By Rick Nathanson, Albuquerque Journal
Aug. 8, 2022
New Mexico’s ranking in overall child well-being slipped from 49th to 50th, according to the Kids Count Data Book for 2022.
“The COVID pandemic caused major challenges for families that blunted the progress New Mexico had been making to improve child well-being,” said Amber Wallin, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, which manages the state’s Kids Count program.
More importantly, and on a positive note, the data book also shows that New Mexico “has seen consistent improvement over time in most indicators,” she said.
Comparing rankings from one year to the next often results in an incomplete picture, Wallin said. The national data book, compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, looks primarily at 2016 through 2020 to determine the 2022 national rankings.
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