The state’s welfare program isn’t doing a good job of helping families out of poverty through education and job training, according to a new report by the nonprofit advocacy group New Mexico Voices for Children. The group says its findings on the state’s management of the federally funded Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program underscore an argument it has long made: The state needs to increase its investments in education programs. It also needs to ensure that parents in the program have access to child care assistance and preschool, the report says, so they have time to improve their job skills.

The Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education on Tuesday passed two memorials calling for action on comprehensive background checks for those seeking to purchase a gun and asking for the creation of a task force to examine the impact of declaring Las Cruces a sanctuary city. Both measures passed unanimously, 5-0.

The battle over restricting methane emissions from the oil and gas industry is headed to Bernalillo County. It’s in the form of a proposed resolution by Democratic County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins, with the support of groups such as New Mexico Voices for Children and Hispanics Enjoy Camping, Hunting and the Outdoors (HECHO). The resolution is expected to be heard during Tuesday evening’s meeting.

SANTE FE, N.M. - Health care providers and advocates for children and low-income families are speaking out against any further cuts to Medicaid in advance of the special session on the budget that Governor Susana Martinez is expected to convene shortly. Legislators are facing a projected shortfall of about $325 million.

Two things about New Mexico’s scandal over the state allegedly falsifying applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program stand out to Samuel Chu. The first is documentation of the scandal in federal court, which in May included three top state Human Services Department officials refusing to answer a total of nearly 100 questions from lawyers.

It’s a debate that’s rattled Colorado, New Jersey and Washington. Now it’s Albuquerque’s turn. Supporters of a proposal called the “Healthy Workforce Ordinance” say they hope this fall to make Albuquerque the first city in the state to require that employers offer paid sick leave to their workers.