by Rick Nathanson, Albuquerque Journal
June 27, 2018
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico is, once again, ranked dead last in the nation for child well-being, according to the 2018 Kids Count Data Book released Wednesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
New Mexico was last ranked 50th in 2013, and since then has occupied the 49th place, with only Mississippi faring worse. This year, however, Mississippi improved its ranking by two places, jumping ahead of both New Mexico and Louisiana.
The Kids Count Data Book ranks the 50 states on 16 indicators of child well-being, which include measures such as the child poverty rate, reading proficiency among fourth-graders, and teen birth rates. The indicators are then organized under four domains: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community.
New Mexico’s child poverty rate increased from 29 percent in last year’s Data Book to 30 percent, which translates to an additional 4,000 children living below the 2016 federal poverty line of $24,339 for a family of four – and it occurred even as the national child poverty rate improved by 2 percentage points.
Read more in the Albuquerque Journal