The cost of living is top of mind for most Montanans, and for many families that includes the affordability of childcare.
While Montana has expanded some early childhood programs in recent years, advocates and lawmakers are looking to New Mexico, the first state to offer no-cost universal childcare, for inspiration ahead of the upcoming legislative session.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham joined former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock for a conversation about the states’ early childhood programs last week at the University of Montana. An optional public preschool program was one of the Bullock administration’s priorities that failed to pass the state Legislature in 2019. While Montana early childhood advocates said free universal childcare like New Mexico’s is still a ways out, they came away inspired, with goals to strengthen existing programs.
“While the path forward in Montana will undoubtedly look different for how we approach that, there’s so much that we can learn from one another in this room,” said Allison Wilson, director of the University of Montana’s Institute for Early Childhood Education, at the start of the discussion.
The institute and the early childhood advocacy organization Zero to Five Montana helped put on the discussion Nov. 2, which was attended by about 40 people.
Caitlin Jensen, executive director of Zero to Five Montana, told Montana Free Press that the event was an opportunity to learn more about New Mexico’s free childcare and preschool programs.
“One takeaway, … was recognizing their efforts didn’t happen overnight, but they were strategic and thoughtful about how they can get there,” she said.
New Mexico began with a childcare assistance program, similar to Montana’s Best Beginnings scholarship, which helps eligible families pay for childcare, Lujan Grisham said. The program expanded to include higher-income families before becoming universal last year, she said. The state reimbursement rates for participating childcare providers have also helped drive up wages for workers overall, according to New Mexico’s Early Childhood Education and Care Department.
Lujan Grisham said New Mexico is already seeing the economic benefits of the programs in local communities across the state.
Montana is laying the groundwork for expanded programs through its Early Childhood Account and the early literacy and numeracy program, Jensen said.
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In 2023, the Legislature passed a bill allowing school districts to enroll students younger than 5 in early literacy programs, and in 2025 passed a bill expanding the program to include numeracy and math.
Last year, lawmakers created the Montana Early Childhood Account, seeded with $10 million to support early childhood initiatives. That includes grants for business expansion, workforce training, curriculum development, safety upgrades, expanded after-school care, and support for infants and toddlers, according to the state’s website. The first round of grants funded by the account were awarded this fall.
Jensen said Lujan Grisham also highlighted the importance of gathering input and support from childcare providers, parents, schools, businesses and the faith community. While Montana’s new Early Childhood Account is a good start, the state also needs to look for more revenue streams to help fund programs, Jensen said.
“Developing a robust investment in a state’s early childhood system is really complex,” she said. “We recognize we need to invest in the current workforce, to grow and stabilize childcare or preschool programs and really make those investments in facilities, business supports and access to capital, including across rural and tribal communities.”
Jensen said that she hopes Montana can establish a tax credit to help families afford the cost of young children, expand the early learning programs and provide grants for new programs in rural and tribal communities.
“We hope to keep building off the momentum of the [Early Childhood Account], work to meet the immediate and ongoing needs of families across the community,” she said. “We’re hopeful we can make that incremental change and progress.”
Grace Decker, coordinator for the Montana Advocates for Children coalition, told MTFP she had similar takeaways and left the discussion in Missoula feeling encouraged.
“It was such a great opportunity to hear from the governor about the sort of multifaceted approach that it takes to really move the needle for children and families,” she said. “And when you do that, what effect that has on the whole community and your economic stability as a state.”
Decker said that while Montana has expanded its programs for young children in recent years, more work is needed to ensure that available programs reach all children and families. The state also needs to address the unintended consequences of its early literacy and numeracy program, Decker said.
The early learning classrooms reduced the demand for childcare for that age group, while overall demand remains high, Decker said. Childcare centers often rely on older children to help subsidize the higher cost of infant and toddler care, she said.
In the first year of the early learning program, the 2024-2025 school year, 89 school districts participated, serving 2,025 students, according to the Montana Office of Public Instruction. That increased to 98 districts serving 2,382 students last year.
That reduction in the number of 4-year-olds needing childcare has caused some programs to close, while many others are not operating at their licensed capacity, Decker said. Losing infant and toddler care impacts all employers, including public schools, she said. More school districts are offering classroom space in their buildings to a childcare operator, providing a service that helps the districts recruit and retain staff, Decker said.
In August, Hellgate Elementary in Missoula opened an on-site childcare for staff, in part to help recruit and retain teachers and other employees, the Missoulian reported.
Decker said Montana Advocates for Children is working on a policy for this legislative session to help stabilize childcare programs affected by students moving to the early learning classrooms.
“It’s beyond what they call a fragile system,” Decker said. “It’s really brittle, so when something changes that makes it harder for a childcare program to be solvent, it can’t survive that.”
One lesson from New Mexico is to think of different strategies as interrelated, Decker said. Rather than just focusing on affordability for parents, the state also needs to support childcare providers and workers, she said.
While Montana has made investments through one-time grants, pilot programs and helping childcare programs to open, that alone won’t support a robust childcare system for the long haul, Decker said.
The Montana Advocates for Children plans to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle during the session to help support infant and toddler childcare providers and expand the Best Beginnings program to help childcare providers pay for childcare, after Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoed that proposal last year, Decker said.
Decker said it’s hard to imagine a universal childcare proposal being introduced in the upcoming session, as Montana has a long way to go in expanding the Best Beginnings program.
“It was very interesting and encouraging to see folks in the room talking about how exciting the concept of universal childcare, universally free, available and affordable childcare is,” she said. “That has not really been articulated as a goal in Montana by many advocates or policymakers.”
Sen. Laura Smith, a Helena Democrat, told MTFP after the discussion that she appreciated Gov. Lujan Grisham’s emphasis on including sovereign nations and providing funding for early childhood language immersion. Smith said funding early childhood programs statewide, including in Montana tribal communities, is important.
“I think we have major opportunities next session to focus on the economic impact on childcare and the importance of childcare for the workforce,” she said. “Listening to New Mexico about how focusing on early childhood is not just beneficial to the families they serve but so beneficial to the economy.”
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