Carlsbad Current-Argus--While the state of New Mexico may be improving in lowering the rate of teen pregnancy, Eddy County still has room for improvement, according to a recent report. Eddy County has a teen birth rate of nearly 66 percent, which is higher than the 34.2 percent state average, according to the 2016 New Mexico KIDS COUNT data book.
Santa Fe New Mexican--Nearly all New Mexico children have health care insurance, and sharply fewer of the state’s teenagers are abusing drugs and alcohol, a new report says. Overall, however, New Mexico remains a tough place for kids. About 3 in 10 New Mexico children live in poverty, more than 3 in 4 kids aren’t learning reading and math as they should and nearly 3 in 10 don’t graduate from high school on time, according to the annual New Mexico Kids Count Data Book from New Mexico Voices for Children, an Albuquerque-based advocacy group.
Albuquerque Journal--The annual New Mexico Kids Count Data Book released Tuesday shows the most improvement in measures of children’s health, but little improvement in measures of family economic well-being. The data book, a project of New Mexico Voices for Children, showed declines in the rate of babies with low birth weight, in children without health insurance, and in teens abusing alcohol and drugs. The teen birth rate has also declined, following a similar national trend.
There has never been much debate at the New Mexico Legislature as to the benefits of a high-quality early childhood education program. The evidence is simply too overwhelmingly against those who would argue that there is no value to stimulating a child’s interest in learning well before they get to the start of elementary schools. But despite that, there has long been a fierce debate when it comes to funding early childhood programs.
Hundreds of New Mexico’s most dedicated child advocates brought their collective energy to bear on the third annual Kids Count Conference in Albuquerque recently. As KSFR’s Deborah Martinez reports, the group intends to have an impact on the next legislative session in January...
At our recent Kids Count Conference, I asked the room of nearly 400 attendees to raise their hands if they had ever spent money on activities such as music lessons, team sports, preschool or a tutor for a child or grandchild. Then I asked if any of them would characterize that spending as “throwing money at the problem.”
New Mexico ranks among the worst in the nation for child well-being, according to the most recent KIDS COUNT Data Book report. The report, released a week ago, shows that New Mexico retained its position at 49th out of 50 states for overall child well-being, rose to 44th in health well-being, fell to 50th in education, and remained the same at 49th for child poverty.
When it comes to education, New Mexico ranks dead last. That’s according to a newly released national Kids Count survey, which looks at a range of indicators for child well-being — including education, health and poverty — in every state in the union. The Land of Enchantment didn’t fare much better in overall child well-being, either; New Mexico came in second to last.
San Juan County nonprofit organizations are seeing increased demands for services for children and families at the same time that they're facing cuts in funding due to the depressed regional economy. More families impacted by layoffs in the oil, gas and coal industries need services, while financial support for the nonprofits that fund those services is declining. More families impacted by layoffs in the oil, gas and coal industries need services, while financial support for the nonprofits that fund those services is declining. And this comes as a new report ranks New Mexico 49th in the nation for the overall well-being of children.
It’s not so much spin as it is desperation. And it’s understandable, as New Mexicans become tired and desensitized to the same old barrage of lists that rank the state at or near the bottom in this category or that. Who are the stakeholders?