Child care use, preferences and access constraints among Native American, immigrant, refugee and Spanish-speaking families in New Mexico

• Diverse families in New Mexico during COVID-19 struggled to access child care. • Child care access is constrained even in the presence of expansive state policies. • Native American parents desire culturally and linguistically affirming child care. • Immigrant parents desire culturally and linguistically affirming child care. • Families in some communities have low trust in the quality of available child care. This qualitative study examined the child care usage, preferences, and access constraints experienced by diverse parents and primary caregivers in New Mexico in 2020 and 2021. It also investigated the accommodations or compromises families made in response to constraints. Recruitment focused on families with at least one child under age five in four groups of interest: Native Americans, Spanish speakers, Asian immigrants, and African and Middle Eastern refugees. The study found substantial commonalities across the groups, in that all struggled to access child care that they perceived as both affordable and high quality. Difficulties with transportation and finding care available during non-traditional hours emerged as challenges across populations. Families expressed distinct child care challenges and preferences grounded in their cultures, with Native American caregivers reporting limited care options for infants and toddlers on tribal lands, and a desire for care based in indigenous language and practices to help stem systemic cultural loss. Spanish speakers reported fewer access constraints than immigrant and refugee populations who spoke other languages, due in part to the widespread use of Spanish in New Mexico's communities and care settings. Families who did not speak English or Spanish described linguistic access barriers and expressed preferences for linguistically and culturally concordant care, including care that would provide foods and care grounded in Muslim culture. Findings have implications for policymakers seeking to incentivize and support a child care supply that will meet the needs of diverse families.