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Health Indicator Report of Child Care, Licensed Care Availability, June 2017

Working parents frequently depend on out-of-home child care to allow them to balance their employment and family needs. Accessing child-care facilities that are located near work, home, or school can be a challenge for many parents, particularly those who rely on public transportation or live in rural areas. Quality child-care and early-education programs support a child's development and prepare them for success in school. Research shows that children who attend high-quality preschool programs have a variety of positive social and health outcomes.

The Ratio of the Total Capacity of Licensed Child Care Facilities to the Number of Children Under Age 5 by County, New Mexico, June 2017


Low ratios indicate that there are few licensed child-care seats per child. Higher ratios indicate that there are more seats available (and when the ratio is greater than 1, there are actually more seats than children). Areas with a high ratio of child care capacity to young children are more likely to offer convenient child care alternatives.
Low ratios indicate that there are few licensed child-care seats per child. Higher ratios indicate that there are more seats available (and when the ratio is greater than 1, there are actually more seats than children). Areas with a high ratio of child care capacity to young children are more likely to offer convenient child care alternatives.

Data Sources

  • New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, PO Drawer 5160 Santa Fe, NM 87502-5160. Phone: (505)827-8400. Website: www.cyfd.org.
  • Population Estimates: University of New Mexico, Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) Program, http://gps.unm.edu/.

Data Interpretation Issues

New Mexico's Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) has, and continues to use a STAR rating system for child care providers, which indicates each individual provider's quality rating. Receipt of federal "Race to the Top" grant funding has allowed CYFD to implement a new Tiered Quality Rating (TQRIS) and Improvement system called "FOCUS on Young Children's Learning." CYFD is currently in the process of transitioning from the previous TQRIS "Aim High" quality program to the new "FOCUS" quality program and as that transition takes place the childcare ratings by star level will be updated to indicate the provider's quality rating within the new FOCUS system.

Definition

The ratio of the capacity of licensed child care facilities to the total number of children under age 5.

Numerator

The June 2017 total capacity of all licensed child care facilities.

Denominator

The estimated population of children under age 5 (calculated from 2016 UNM GPS population estimates).

Healthy People Objective: EMC-1, (Developmental) Increase the proportion of children who are ready for school in all five domains of healthy development: physical development, social-emotional development, approaches to learning, language, and cognitive development

U.S. Target: Developmental

Other Objectives

New Mexico Early Learning Indicator

Available Services

Search the NewMexicoKids Child Care Resource & Referral database for child-care providers: [https://www.newmexicokids.org/parents-and-families/childcare-search/ccrnr/].
Page Content Updated On 08/08/2017, Published on 08/28/2017
Community Health Assessment Program, Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health, 1190 S. Saint Francis Drive, P.O. Box 26110, Santa Fe, NM, 87502. Contact Lois Haggard at lois.haggard@state.nm.us or by telephone at (505) 827-5274
The information provided above is from the New Mexico Department of Health's NM-IBIS web site (http://ibis.health.state.nm.us). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: "Retrieved Tue, 17 September 2019 from New Mexico Department of Health, Indicator-Based Information System for Public Health Web site: http://ibis.health.state.nm.us".

Content updated: Mon, 28 Aug 2017 16:14:28 MDT