New tool helps NM families find child care
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — With more New Mexicans eligible for free childcare, it can be difficult finding the right childcare for your family, but it’s more important than ever to get that process started.
The state, in collaboration with Wonderschool, created a new tool to help you find the childcare you need.
The website, Child Care Finder, will allow you to input the criteria you need and the location you need it, and give you options, costs, and contact information so you can get everything you need from one place.
“As a parent of young children myself I can confirm how challenging it can be when you know you need child care and you don’t even really know where to start looking,” said Mia Pritts with Wonderschool.
How about starting where you need it?
It’s as easy as zooming in on the location bar on the website and clicking “search in this area.” As you pinpoint locations and filters, the state’s thousand-plus licensed childcare options become more personalized choices.
“We understand how overwhelming it can be when a family is trying to select a place for their child to be for sometimes 8, 10, 10.5 hours a day,” said Elizabeth Groginsky, the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Development secretary. “That’s an important choice and we want to make this as easy as possible for families.”
You can customize how many days of the week you need care, what type of setting and which learning style might fit your little one best – while also utilizing some of our state’s other offerings, like child care assistance and other resources.
“You want to get a sense of what the philosophy is,” said Micah McCoy, communications director with ECECD. “What’s driving the people who are taking care of your kids and it can be really overwhelming, especially when you start taking into account, ‘Ok what is tuition going to look like? Do they accept child care assistance?’”
The search will also allow direct communication with the childcare facility and you can schedule tours or enroll.