Policy Brief Despite recent increases in K-12 funding and the ruling in the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit, New Mexico still fails to adequately invest in the kind of educational system our students deserve. This policy brief looks at the state's K-12 funding landscape, educator shortage, the pandemics' impact, and more. (State-level data on student demographics, proficiencies, and graduation rates)
"Defunct oil and gas producers have littered New Mexico with orphaned wells while taxpayers are forced to foot the bill to clean them up. Those critical funds could be spent supporting our children and schools instead of cleaning up the mess oil and gas companies have left behind."
Associated Press--“It’s encouraging to see that child wellbeing in New Mexico was improving before the pandemic hit,” said James Jimenez, executive director for New Mexico Voices for Children, which partners with the foundation. He’s cautiously optimistic that state policies “helped offset some of the health and financial problems caused by the pandemic.”
Santa Fe New Mexican--New Mexico traditionally has not done well in the Kids Count rankings, usually swapping the 49th and 50th spots with Mississippi. But Jimenez said there are some reasons for optimism as New Mexico looks to the future, including the expansion of Medicaid several years ago and a just-passed working families tax credit that could reduce child poverty.
Albuquerque Journal--“It’s encouraging to see that child well-being was improving before the pandemic hit,” said James Jimenez, executive director for New Mexico Voices for Children. “We’re cautiously optimistic that investments the state made in children and families beginning in 2019 – as well as throughout the pandemic – helped offset some of the health and financial problems caused by the pandemic."
Fact Sheet The national 2021 National KIDS COUNT Data Book uses the most recent data available for its 16 indicators of child well-being. Since this year's report is based mostly on data from 2019, some limited pandemic-era data have been added, including some dsiaggregated by race and ethnicity. (State-level data on six pandemic-related indicators)
New Mexico is no longer ranked last for child well-being by the national 2021 KIDS COUNT Data Book. The Data Book, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has New Mexico ranked at 49th – up from 50th last year. The higher ranking correlates with improvements the state was seeing in child well-being prior to the start of the pandemic.
State Data Sheet The national 2021 KIDS COUNT Data Book, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, assesses and ranks the 50 states on 16 indicators of child well-being, which are categorized into four domains - economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. After three years of ranking in last place, New Mexico moved up to 49th in 2021. (State-level data on indicators of child well-being)
DeSmog--The state has long suffered from the roller coaster cycles of extractive industry, according to James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, a health, education, and economic advocacy organization. “We’ve made policy choices in boom times that have really exacerbated our over-dependence on oil and natural gas revenues,” Jimenez told DeSmog.
Santa Fe New Mexican--Part of the social contract for companies operating in New Mexico is the straightforward notion that they should clean up after themselves. That’s especially true for industries like oil and natural gas whose messes contain deadly pollutants.