Public News Service--A new report out today says the vast majority of children in New Mexico lag behind other kids across the nation when it comes to achieving their future potential. The Annie E. Casey Foundation's second Race for Results report in three years measured key milestones in child development across racial and ethnic groups. The foundation tracks progress on education, health and economic success at national and state levels.
Albuquerque Journal--Barcelona Elementary third-grader Kristalee Jaramillo hopes to one day become a businesswoman. Her friend, Anya Tucker, is aiming for a career in teaching. On Friday, the two girls and their classmates at the Title I school were pushed to follow those “big, gutsy dreams.”
Farmington Daily Times--An Albuquerque-based nonprofit organization is planning a family game night and nonprofit resource fair here to provide a family-friendly atmosphere in which residents can connect with agencies that could help provide them support. The Southwest Women’s Law Center is presenting the event Friday at the Farmington Civic Center as part of a $400,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, according to law clerk Jaclyn Page.
Santa Fe New Mexican--Hallelujah! The most promising and hopeful talk at the fifth annual Kids Count Conference, celebrating 30 years of New Mexico Voices for Children, was given by Ray Rivera, editor of The New Mexican and founder of Searchlight New Mexico, a “nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to investigative reporting and innovative data journalism.” My news, like most folks because of my mistrust of “corporate media,” had mostly been coming from email, National Public Radio, radio talk show personalities and of course, Saturday Night Live.
Quay County Sun--A national study of family and child well-being has found that New Mexico ranks second to last behind Mississippi, and Curry and Roosevelt County are not faring much better than the average. Local health-care and poverty experts say this is nothing new, and the high amount of poverty in the state has been on the increase for several years.
Carlsbad Current-Argus--New Mexico ranks 49th overall in the country in child well-being, according to a 2017 KIDS Count data book, released this week. Despite the low ranking, the state did improve slightly within four areas — economic well-being, education, health and family and community. Eddy County, however, struggled to see change. According to the KIDS Count Data Center's latest numbers, a 65.6 per 1,000 teen birth rate (ages 16-19) was reported in the county in 2015 — up from 61.5 per 1,000 in 2014.
Albuquerque Business First--Things are looking up for children living in the Land of Enchantment — slightly. The annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, which was released Tuesday morning by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, reported New Mexico ranked 49th out of the 50 states for child well-being. Despite continuing the low ranking — New Mexico was 49th last year as well — New Mexico KIDS COUNT Director Amber Wallin sees the necessary steps being taken to raise the state's reputation for child well-being.
Education Week--The percentage of children living in poverty has fallen slightly over the past six years, as has the percentage of children whose parents lack secure employment and those whose families face a high housing-cost burden, according to an analysis of national data compiled in the Annie E. Casey Foundation's annual Kids Count Data Book. But the data book also finds places where child well-being is slipping, according to the foundation's measures: The percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds not in preschool has risen slightly, as has the percentage of 8th graders who are not proficient in math, based on scores of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Public News Service--New Mexico is second to last among states in rankings for children's well-being just out today. The Annie E. Casey Foundation compiles 16 indicators of how kids and families are doing in terms of the economy, education, health and community conditions in its 2017 KIDS COUNT Data Book.
Santa Fe New Mexican--New Mexico children remain worse off educationally and economically than their peers in just about every other state, according to the latest Kids Count report, an annual data analysis expected Tuesday. But the new state-by-state report card also shows New Mexico is making progress on improving children’s health, with more young people covered by insurance than the national average.