CT lawmakers want $100 million for child care ‘trust fund’
CT Mirror--Later in the day Thursday, Jacob Vigil of New Mexico Voices for Children, a child advocacy and economic policy group, testified before the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee about his state’s early childhood trust fund, which was established in 2020. The fund started with $300 million in seed money, and the state designated a portion of surplus oil and gas revenues to sustain the trust fund each year.
Public hearing held on bill that would overhaul state’s early childhood initiative
Connecticut Inside Investigator--“In New Mexico, we did something similar to what HB 5002 is looking to accomplish, and truly it’s been a game changer in our state,” said Jacob Vigil, the Deputy Policy Director of New Mexico Voices for Children, who spoke in support of the bill. Vigil said that New Mexico’s early childhood trust fund received an initial endowment of $300 million upon its founding in 2020, and is now sitting above $5 billion in 2024.
New Mexico is Right to Hold Out for Higher Prices for its Most Valuable Commodity
The Paper--New Mexico is a land with many valuable assets – from our rich cultural diversity to our stunning physical beauty, to our mineral wealth. These assets belong to us all and while it’s impossible to put a price on some of them – our culture and natural landscape, to be precise – we can and do put a price on our mineral wealth. And that price needs to be fair so that we are all receiving the benefit of the bounty beneath our feet.
While depressing, data on child well-being has helped prompt great changes
Albuquerque Journal--The civil rights leader James Baldwin said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” In other words, we can’t solve a problem if we refuse to look at it. Looking helps us know the extent of the problem. The column “An optimist’s guide to depressing data” takes the “New Mexico KIDS COUNT Data Book” to task for citing bad-news data about child well-being. We understand. We, too, find it demoralizing that New Mexico has the highest rate of child poverty in the nation.
Hires, Applause, ETC: Albuquerque Journal Business Briefcase
Albuquerque Journal--Gabrielle Uballez has joined New Mexico Voices for Children as executive director. Uballez has more than a decade of experience in organizational leadership, partnership development, program design and racial equity. She most recently served as a program officer at Asset Funders Network.
Child Advocacy Group Welcomes New Executive Director
New Mexico Voices for Children is pleased to welcome Gabrielle Uballez as its new executive director. Uballez is a seasoned social sector leader with over a decade of experience in organizational leadership, partnership development, program design, and racial equity. She most recently served as a program officer at Asset Funders Network, where she played a key role in advancing national and regional initiatives focused on racial and economic justice in philanthropy. She joins NM Voices on April 8, 2024.