New Report Shows Positive Outcomes with Guaranteed Income Pilot Program
Santa Fe Reporter--At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, immigrant families were “not only excluded from pandemic relief, but also social safety nets,” leading them to be the focus of the program, NM Voices for Children Javier Senior Research and Policy Javier Rojo said during a news conference. Such exclusion took place despite mixed-status households reportedly paying $68 million in local and state taxes yearly in New Mexico.
Report: Cash Assistance Programs Improve Work, School Outcomes
A report on a recently concluded statewide guaranteed income pilot program with 330 immigrant families demonstrated unrestricted cash assistance programs allowed for low-wage earners to pursue better jobs, increase their educational levels, and improve other critical outcomes for their children. The report, Guaranteed Income: Increasing Employment and Helping Families Thrive, on the New Mexico Guaranteed Income Pilot Program for Immigrant Families, was released on December 12, 2023.
Guaranteed Income: Increasing Employment and Helping Families Thrive
Report Research shows that when people are given unrestricted cash payments -- sometimes called guaranteed income (GI) -- they pursue better jobs, complete educational or vocational training, and create stability for their families. This report (available in English and Spanish) looks at how a GI pilot program for immigrant families in New Mexico improved outcomes for participating families. (Programmatic data on well-being for immigrant families.)
New Mexico senator proposes the federal government double lunch money for schools
Albuquerque Journal--New Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota, Vermont, Michigan and Massachusetts all made school breakfast and lunch free for all students starting this academic year. “The thing that’s really interesting is in New Mexico, the bill passed unanimously,” Wildau said. “Nobody voted against it, and so that was really unique.”
Heinrich, Lujan join call for tighter oil and gas rules on New Mexico public land
Carlsbad Current Argus--The letter was also supported by New Mexico Voices for Children, New Mexico Wild and the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, along with national groups like the Sierra Club and Earthworks.
Heinrich, Fellow Senators Introduce Legislation to Help New Mexico Continue to Provide Free School Meals
Rio Rancho Observer--“This year, New Mexico became one of the first states to provide healthy school meals to every student in part by leveraging federal meal reimbursements through the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program,” said Emily Wildau, director of New Mexico Kids Count at New Mexico Voices for Children. “But current meal reimbursement rates don’t cover the full cost of school meal programs."