Half of all workers in New Mexico cannot earn paid sick leave and have to either go to work when they or a family member is sick or stay home and lose pay. This is the highest rate in the nation, according to a report released today by the child advocacy organization, New Mexico Voices for Children.
Report New Mexicans are working hard every day to provide a brighter future for their families and our state. When they or their child gets sick, they should be able to take care of themselves or their family with the assurance that they won’t lose wages or risk their livelihood to do so.
Fact sheet In 2019 the state Legislature passed a bill allowing dental therapists to practice in New Mexico. We are the 8th state to allow dental therapists to practice. What does this mean for you? Find out in this English/Spanish fact sheet.
“It’s fantastic. It’s a really significant step forward for child care assistance in New Mexico,” said Amber Wallin, New Mexico director for the annual Kids Count report on child wellbeing.
“The big challenges in those areas are connecting to the folks who we know are likely to be undercounted,” said Amber Wallin, deputy director of New Mexico Voices for Children. “So people who may be poor or housing-insecure can be a real challenge in those areas, especially in communities that are changing.”
Fact sheet The 2020 Census has been in the news mostly because of the citizenship question (which, hopefully, has finally been resolved). There's been much less news coverage over the routine pre-census test, which has already started. The Census Bureau is sending out test forms and some of those forms include the citizenship question. Confused? Here are five things you need to know about the census test.
Several bills were passed during the 2019 legislative session that should improve family economic security. Because these bills were targeted to help families earning low and moderate incomes – and because workers of color and women are disproportionately represented in those wage groups – the bills should also improve equity by helping to ensure that we all have access to the opportunities that help us reach our potential.
“The greatest truth must be the recognition that in every child is the potential for greatness,” said Amber Wallin, deputy [director] of NM Voices for Children. “We’re all in this together.” We heartily agree: New Mexico is a great state to live in, and it can only be better with less poverty, a better-educated populace, less hunger and less crime.
On this week's edition of Eye on New Mexico, Colton Shone posed a question – do our kids count? New Mexico, once again, has been ranked 50th for child well-being. The annual Kids Count report placed New Mexico dead last in education and in "the family and community" domain. Shone interviewed James Jimenez, the executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, about the rankings.
"With that potential citizenship question in there it was pretty clear that was intended to have a dampening impact on the willingness of particularly the immigrant population, but also others, to participate in the census," said Jimenez. Jimenez said New Mexico already leads the country with the highest hard-to-count populations.