructure—not charity—families thrive, women advance, and economies strengthen,” said C. Nicole Mason, PhD, President & CEO of Future Forward Women. “Our goal now is to help other states learn from New Mexico’s success — building the leadership, policy frameworks, and public support necessary to make universal child care a national reality.”
According to the brief, earlier expansions of child-care access in New Mexico lifted approximately 120,000 residents above the supplemental poverty line between 2021 and 2024. The policy’s design — combining sustainable funding, provider wage increases, and streamlined eligibility — is emerging as a national model for equitable growth and women’s workforce participation.
FFW will launch a State Leaders Learning Series in early 2026 as part of its Legislative Exchange and Innovation Lab, providing technical assistance, policy training, and cross-state collaboration for governors, legislators, and state agencies exploring universal child care and other family-centered economic policies.
About the Legislative Exchange and Innovation Lab
Through collaboration and evidence-based policy design, the Future Forward Women Legislative Exchange and Innovation Lab partners with elected officials and catalytic leaders to advance women- and family-centered policies, expand women’s power and influence, and bring the best ideas in public policy to scale.
For leaders who govern, the innovators who design, and the advocates who drive change.
“What makes New Mexico’s model historic is that it’s both universal and financially sustainable,” Mason added. “It shows that investing in care strengthens the economy, supports families, and expands women’s power and influence.”
The full brief is available at https://futureforwardwomen.org
About Future Forward Women
Future Forward Women works with elected officials, high-impact organizations, catalytic leaders, and everyday citizens to advance public policies that expand women’s power and influence in all 50 states — across the economy, democracy, and care infrastructure.