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More than 11,000 childcare workers in New Mexico are now eligible for a one-time payment of $ 1,500, according to the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department.
The payments come from federal funds of $ 18 million and are intended as a token of appreciation for the state’s childcare workers, the department said on Monday.
Department spokesman Micah McCoy said the grant is intended to “recognize the unique challenges these key workers have faced in caring for and educating children over the past 20 months.”
Childcare workers are among the worst paid workers, often making around $ 10 an hour, he said. The aim of the department is to compensate employees.
Several programs to increase childcare pay have already been implemented.
In September the state launched a wage parity program for educators that provides qualified teachers with a monthly wage supplement.
The program, which was designed to raise preschool teachers’ wages to make them compatible with public school teachers, increased the wages of some workers by as much as $ 1,300 a month.
“The commitment that childcare workers have shown to the children and families of this state during this public health emergency is nothing short of heroic,” ECECD Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky said in a press release. “… These one-time payments are a small way to recognize and celebrate the invaluable service you have done to our communities.”
Teachers, administrators, cooks and bus drivers in non-public Ministry of Education programs but employed in childcare are all eligible for the incentives. Workers must be employed by a licensed or registered childcare program and be aware of their background checks.
Payments are not automatic and eligible workers must apply for the grant on the ECECD website by December 1st.
McCoy said the payments will be paid out from mid-November.
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