A. The legislature finds that an early childhood care and education system is vital in ensuring that every New Mexico child is eager to learn and ready to succeed by the time that child enters kindergarten, that high-quality early learning experiences have been proven to prepare children for success in school and later in life and that cost-benefit research demonstrates a high return on investment for money spent on early childhood care and education for at-risk children.

B. The legislature further finds that, to be successful, an early childhood care and education system should be:

(1) developmentally, culturally and linguistically appropriate and include the implementation of program models, standards and curriculum based on research and best practices;

(2) data-driven, including the identification and prioritization of communities most at risk while striving to make the system universally available to all those who wish to participate;

(3) accountable through developmentally appropriate methods of measuring, reporting and tracking a child's growth and development and the improvement of the system's programs;

(4) accessible, especially to those children most at risk for school failure;

(5) of the highest possible quality through the utilization of qualified practitioners who have completed specialized training in early childhood growth, development and learning that is specific to the practitioner's role in the system and the maintenance of quality rating methods for the programs in the system;

(6) fully aligned within each community to ensure the most efficient and effective use of resources by combining funding sources and supporting seamless transitions for children within the system and for children transitioning into kindergarten;

(7) family-centered by recognizing that parents are the first and most important teachers of their children and providing the support and referrals necessary for parents to assume this critical role in their child's development; and

(8) a partnership between the state and private individuals or institutions with an interest or expertise in early childhood care and education.

C. The purpose of the Early Childhood Care and Education Act is to establish a comprehensive early childhood care and education system through an aligned continuum of state and private programs, including home visitation, early intervention, child care, early head start, head start, early childhood special education, family support and pre-kindergarten, and to maintain or establish the infrastructure necessary to support quality in the system's programs.

History: Laws 2011, ch. 123, § 3.

Effective dates. — Laws 2011, ch. 123 contained no effective date provision, but, pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, was effective June 17, 2011, 90 days after the adjournment of the legislature.