Courtesy Carla Ferrer
Carla Ferrer was first inspired to become a child care provider by her own two children.
About a month after Carla Ferrer gave birth to her second child last year, she began looking for a day care, applying to a variety of child care programs offered by Presbyterian Medical Services, the Santa Fe Community College’s Kids Campus and Desert Montessori School. That was her first mistake, she tells SFR.
“I had no idea how difficult it was, and I also had no idea that the waitlists were this long,” Ferrer says. “I unfortunately made the mistake of signing my children up for day care after they were born…if you’re interested, you sign up right when they’re born.”
She was also unemployed at the time, and receiving guidance and family support services through Growing Up New Mexico’s Bridges to Opportunity program. Ferrer’s coach asked if she had ever considered starting her own home-based child care center, given Ferrer’s bachelor’s degree in psychology and family and child studies.
From there, Ferrer learned about the statewide, six-month bilingual Training Home Educators Accelerator program collaboratively run by Growing Up New Mexico, WESST and the Partnership for Community Action, which allows prospective and current child care providers to receive training, peer coaching and individualized support to develop (or expand) their own home-based child care businesses.
“When I found out about this, I realized that I could [not only] make an income and provide for my kids, but also provide for other families who need the assistance and don’t have a day care or a place to leave their children,” Ferrer says.
Her elder child, now 2 ½ years old, only just got into a day care program this year, she says. Her younger child, who is about 10 months old, remains on a waitlist. Ferrer says she knows plenty of other families in similar situations.
New Mexico has made significant strides in recent years making child care more financially accessible for working families, most notably in May 2022 when the Early Childhood Education & Care Department expanded eligibility for child care assistance. Data from ECECD shows that in April 2022 versus May 2024—the most recent month with available data—the number of children receiving child care assistance funds increased by close to 47%. In its annual report for 2023, ECECD reports 25,839 children on average received a monthly child care subsidy.
Reductions in cost, however, don’t always translate to a child being accepted into a program, especially with a shortage of providers. According to data from nonprofit Child Care Aware of America, between 2022 and 2023, licensed child care programs in New Mexico decreased from 585 to 529; and the number of licensed family child care homes decreased from 296 to 241.
This is an area the THE Accelerator program hopes to address. Calixte Raifsnider, Growing Up New Mexico ‘s communications and policy operations manager, says its goal is “ultimately, to expand quality child care in New Mexico by strengthening both the business and child care.”
This year’s program, which ended in June, had 76 graduates. Raifsnider tells SFR 43% of child care providers in this year’s program expressed that they were able to increase the number of children in their care.
“With so many centers at capacity, growing home-based care is a really immediate way to address the child care crisis,” Raifsnider says. “It’s a small business model with minimal start-up costs. Plus, many of the home-based caregivers we work with are incredibly driven and are working toward opening their own centers.”
In an email to SFR, ECECD Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky says programs like THE Accelerator are “essential” for growing the supply of quality child care in New Mexico.
“THE Accelerator offers critical resources to help establish and grow a family child care business, like a network of providers to share support, knowledge and skills,” Groginsky writes. “By equipping family child care providers to both manage their business and deliver high quality early childhood education and care, THE Accelerator and programs like it are contributing to a stronger and more sustainable child care industry in New Mexico that meets the diverse needs of young children and their families.”
Ferrer, one of this year’s graduates, now is in the process of preparing her home, applying for a license and looking at funding options for her business, which she says will likely take her about a year to fully set up. Until then, she’s working in early intervention at the ECECD’s Family, Infant and Toddler program, which provides evaluations, therapy and other support for children with developmental delays or disabilities.
“I don’t want to take care of someone’s family if I’m not qualified; I want to make sure I am providing the best care,” Ferrer says. “What I loved about THE Accelerator is that every provider who did already have a home-based day care—they were so thoughtful. They really showed that they don’t just take care of your kids at home, but they want to teach them and provide quality care—have fun activities, make sure they’re feeding them well and that they have a good experience.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that the THE Accelerator program is not solely run by Growing Up New Mexico, but is a collaboration between Growing Up New Mexico, WESST and the Partnership for Community Action. SFR regrets the omission.
