Brindle

News & events

Children 6 Months and Older
Eligible for COVID Vaccine

Given the federal approval to vaccinate babies and young children, the NM Department of Health is now scheduling free vaccinations for children 6 months to 4 years old. Vaccinating young children helps protect families, child care providers and vulnerable people in our communities.

Visit vaccinenm.org to schedule an appointment

American Academy of Pediatrics releases updated breastfeeding policy

For the first time in a decade, the AAP has updated the national breastfeeding policy to include the previous recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, adding in supplementary foods from 6 months on, as well as extending the period of breastfeeding for as long as mutually desired between baby and parent for up to 2 years, a shift that calls on family and employer support.

Click here to read policy statement

New CDC guidelines for developmental milestones

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recently added to the list of developmental milestones intended to help parents and providers track the development of babies and young children. See their website (in English and Spanish) for checklists by month, poster materials, and tracking apps

Access to free child care grows in NM!
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As of May 1, families in NM earning up to 400 percent of the federal poverty line (or $111,000 for a family of 4) qualify for free daycare and preschool. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham recently announced this expansion of copay waivers that are expected to affect about 30,000 families in the state. (Article/photo: Santa Fe New Mexican)

Good News for Early Childhood in New Mexico

ECECD turns one!

July 2021

In a celebration that included Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky, New Mexico's Early Childhood Education and Care Department celebrated its first birthday on July 1, 2021. It has been an exciting year for the new department which has beenable to work with partners on a number of initiatives including expanding child care assistance eligibility, establishing tribal liaisons for work on early childhood with NM’s 23 pueblos, tribes and nations, and creating an Equity Council. (link

New Mexico’s Prenatal to Three Initiative makes strides!

Working with a number of early childhood leaders, advocates and providers from across the state, NM’s Prenatal to Three Coalition has just released the Prenatal to Three Guiding Principles for Equity. This toolkit, supported by Pritzker Foundation, includes concrete ways to address racial, economic, linguistic, and other inequities in early childhood. (link to toolkit +photo)

The Early Childhood Trust Fund doubles assets!

NM’s ECECD is funded by a trust that has been expected to grow slowly from a base of $300million. Given an unexpectedly strong recovery in oil and gas revenue, as well as tax collections ,the assets are now valued at close to $650 million. While the interest earned by the trust is what funds ECECD, as the base grows, so does support to early childhood in NM. Projections continue for swift growth, a pace that is great news for the state’s infants and toddlers. (use ECECD logo here? Link to article in New Mexico in Depth)

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