Since 2018, in partnership with multiple other state agencies, the New Jersey Early Learning Commission has hosted the New Jersey Enterprise Analysis System for Early Learning (NJ-EASEL), the state's early childhood integrated data system. Functioning as both a warehouse and a series of data-sharing agreements, the system shares demographic, program, workforce, and individual level data on early childhood programs and the children and families they serve. NJ-EASEL integrates data internally across multiple departments (e.g., Department of Education, Department of Children and Families, Department of Human Services, and Department of Health). The system does not yet have a public arm, but it supports the statewide longitudinal data system, NJEEDS. NJ-EASEL was built after Governor Chris Christie’s Executive Order No. 77 in 2011 established the Early Learning Commission. The system was launched in 2018 and has been funded by federal grants including Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grant and Preschool Development Grant Birth Through 5 (PDG B-5). Learn More: Birth to 3 Years: NJ Enterprise Analysis System for Early Learning Sources:New Jersey Education to Earnings Data System . (2021). 2021 Year in Review. LiBetti, A. & Fu, R. (2022). A State Scan of Early Learning Assessments and Data Systems. New America Early Childhood Policy Matters. (2022). Advancing Early Childhood Integrated Data in New Jersey - Early Childhood Policy Matters

In 2022, New Jersey launched Phase I of the New Jersey Strategic Plan for Preschool Expansion to provide full-day, high-quality preschool to all three- and four-year-old children in the state. The two-part plan will guide the state in transitioning to universal preschool. In 2022, New Jersey served 20% of 3-year-olds and 29% of 4-year-olds through its state preschool programs. The forthcoming Phase II of the Strategic Plan, which will focus on implementation, will be released in fall 2023.  New Jersey’s commitment to transitioning to universal preschool accords with the state’s history of investing in early learning. The state's first publicly funded preschool program, the Abbott Preschool Program, was created as a result of a 1998 New Jersey Supreme Court ruling on school funding that mandated the creation of state-funded, high-quality preschool programs open to all 3- and 4-year-old children living in 31 of the state's highest poverty school districts. Today, New Jersey’s pre-K programs serve children in public-school, Head Start, and community-based programs; more than half of all participating children are served in Head Start or community-based settings. Starting and ongoing pay parity is required for community-based educators who have education and experience levels comparable to those serving in the public schools. For six years in a row, New Jersey has increased funding for preschool, including a $40 million increase for the 2022-2023 school year.  The state has already begun supporting the infrastructure for universal pre-K. In 2023, the state was awarded a $2.3 million federal Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B–5) renewal grant to increase workforce capacity, and Governor Murphy announced $120 million in grants for preschool facilities.  Learn More: New Jersey Universal Preschool Sources:  New Jersey Department of Education (2022). New Jersey Strategic Plan for Preschool Expansion Phase I: The Foundation. EditSign $120M Available for NJ Preschool Facility Expansions. (2023).  New Jersey Business Magazine.  National Institute for Early Education Research. (2023). New Jersey. National Institute for Early Education Research. (2023). Fact Sheet – New Jersey Abbott Preschool Program Longitudinal Effects Study through Grade 10 (APPLES-10).

In 2020 and 2021, New Mexico's new Early Childhood Education and Care Department partnered with consultants to better understand the cost of programs serving its youngest citizens. It developed a cost estimation model including factors related to QRIS rating, centers and home-based-settings, and age groups. New Mexico was the only state to seek approval for an alternative methodology in its Child Care Development Fund plan for 2022–24. Learn more: child care and development fund (CCDF) Source: New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (2022). Understanding the cost of quality care in New Mexico.

Founded in 2016, the New Mexico Public Education Department's (NMPED) New Mexico Early Childhood Integrated Data System functions as a warehouse for state early childhood programs and policies. The system stores and integrates demographic, program, workforce, and individual data across the three agencies of NMPED; Child, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD); and the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH). The system deidentifies individual data by providing a unique identifier to each child. Starting in 2023, the New Mexico Department of Early Childhood Education and Care will be collaborating with three other state agencies to use this data to contribute to the state’s new P-20 integrated data system, Research Informing Success in Education (RISE) New Mexico. The system has been funded by the federal Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grant and Preschool Development Grant Birth Through 5 (PDG B-5). The new RISE New Mexico system has been funded by $4.25 million from the 2022 legislative session (state appropriates), 2 million in federal omnibus spending bills, grants, public entities, and NGOs since its inception in 2021. Learn More: The New Mexico Early Childhood Integrated Data System (ECIDS) Other Sources:New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department. (2021). Annual Outcomes Report.Research Informing Success in Education NM (2023). RISE NM

Launched in 2005, New Mexico’s prekindergarten program served 11% of 3-year-olds and 42% of 4-year-olds in the 2021-2022 school year. The program enrolled 12,567 children in 2021-2022, an increase of 2,179 from the prior year. While eligibility is not determined by income, two-thirds of children enrolled at each program must live in the attendance zone of a Title I elementary school. Programs are funded through an application and grant process.   New Mexico PreK is funded by a competitive application and grant process. Funds are supported by a constitutional amendment, which New Mexico voters approved in 2022, that increased the distribution from the Land Grant Permanent Fund by 1.25%. Sixty percent of this increase provides $140 million annually to the Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD). In FY 2024, New Mexico will spend $98 million on preschool expansion. Through this investment, over 3,000 more slots for children will be created, including 554 new slots in tribal pre-K programs as part of the White House’s efforts to expand pre-K programs through intergovernmental agreements.  In December 2022, New Mexico was awarded a federal Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B–5) renewal grant for $10 million. Funds from this award will be used to support continued expansion across the state. Learn More: New Mexico NIEER Profile Sources: At White House, governor highlights New Mexico’s early childhood education improvements. (2023). NM Political Report. NIEER Declares New Mexico a National Leader in PreK (2023). National Institute for Early Education Research.

Since recreational cannabis use was legalized in 2021, New York’s cannabis tax revenue has gone into the New York State Cannabis Revenue Fund, 40% of which is to be allocated to the Community Grants Reinvestment Fund. This money can be applied to after-school and childcare services in communities, as well as "services to address adverse childhood experiences." The first disbursement of this fund is planned for 2023. Learn More/Source: New York State Office of Cannabis Management

New York State launched its Universal Pre-K (UPK) program in 1998, merging it with the state’s targeted pre-K program in 2007. In 2014, the Statewide Universal Full-Day Prekindergarten Program (SUFDPK) was created by statute (Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2014); the program allocated $340 million for grants to incentivize and fund full-day UPK programs across the state; $300 million of this funding went to launch New York City’s UPK program, and the remaining $40 million was disbursed across the state to expand full-day programs. Thanks to these expansion efforts, 52% of the state’s 4-year-olds were enrolled in public pre-K. The percentage dropped to 46% in 2021 but returned to 52% in 2022. As part of the 2022 enacted budget, the state allocated an additional $90 million for noncompetitive awards to districts that had not yet received state funding to support UPK, and $15 million for competitive grants to expand full-day seats for 4-year-olds. The competitive grants are awarded through an RFP process, overseen by the state’s Office of Early Learning. In 2023, the state appropriated an additional $25 million for statewide pre-K grants to create either new full-day slots, or to expand half-day slots to full-day slots for 4-year-olds; this round of funding will be awarded through an RFP process. Learn More: New York Universal Prekindergarten Expansion Funding Sources:New York State Department of Education. (n.d.). 2023-2024 Universal Prekindergarten Expansion Grant.New York State Department of Education. (n.d.). Questions and Answers for GC 22-010a - Universal Prekindergarten Expansion Grant.National Institute for Early Education Research. (2023). New York.

Established in 2010, New York Works for Children (NYWC) is New York State's integrated professional development system for early education professionals. NYWC offers both training (offered in multiple languages and formats) and coaching to teachers, teaching teams, directors, administrators, family care workers, and assistant teachers and aides. Coaches can work with a participant for a year or more, and each one-on-one coaching session lasts for a minimum of 30 minutes. Early education professionals can receive training/professional development credit for participating in coaching. NYWC also coordinates the Aspire Registry, which is a professional registry designed to help early educators find and track their progress through high-quality professional development. NYWC is funded by multiple city and state agencies; it was founded by the Early Childhood Advisory Council's Workforce Development Workgroup in 2010. Today, the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, a public-private partnership, leads NYWC and manages the day-to-day operations. Learn more: New York Works for Children Source: New York Works for Children. (n.d.).

In March 2019, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed SB 22 into law, establishing the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department, a cabinet-level state agency charged with overseeing early childhood programs across the state. After a transitional period, the new department launched officially in July 2020. The state then enacted a $109 million expansion of New Mexico PreK to improve pre-K teacher compensation, increase instructional hours, and expand access to pre-K for thousands of children across the state. As a result, pre-K enrollment grew from 10,989 children in fiscal year 2019 to 14,183 in fiscal year 2022. During this time, the state also expanded the Child Care Assistance Program, doubling the eligibility threshold for families from 200 percent to as much as 400 percent of the federal poverty level. The creation of a new department does not automatically create better outcomes for children, but it can help provide the structure and coordination needed to improve early education quality and accessibility across a state or city (Kagan & Gomez, 2015). Learn More: New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department Source:National Conference of State Legislatures (2022). Early Childhood: What's Governance Got to Do With It?New Mexico Legislature (2019) SB 22Brookings Institute (April 2023). New Mexico’s early childhood education amendment is a model for economic mobility other states should consider.Forbes (2022) For Child Care Gains; Look to States, Not the Feds.Kagan, L. and Gomez, R. (Eds.). (2015) Early Childhood Governance: Choices and Consequences. Teachers College Press.

In 2022, New Mexico passed House Bill 83, which established the Early Childhood Education and Care Fund, an investment of $300 million in the state's future through early childhood development and education. This endowment is managed by the State Investment Council. In FY 2022, the Fund distributed $20 million to the Early Childhood Education & Care Department (ECECD). In FY 2023, the fund began distributing $30 million annually, or 5 percent of its three-year average, to the ECECD. The fund is dedicated to enhancing the quality and accessibility of early childhood services for children from birth to age five. It allocates resources to a variety of programs, including early learning facilities, health services, family support, and professional development for educators. Specifically, the funds go toward improving existing child care and early education centers, developing new facilities, and ensuring that educators are well-trained to provide high-quality early childhood experiences. Learn More: Early Childhood Education and Care Fund Sources: New Mexico State Investment Council. (n.d.). Early Childhood Education and Care Fund. Office of the Governor. (2020). Governor creates Early Childhood Trust Fund.

In 2021, the New Mexico Legislature passed a joint resolution to allow voters to determine, via a constitutional amendment, whether the state should increase annual distributions from its multibillion-dollar Land Grant Permanent Fund and spend a portion of the new funding on early childhood care and education services. The amendment passed with 70% voter approval. The annual allocation for early education and care in the state is approximately $150 million. This dedicated funding stream builds on a decade of advocacy; New Mexico Voices for Children initially proposed the Land Grant fund in 2011 and tried every year thereafter to pass the legislation. Learn More: How Grassroots Activists Got Early Childhood Education Aid on the Ballot in New Mexico

Announced in September 2021, the Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) Pre-K Pay Parity Program ensures state-funded community-based pre-K educators and directors are compensated at a level comparable to pre-K teachers working in the public schools. The program covers the difference between the New Mexico Public Education Department base amount and an educator or director's annual salary. To be eligible for this program, educators and directors must:

• Serve in a New Mexico-funded Pre-K, Early pre-K, or Mixed-Age pre-K program in a community-based setting and
• Have a bachelor’s degree or higher in early childhood education, early childhood multicultural education, or another degree + alternative licensure/18+ credit hours in early childhood education
• Individuals who meet the above requirements are assigned a category depending upon their education and work experience. This category determines the base compensation amount:
• Category 1: Bachelor’s degree with 0-3 year’s work experience | $50,000 base salary
• Category 2: Bachelor’s degree with more than 3 year’s work experience | $60,000 base salary
• Category 3: Master’s or doctoral degree with at least five year’s work experience | $70,000 base salary

Learn More: New Mexico Pre-K Pay Parity Sources: New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department. (n.d.). Pre-K Parity Information.