Our organization was established in 1987 to catalyze positive, sustainable change to expand opportunity and prosperity for all New Mexico’s families and children. Our core values are: (1) healthy, involved communities; (2) economic opportunity and prosperity for all; and (3) citizen participation in policies and conditions that improve the lives of children in New Mexico. Through research and policy analysis, we identify innovative policy approaches to expand opportunity and prosperity in New Mexico. Through research and data we educate the public and policymakers. Communities also use our research to advocate for their own needs.

Our strategies include collaboration with other organizations; agenda development for policy action; documentation of the needs of children and their families; and education of policy makers, community leaders and the public.

We are the only progressive social policy research organization in New Mexico working to promote economic justice for families and children. We are also the only child advocacy organization in the state, and the only nonprofit organization examining tax and budget policy issues specific to the needs of the poor in New Mexico. Without the crucial work we do to research and advocate for children, one fourth of the children in our state would have no voice in public policy.

Thinking “outside the box” has characterized our approach to policy analysis and advocacy. As a result, we are able to engage allies from among business leaders, policy makers, community groups, and the faith community in many of our initiatives. Our ability to create a broad base of support for our work on issues of child poverty outside of the confines of the traditional appeal for anti-poverty measures gives us strength and legitimacy and a greater voice for our ideas and efforts. This expansive positioning gives our work a unique potential for finding positive measures to challenge the stranglehold of poverty on the lives of children in New Mexico.

Our Initiatives

• Creating and disseminating innovative ideas to end poverty in New Mexico
  
  
• Advocating for a fair and fiscally responsible system
  
  
• Improving the quality of, and access to, child care
  
  
• Expanding New Mexico’s families’ access to health care and advocating for universal health care for all citizens
  
  
• Building the capacity of youth for civic participation, and creating opportunities for their voices to be heard
  

Go to our pages on our Projects, Special Initiatives, and Legislative Priorities for more information.