UNM gets state contract to improve early ed services

CYFD expects support system to better identify behavioral health concerns

The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department has awarded a $5.5 million contract to The University of New Mexico to provide free staff training, technical aid and other support services aimed at improving day care centers and preschool providers throughout the state.

UNM is expected to have the new support system in place by January — a system that places a heavier emphasis on ensuring teachers and other child care workers are trained to identify behavioral health concerns in children.

The deal will lead to the restoration of most of the 89 consultant positions lost in late June, when the department’s previous contracts for similar services expired. Those regional contracts had been awarded and renewed without a public, competitive bidding process, state officials said at the time, which is part of the reason for the change. There also had been complaints that the quality of services offered was inconsistent throughout the state. Still, the department’s decision to allow a lapse in the consulting services — and dozens of job losses — raised concerns among some Democrats in the state Legislature.

Another reason to overhaul the early education support system, child welfare officials said, was a $2.5 million drop in federal funding for the services as New Mexico’s Race to the Top grant from the U.S. Department of Education ran out. A single contractor, said Children, Youth and Families Secretary Monique Jacobson, would cut down on administrative costs and allow more of the remaining funds to go straight into efforts to boost the quality of child care and preschool programs.

The federal funding loss, though expected, was another hit for a state that has struggled with an ongoing financial crisis, as well as an education system that consistently ranks near the bottom in national achievement measures. High-quality early childhood education often is touted as a solution to improve education outcomes, but finding funds to expand such programs often spurs fierce debate, at both the state and local levels.

“There’s so much talk about early childhood services in New Mexico and how beneficial they can be,” Jacobson said in an interview this week. “… We think this can be a great tool” in helping to close achievement gaps by helping providers increase the quality of their programs.

Under UNM’s contract for the Comprehensive Early Learning Training and Consultation System, Jacobson said, 80 consultants will be hired to offer assistance to nearly 1,000 early childhood care centers and home-based day cares. The UNM program will ensure each worker undergoes training to provide consistent services and to eliminate overlap in services.

“Basically,” she said, “we took a program that was pretty fragmented” and worked to streamline it.

Previously, services in the Santa Fe area were coordinated through a program at UNM-Taos. It was unclear whether that branch of the university would be involved in the new support system. A UNM spokeswoman was not available for comment earlier this week.

In a news release issued this week by the Children, Youth and Families Department, UNM interim President Chaouki Abdallah said: “We couldn’t be more pleased to continue our longstanding partnership with CYFD and we intend to do our part to deliver quality services that enhance professional development for early learning programs.

“Our values are closely aligned with CYFD,” Abdallah continued, “and we are extremely dedicated to contributing to their efforts to improve the outcomes of New Mexico’s children and families.”