A Busy Fall for CCPI
October 14, 2026
The research team at the Cradle to Career Policy Institute has been busy this Fall, presenting and recruiting New Mexicans from across the state to participate in research about the effects of policy in their lives.
In September, Dr. Jessica Miguel attended and presented our research on universal childcare at the SHiFT Conference. This was our team's first time at the SHiFT Conference, an annual conference put together by Shift Work Forward, a national organization that brings together workforce leaders to reshape and rethink work systems. Alongside Dr. Miguel, the panel featured Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky from the Early Childhood Education and Care Department and Dr. Wanzi Muravi from Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. Together, they discussed workforce Investments for a High-Quality Early Care and Education System in New Mexico. Attendees got a sneak peak of preliminary findings from CCPI’s ongoing research exploring how changing child care policies in the state are affecting the workforce, based on insights from key informants, including early childhood teachers, directors, and owners. Dr. Miguel also discussed a bird’s eye view of how state policies have impacted growth in the size of the workforce and wages from 2019 to 2024.
CCPI team members Mary Nava, Dr. Jessica Miguel, and Dr. Monica Asencio Pimentel hosted a table at the New Mexico Early Childhood Association (NMECA) conference held in Albuquerque this September. The CCPI research team was there to connect with early childhood educators, learn more about what’s happening in the field, and invite teachers and child care program leaders to share their experiences and perspectives by participating in research.
During the first weekend of October, CCPI team members Darlene Castillo and Jessica Miguel headed south to Las Cruces, NM to table at the Southern New Mexico State Fair and Rodeo. They were there to recruit new and expecting mothers for our multiyear study of the impacts of New Mexico’s First Born home visiting model, as well as to hand out flyers to the community to share more about our work. Recruitment will continue through Fall 2027. If you are interested in finding out more information about the study, click here.
That same weekend, CPPI team members Mary Nava and Ruth Juarez headed north to Las Vegas, NM to attend the New Mexico Association for the Education of Young Children (NMAEYC) Regional Conference. They hosted a table at the conference to talk with early childhood educators about CCPI research and recruit center classroom teachers and child care program leaders to participate in the Child Care Workforce Study. They were also able to sit in on sessions and connect with early childhood educators in Northern New Mexico.
The CCPI team is looking forward to several upcoming engagement and learning opportunities in November. Mary Nava, Dr. Andrew Breidenbach, and Dr. Kevin Estes will be sharing preliminary research findings by speaking at the 28th Annual New Mexico Data Users Conference hosted by the UNM Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER). In addition, several CCPI team members will be traveling to Boston, MA for the annual Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) conference. Through these opportunities, the CCPI team will learn more about data-driven research happening in the state and nationally.
