2022 KIDS COUNT Data Book
is out.
Find out how New Mexico ranks.
Families First in Tax Policy
middle-income New Mexicans, improve equity, and increase economic opportunity for our working families.
New Mexico Voices For Children
Improving children’s lives through advocacy
The future of our society is in our children’s hands. When all children have the opportunities they need to thrive, we all benefit, so it makes sense to ensure that every child has access to the educational, emotional, health, and economic supports they need to grow up healthy and strong, and to become contributing members of society. We believe that the best way to ensure this is to discover the underlying reasons that some children lack these supports and then to advocate for the public policies that will address the gaps. Learn more about our work to accomplish that here.
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Recent Blog Posts
Inflation Reduction Act raises more revenue for NM schools
There is plenty to celebrate in the landmark Investment Reduction Act. New Mexicans will benefit with lower energy costs, good-paying jobs, more energy-efficient homes and businesses, cleaner air, funding for wildfire prevention and drought preparedness, and much more.
Arts can Help Youth in the Juvenile System
For years, probation has been used to try and keep youth from further involvement in the criminal justice system. But, as recent studies have shown, probation is neither effective at keeping our communities safer nor of rehabilitating the youth it is supposed to serve. Probation, in fact, can actually lead to youth being further ensnared in the system.
New Mexico can move forward on education with heart
New Mexico voters can also take action by voting Yes on Constitutional Amendment 1 on the ballot in November. Constitutional Amendment 1 would draw down a small portion of the $26 billion permanent school fund to support high-quality early childhood care and education services — such as home visiting and pre-kindergarten — and services for at-risk students.
Recent News Coverage
Child care facilities offer new possibilities for some state workers
“Certainly during the pandemic we saw what a lack of access to child care can do to families and workers and to the workforce and economy,” said Wallin. She said without reliable access to child care programs, many parents — mothers in particular — ended up dropping out of the workforce to care for their kids at home. Child care is “one of the keys to supporting the workforce and economic recovery,” she said.
Data: Child poverty rate in N.M. dipped amid pandemic
“A lot of the states can expect to see these improvements fade over time as the federal programs expire, but New Mexico should see lasting improvement from policy changes made over the last few years,” said Amber Wallin, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children.
New U.S. Census data indicates improvements in child poverty and other child well being indicators
“The biggest thing we see is the overall rate of poverty for kids under 18 dropped from 9.2 percent [in 2020] to 5.2 percent [in 2021],” she said.
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