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Head Start leaders tell committee the program must be protected and integrated as New Mexico expands universal childcare
Summary
Head Start representatives told legislators the federally funded program is a critical, two‑generation component of New Mexico’s early childhood system and urged coordination and protections as universal childcare is implemented.
Head Start leaders and local providers told the Legislative Health & Human Services committee that Head Start must remain a protected and prioritized option as state policies expand universal childcare access.
Casey Lafferty, the state’s Head Start collaboration office director and a deputy division director at ECECD, described Head Start’s role in supply and integration: "Head Start offers comprehensive early learning and family supports ... across 31 grantees, nearly 7,000 children at 196 sites," and the collaboration office embedded at ECECD helps align federal Head Start resources with state initiatives.
Local presenters, including Alex Gonzalez (Dona Ana County coalition coordinator) and Patricia Grovey Evans (executive director, Child and Family Services, Inc.; president of the Head Start Association of New Mexico), described community programs that extend Head Start beyond classroom instruction. Those examples included family support specialists embedded at clinics, mobile resources (the Vamos Ninos mobile children’s museum), car seat clinics and scholarship and workforce supports to expand bilingual and credentialed staff.
Grovey Evans emphasized Head Start’s comprehensive model and its role for the most vulnerable families: "Head Start is not just childcare ... it is a comprehensive 2 generational program" that delivers health screenings, nutrition, mental health services and family advocacy that, she said, cannot be replicated by childcare alone.
Committee members asked how to preserve Head Start’s federal funding and comprehensive services as universal childcare expands to include higher‑income families. Head Start representatives and ECECD staff described pay parity and continuing collaboration as tools to protect Head Start’s role and urged legislative support to ensure federal dollars and the program’s wraparound services remain available for vulnerable populations.
What happens next: Head Start leaders and ECECD staff said they will continue coordination with the Legislature, share Head Start county fact sheets and work with providers to align state and federal funding streams and protect access for vulnerable families.
