IMSS Overhauls Child Care Model, Aims to Double Capacity

The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) launches a structural overhaul of its child care services, as part of a federal plan to expand early childhood education and care across the country during the current six-year administration.

The reform centers on the creation of the Unit for Child Care and Attention, which replaces the former Day Care Service Coordination for Integral Child Development. The change is intended to modernize IMSS regulatory, technical, budgetary, and coordination processes while supporting the construction of 1,000 Education and Child Care Centers (CECI) between 2025 and 2030.

Mariana Tajonar, Head, Unit for Child Care and Attention, says the transformation strengthens internal IMSS processes and deepens coordination with the institute’s 35 state-level representations. It also formalizes collaboration with federal bodies such as the Ministries of Public Education and Women, as well as the National System for Integral Family Development.

The initiative aligns with the federal government’s National Care System promoted by President Claudia Sheinbaum. Tajonar says the objective is to place early childhood development at the center of public policy while addressing the unequal burden of care work traditionally assumed by women, enabling them to pursue professional and personal projects.

Under the new model, IMSS has moved away from a system that for decades focused primarily on providing supervision for the children of working mothers. The CECI approach reframes child care as an educational and developmental service, integrating pedagogy, health promotion, nutrition, safety standards, and community engagement.

The centers will serve children from 43 days old to four years of age. IMSS officials describe the shift as a response to a longstanding social and institutional gap in support for working women, positioning early childhood care as both a right and a public responsibility.

The expansion plan would nearly double IMSS child care capacity. IMSS day care facilities provide about 235,000 spaces nationwide. With the rollout of the CECI model, the institute expects to reach close to 500,000 children by the end of the decade, including centers located in both urban and rural areas.

Tajonar acknowledges that scaling up capacity under a new pedagogical framework presents operational challenges. These include reinforcing IMSS territorial structures at the state level and establishing centralized oversight mechanisms to monitor each child’s development, as well as the progress of construction and service delivery.

The CECI model is designed around a child-centered approach that prioritizes physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development. Facilities are planned with modern infrastructure, enhanced security systems, strict safety protocols, and designs that exclude gas installations. Caregivers will undergo continuous training to professionalize child care work, while the centers are expected to generate local employment and foster community participation.

IMSS also frames the initiative as part of a broader effort to position Mexico as a “care-oriented” country, where child care is recognized as a driver of gender equity, social cohesion and long-term economic development.

According to Tajonar, the mission of the new unit goes beyond service provision. It seeks to guarantee quality education and care for children while ensuring that motherhood does not become a barrier to women’s participation and advancement in the labor market.