Administration Initiatives
Involved outcomes promote positive engagement between children and their schools, their families, and their communities. The administration has prioritized developing academic and career pathways, focusing on cross-department programs. The the work of Involved departments automatically includes the building of mentors and strengthening of family support. Internships and apprenticeships not only build career-readiness, but provide direct mentorship, allowing youth to be meaningfully supported & taught by those already in the career.
A strong component of the Involved activities is the attention to culturally specific, positive youth development. Programs across state agencies provide for youth to engage in academic and career readiness that uses their passions and interests, centers their cultural strengths, and allows them to be leaders as well as learners.
Family Involvement as Foundation
Family engagement is a core tenant of the Children’s Cabinet. Families share their experiences as members of various councils, such as ECECD’s Family Leadership Council, HED’s Student Parent Alliance, PED’s Family Cabinet; as members of task forces, including the Economic Development Department (EDD) Sustainable Economy Task Force; or through workgroups, including HCA’s CARA workgroups. In addition to these formal roles, member agencies actively solicit feedback from stakeholders by regularly administering surveys and holding community conversations.
Workforce and Apprenticeship Initiatives
In FY25, the Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) expanded its investments in pathways to high-demand careers by offering pre-apprenticeship programs, Registered Apprenticeship Programs, STEM jobs preparation, training and employment services for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth programs, and StepUp programs.
Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) are an industry-driven training model that provide individuals with a pathway to a sustainable career while earning wages through hands-on learning with an employer sponsor. DWS administers several RAPs that support children, including two programs that prepare early childhood educators and two that prepare K-12 educators. The early childhood educator RAPs include the Aprende program at Santa Fe Community College, which enrolls 37 apprentices, and the Hobbs Municipal Schools, which enrolls 6. Hobbs Municipal Schools also runs a K-12 educator RAP, which enrolls 10 apprentices preparing to be elementary school teachers. DWS approved a K-12 teacher preparation RAP conducted by PED that enrolls 48 apprentices.
Pre-apprenticeship programs similarly provide this earn-and-learn model in shorter durations for young people to provide introductory career exploration and a skill building opportunity. At the end of FY25, 305 pre-apprentices completed the DWS Preapprenticeship Opportunity Program, which includes high school students, and 365 preapprentices were in progress in this program at the end of FY25
Early Childhood Development Career Technical Education
Public education students around the state are on track to become early childhood professionals through the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Career Technical Education (CTE) Program. This curriculum begins in middle school and ends in high school, introducing students to concepts of child development, multiculturalism, psychology, and other relevant early childhood topics. It enables students to orient themselves towards early childhood settings by gaining real-life teaching and caregiving experiences. This program has seen enormous growth over the past year, including a 158 percent increase in the number of students enrolled in ECD CTE courses: from 4,389 PED students enrolled in the 2024-2025 school year to 11,351 students enrolled in the 2025-2026 school year.