Discover the real outcomes, stories, and lasting impact of the CPP grant, which played a pivotal role in empowering New Mexico’s child care professionals.
Introduction
The Competitive Pay for Professionals (CPP) grant, initiated on November 1, 2022, marked a transformative moment for New Mexico’s child care workforce. Historically, these educators faced some of the lowest wages, limiting the sector’s growth.
With an initial investment of $77 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, the CPP grant became a critical lifeline for child care providers, battling recruitment and retention issues. The grant offered $3/hour wage increases for eligible child care employees, including teachers, administrative staff, and more, who held active ECECD-issued or approved background clearances.
This initiative addressed a growing early childhood professional shortage, especially in rural areas, where many programs had to close classrooms due to the lack of qualified staff. By offering vital financial support to licensed child care programs, CPP aimed to create a well-compensated and diverse early childhood workforce, crucial for ensuring high-quality early education.
The grant disbursed a total of $22,037,792.82, with additional pending payments, further emphasizing its substantial financial and lasting impact on New Mexico’s child care sector.
Continued Support
ECECD will continue to support enhanced wages through the new child care assistance rates. Learn more about the cost model tool ECECD uses to set child care assistance rates and explore the interactive tool here.
Downloadable Materials
ECECD hosted a CPP informational webinar on October 21, 2022. Click the links below to download the webinar materials:
- Zoom Recording: English or Spanish
- Compensation Office Hours Presentation in English and Spanish
- Webinar Q&A (Updated Feb 2023): English Q&A︱Spanish Q&A
Results
As of August 2023, a total of 965 licensed home and center-based providers were eligible for the grant, with 557 of them choosing to participate.
This participation opened doors for 7,438 educators to benefit from the $3/hour raise. Of these educators, 8,692 are active employees, and 7,398 hold certifications, signifying a significant impact on the professional development of New Mexico’s child care workforce.
In terms of financial impact, the grant disbursed a total of $22,037,792.82, distributed over several months as follows:
- November, 2022: $1,370,923.04
- December, 2022: $2,387,110.12
- January, 2023: $2,630,559.61
- February, 2023: $2,322,453.22
- March, 2023: $2,676,543.21
- April, 2023: $2,373,637.58
- May, 2023: $2,589,889.73
- June, 2023: $2,577,696.17
- July, 2023: $2,230,978.84
- August, 2023: $2,560,175.80
Additionally, there were adjustments for previous months, with $579,877.41 paid on September 19, 2023 and $60,401.31 paid on September 26, 2023.
As of October 2023, it’s worth noting that there’s a pending payment of $13,211.10 for one provider due to PFI reasons, potentially further increasing the overall impact of the grant.
Conclusion
The Competitive Pay for Professionals (CPP) grant, launched in November 2022 with an initial investment of $77 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, has had a transformative impact on New Mexico’s child care workforce. By providing $3/hour wage increases to eligible child care employees, this initiative addressed longstanding wage issues, recruitment challenges, and professional shortages, particularly in rural areas.
As of August 2023, 557 providers participated, benefiting 7,438 educators, significantly enhancing the professional development of the state’s child care workforce.