The Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) presented a draft wage scale and career-lattice framework Aug. 1 to guide compensation for early childhood professionals across home visiting, Family Infant Toddler, childcare, Head Start and Pre-K programs. The department said the framework is intended to professionalize the workforce by linking roles, competencies and minimum salary floors.

"All early childhood professionals are supported by a fully implemented equitable career and compensation system," Elizabeth Braginsky, Cabinet Secretary of ECECD, told the Legislative Education Study Committee. The department formed a 22-member task force that developed role categories, competencies and draft salary floors and tested the model through focus groups and an online survey.

What ECECD proposed
- Role categories and salary floors: The task force defined five role categories (leadership, lead early childhood professional, specialist, support staff and other roles) and proposed minimum salary floors tied to education and experience. Examples cited in the presentation included an entry leadership floor of about $73,000 and a top leadership floor near $95,000; a lead early-childhood professional top tier at about $66,000; and specialist top tiers in the mid-$70,000 range depending on credentials and years of experience. The department said exact floors will be refined with stakeholder input and phased implementation.
- Competency-based and degree pathways: The wage scale is competency-based and intended to value both formal education (CDA, associate, bachelor, master) and relevant experience or prior learning. ECECD officials emphasized credit-for-prior-learning, cohort models and flexible course formats to expand access to degrees.
- Higher-education capacity and language access: ECECD surveyed higher-education institutions and reported 10 bachelor’s programs, 16 associate programs and 7 master’s programs in early childhood across the state; the department also noted limited higher-education offerings in languages other than English and called for expanded capacity and Spanish- and Diné-language pathways.
- Field testing and outreach: The task force conducted focus groups and an online survey (about 200 focus-group participants and 150 online responses) and plans further review by the Early Childhood Education and Care Advisory Council in September.

Why it matters
ECECD said a more equitable career and compensation system would reduce turnover, improve instructional quality and help retain qualified teachers in community-based programs. The department noted a long-standing gap in pay and benefits between school-based and community-based staff and said New Mexico funds pay parity programs and other incentives; the wage scale is intended to make those investments more transparent and targeted.

Public comment and stakeholder input
Public commenters and advocacy groups who addressed the committee supported higher pay and competency-based recognition. Teresa Madrid of Partnership for Community Action, representing family child-care providers, urged recognition of experienced providers without formal degrees and called for a minimum floor near $45,000 per year for early childhood educators, plus accountability to ensure funds reach classroom staff. Isaiah Torres of the Center for Civic Policy and Jacob Vigil of New Mexico Voices for Children also voiced support for the wage scale and its emphasis on equity.

Implementation and next steps
Secretary Braginsky said the department will bring the draft wage scale and career lattice to the advisory council in September and that implementation will require legislative funding. ECECD requested $10 million last year to support the scale’s rollout; officials said the department will seek phased, targeted funding and will use the professional development information system to monitor staff credentials and wages once the system is fully operational. The department also flagged barriers to progress, including higher-education capacity, practicum requirements for credentials and the need for flexible, cohort-based program models.

Speakers
[{"name":"Elizabeth Braginsky","role_title":"Cabinet Secretary, Early Childhood Education and Care Department","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"ECECD"},{"name":"Director Sena","role_title":"Director","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"(referenced by committee)"},{"name":"Teresa Madrid","role_title":"Representative, Partnership for Community Action","affiliation_type":"nonprofit","affiliation_name":"Partnership for Community Action"},{"name":"Isaiah Torres","role_title":"Statewide Policy Manager","affiliation_type":"nonprofit","affiliation_name":"Center for Civic Policy"},{"name":"Jacob Vigil","role_title":"Policy Staff","affiliation_type":"nonprofit","affiliation_name":"New Mexico Voices for Children"}]

Authorities
[{"type":"policy","name":"ECECD statutory requirement to create wage scale and career lattice","citation":"Statute creating the Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD)","referenced_by":["Elizabeth Braginsky"]},{"type":"other","name":"National Early Care and Education Workforce Center technical assistance","citation":"Technical assistance partner (national program)","referenced_by":["Elizabeth Braginsky"]},{"type":"other","name":"Professional Development Information System (PDIS)","citation":"State PD information system (ECECD rollout)","referenced_by":["Elizabeth Braginsky"]}]

Actions
[{"kind":"other","motion":"Task force wage scale and career lattice draft presented to Early Childhood Education and Care Advisory Council for further review","mover":"ECECD","second":"n/a","vote_record":[],"tally":{},"outcome":"no_action","notes":"Draft to be reviewed by advisory council in September and requires legislative funding for implementation"}]

Discussion_decision
{"discussion_points":["Task force proposed role categories, competencies and minimum salary floors to professionalize early childhood roles","Need for higher-education capacity, language-accessible programs, clinical/practicum placements and credit-for-prior-learning","Stakeholder support for wage increases and competency-based recognition, with public commenters urging direct payment of increased wages to classroom staff"],"directions":["ECECD to present draft wage scale to advisory council in September","Department to use focus-group feedback and higher-ed inventory to refine implementation plan and funding request"],"decisions":["No formal committee vote; ECECD will continue stakeholder review and seek legislative support for phased implementation"]}

clarifying_details
[{"category":"task_force","detail":"Task force of about 22 members convened for seven months and conducted focus groups and an online survey (approx. 200 focus-group participants, 150 survey responses)","source_speaker":"Elizabeth Braginsky"},{"category":"higher_education_capacity","detail":"Survey returned data from 51 institutions: 10 bachelor's programs, 16 associate programs, 7 master's programs; limited Spanish-language BA offerings","source_speaker":"Elizabeth Braginsky"},{"category":"sample_salary_floors","detail":"Presentation cited draft salary floors such as entry leadership $73,000, top leadership $95,000, lead professional top tier $66,000 and specialist top tiers near $77,000 (figures are draft and subject to refinement)","source_speaker":"Elizabeth Braginsky"}]

proper_names
[{"name":"Early Childhood Education and Care Department","type":"agency"},{"name":"Partnership for Community Action","type":"organization"},{"name":"Center for Civic Policy","type":"organization"},{"name":"New Mexico Voices for Children","type":"organization"},{"name":"Child Development Associate (CDA)","type":"other"},{"name":"Santa Fe Community College","type":"school"},{"name":"San Juan College lab school","type":"school"}]

community_relevance
{"geographies":["Statewide New Mexico","rural communities referenced"],"funding_sources":["state general funds","ECECD grants","legislative appropriations"],"impact_groups":["early childhood educators","family child-care providers","children served by Pre-K and childcare programs"]}

meeting_context
{"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":25,"duration_minutes":120,"items_count":2},"implementation_risk":"high","history":[{"date":"2025-07-01","note":"Task force completed draft wage scale; department seeking feedback"}]}

searchable_tags
["wage-scale","early-childhood-workforce","career-lattice","ECECD","higher-education","CDA","pay-parity"]

provenance
{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"block_intro_wage_scale","local_start":0,"local_end":240,"evidence_excerpt":"In the statute that created the department, there was a requirement that we create a wage a comprehensive wage scale and career lattice for all the programs that we administer. So we took that, of course, as our statutory obligation, and we also have it as part of our strategic plan.","global_start":4542,"global_end":4782,"tc_start":"75:42:00","tc_end":"79:42:00","text_sha256":"e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4f9b934ca495991b7852b8554","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"block_finish_wage_scale","local_start":0,"local_end":200,"evidence_excerpt":"So the task force completed their work, they were then asked to go out and take this. So on slide 12, it gives, we said, well, this is great. These 22 people have contributed and done a lot of thinking on this.","global_start":5089,"global_end":5289,"tc_start":"84:49:00","tc_end":"88:09:00","text_sha256":"e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4f9b934ca495991b7852b8554","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]}