TL;DR
Get baby and family essentials delivered free — and shop member deals
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Access to Prime Big Deal Days deals on October 6–7
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
A new study of New Mexico’s universal child care program finds sharply different labor-market changes by income: lower-income mothers increased employment and work hours, while higher-income mothers reduced them. The study’s author says the pattern may reflect expanded choices, but the findings do not yet establish the program’s long-term effects or whether it will pay for itself.
A new study of New Mexico’s universal child care program finds that mothers’ work patterns changed in sharply different ways by income: lower-income mothers increased employment and hours, while higher-income mothers cut back. The findings offer an early look at how the state’s free-care policy may affect families’ choices and access to paid work, though the study does not establish its long-term effects.
Arizona State University professor Chris Herbst, who studies child care policy, compared mothers’ labor outcomes in New Mexico before and after the program took effect with outcomes for mothers elsewhere. His paper uses monthly U.S. Census Bureau data from May 2019 through August 2026, according to the report by The 74. The source does not provide the paper’s full methodology or publication details.
For what Herbst calls low-skill mothers—a label the report says refers to lower-income mothers—labor-force participation and employment each rose by 18% after the policy, according to the study. Full-time employment increased by 23%, and weekly hours worked rose by 15%. The report presents those figures as changes associated with the policy; it does not specify the calculation baseline for each percentage.
The results went in the other direction for higher-income mothers. Their labor-force participation fell by 8%, full-time work by 17%, and weekly hours by 10%, the study found. Herbst suggested some may have reduced work to spend more time with children or pursue education. Those explanations are possibilities, not outcomes the reported data establish.
Work Gains Differ by Family Income
The different results suggest that removing child care costs can affect families’ work decisions in more than one way. For lower-income mothers, the reported gains point to care costs as a barrier to taking or keeping paid jobs. For higher-income mothers, reduced work may reflect a wider ability to choose how to spend time, including at home or in school.
Those changes matter beyond employment statistics. More work can mean additional earnings for households, while time spent caring for children or studying may also serve family goals. Herbst told The 74 that he does not view the higher-income group’s reductions as evidence of policy failure, but the study does not itself measure families’ reasons or the effects of their choices.
The findings also raise a public-finance question: whether increased employment and tax revenue could offset some program costs. Herbst said it is too early to know whether New Mexico’s program will pay for itself. Any conclusion would require evidence on costs, earnings and tax receipts, not employment changes alone.
universal child care programs for mothers
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
New Mexico’s Early Policy Test
New Mexico enacted its universal child care program the previous November, becoming the first state in the country to adopt such a program, according to The 74. The source describes care as free for participating families. It says all parents in a household must work or take part in another qualifying activity, such as school, but there is no minimum number of hours; part-time activity can qualify.
Much of the research on universal child care has examined programs outside the United States, including Quebec’s heavily subsidized program. Research on Quebec found mothers’ labor-force participation rose 14.5% relative to its pre-policy level, the report says. Herbst cautioned against treating that result as proof that New Mexico will produce the same fiscal effects.
Herbst has also studied the Lanham Act, a 1940 federal measure that funded subsidized child care centers to support women working during World War II. The report says New Mexico did not participate in that program. Studies of Lanham Act centers have found later benefits for children, including higher college completion and earnings, but those findings do not show what outcomes New Mexico’s children will experience.
“Disadvantaged families can now afford to work.”
— Chris Herbst, speaking to The 74
child care assistance for low-income families
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Long-Term Effects Still Unknown
The reported results do not show exactly why higher-income mothers reduced their work, or whether individual families changed their schedules for child care, education or other reasons. The source also does not provide detailed information on the study’s methods, confidence intervals, sample sizes or percentage-point changes, so the reported percentage figures should not be read as percentage-point shifts.
It remains unclear whether the employment gains among lower-income mothers will persist, how the program’s total costs compare with any additional tax revenue, and what effects the policy may have on children’s development and later outcomes. Those questions require further research and, for child outcomes, a longer period of observation.
educational toys for preschool children
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
More Evidence Will Take Time
Researchers will need to follow the program over a longer period to see whether the employment changes continue and to assess the policy’s fiscal effects. The source does not identify a scheduled next report or a specific date for additional results.
Evidence about children’s education and development will take longer to emerge than early labor-market measures. For now, the study provides an initial comparison of work patterns by income, rather than a final accounting of the program’s effects on families, children or state finances.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Key Questions
What did the New Mexico child care study find?
The study found that lower-income mothers increased work after the program took effect, while higher-income mothers reduced labor-force participation, full-time work and weekly hours. The reported results do not establish why every family changed its work pattern.
How much did lower-income mothers’ work increase?
The study reported 18% increases in labor-force participation and employment, a 23% increase in full-time employment, and a 15% increase in weekly hours. The source does not specify the calculation baseline for each figure.
Why might some higher-income mothers have worked less?
Herbst suggested they may have spent more time at home with children or gone to school. Those are possible explanations; the reported findings do not confirm which reasons applied to individual mothers.
Has the program paid for itself?
That is not yet known. Herbst said it is too early to tell whether increased employment and tax payments will offset the program’s cost.
What remains to be studied?
Researchers still need to assess whether the work changes last, how program costs compare with any added revenue, and whether the policy affects children’s development and long-term outcomes.
Source: rss
Halloween Picks
halloween
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
