Welcome to the e-Voices MONDAY MINUTE, your weekly email newsletter from New Mexico Voices for Children. Please take a minute to add your voice to the pressing issues of the day. Also, tell us what issues you'd like to know more about so we can tailor the MONDAY MINUTE to your interests. Thanks!

March 5, 2007

 

Time to Kill the Death Penalty

It's been known for years that the death penalty does not deter crime. We also know that it's disproportionately (and often incorrectly) used on people of color. What's more, the U.S. continues to lag behind the rest of the modern world by refusing to abolish this barbaric practice.

 

Things may change here in New Mexico, however. Rep. Gail Chasey has introduced HB 190, which would repeal the death penalty, replacing it with life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Senate Public Affairs Committee passed HB 190 on Friday and we expect it to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. 

 

Please contact your state senator and urge him or her to support HB 190. Also, please contact the senators listed below and ask them to support the bill as well.

 

Sen. Kent Cravens: 986-4391, klcravens@alphagraphics.com

Sen. Steve Komadina: 986-4377, komadina@stevekomadina.com

Sen. Richard Martinez: 986-4389, richard.martinez@nmlegis.gov

Sen. Lidio Rainaldi: 986-4310 

Sen. John Ryan: 986-4373, johnchrisryan@yahoo.com

 

Fostering Support

After you've spoken to your senator, consider calling your representative and asking her or him to support HB 973. This bill would create a tax credit for families that adopt special needs foster children. The fiscal impact of the tax credit on the state budget would be miniscule, but it could make all the difference in the world for those families that open their hearts for our state's most vulnerable children. HB 973 is also expected to be heard by the House Taxation and Revenue Committee on Wednesday.

 

In addition to calling your own representative about HB 973, please contact the representatives listed below:

 

Rep. Ed Sandoval: 986-4420, edward.sandoval@nmlegis.gov

Rep. Bobby Gonzalez: 986-4235

Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones: 986-4451

 

You can find out who your state legislators are and how to contact them here: http://legis.state.nm.us/lcs/legislatorsearch.asp

 

Keeping Kids Healthy

We told you at the end of last year that Congress will be working to reauthorize SCHIP this spring – and they are, which is why we need your help. Along with Medicaid, SCHIP – the State Children's Health Insurance Program – provides millions of children from low-income families with health insurance they would otherwise go without. Since the program was enacted, the number of uninsured children has dropped by one-third.

 

As Congress considers reauthorizing this critical program, they'll need to spend in the neighborhood of  $50 to $60 billion in new funds over the next five years – just to keep the current enrollment levels.

An important component of insuring all children is the Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act (ICHIA). Under current law, lawfully residing pregnant women and children who have entered the country since 1996 are barred from receiving Medicaid and SCHIP for five years. This restriction has increased racial and ethnic health disparities among children in the U.S. 

 

Families USA has organized a national call-in day (actually three days) and are asking you to help by calling your congressional delegation and urging them to support SCHIP reauthorization. In addition, the National Immigration Law Center is asking you to sign a letter in support of ICHIA (that deadline is today).

If you need some good talking points, check out the new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Improving Children's Health: A Chartbook about the Roles of Medicaid and SCHIP." This publication provides 30 graphs summarizing current information about health insurance coverage and the health needs of low-income children, as well as the effects of Medicaid and SCHIP coverage on children's health. 

 

Among its key findings:

  • Expansions of Medicaid and SCHIP have helped increase insurance rates among low-income children of all racial and ethnic groups, as well as among both urban and rural children.   
  • About six of every seven children on Medicaid or SCHIP have one or more working parents.
  • Enrolling in SCHIP eliminates racial and ethnic disparities in unmet medical needs among children, according to a New York study.
  • Children have better health -- and perform better in school -- after they have enrolled in SCHIP.

What you can do:

Not Making the Grade

The Center for American Progress, in conjunction with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, recently released report cards on the educational effectiveness of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. New Mexico received an 'F' and was ranked ahead of only Mississippi and DC. While most of the rest of the U.S. earned higher scores, the report as a whole doesn't reflect well on the state of our contry's educatonal system.

 

Among its key findings:

  • 0: Number of states receiving above-average grades in all categories.
  • 24: Number of states receiving a failing grade in at least one of the nine categories assessed.
  • 9: Number of states receiving failing grades in three or more categories.
  • 0: Number of states with a majority of 4th and 8th graders proficient in math and reading.
  • 66: Percentage of all 9th graders who graduate from high school within four years.
  • 35: Percent of American high school students who read at a proficient level.

Fortunately, the report card also includes a list of proposals to tackle these problems. Click here to read the report: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/03/education_numbers.html

 

Race Matters Meeting

The next meeting of the Race Matters Coalition is this Wednesday, March 7. Click here to RSVP: http://www.nmvoices.org/racematters.htm

 

Barbara Ehrenreich Talk

Barbara Ehrenreich, author of "Nickel and Dimed" and "Bait and Switch," speaks at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe on Sunday, March 11. Tickets for her talk, "Will Work for Change," are $10 and proceeds benefit the Santa Fe Living Wage Network. Click here to buy tickets: http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?orgid=23679&schedule=list

 

Find out more about Barbara Ehrenreich here: http://www.barbaraehrenreich.com/ and find out more about the SF Living Wage Network here: http://www.santafelivingwage.org/

 

Amy Biehl Youth Spirit Awards

Join us in honoring New Mexico youth who take community service to the extreme at our Amy Biehl Youth Spirit Awards Ceremony with keynote speaker is Carol Cassell, the author of "Swept Away" and "Straight from the Heart: How to Talk to Your Teenagers About Love and Sex." The awards ceremony is Friday, April 20, in Albuquerque. Call 244-9505 ext. 10 or visit http://www.nmvoices.org/abysa.htm for more information and to purchase tickets.

 

Free Tax Help

Don't forget that if you are over the age of 65 or have an annual income under $36,000 you can get free tax preparation through TAX HELP New Mexico. Offices are open statewide and some offer services in Spanish and Navajo. TAX HELP NM is a program of Central New Mexico Community College (CNM). Get more information here: http://www.cnm.edu/taxhelp/.

 

Your financial support is critical to our work. Please consider making a contribution today at http://www.nmvoices.org/donate.htm

 

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