Proposal Lets New Mexico Voters Decide on Preschool Funding
Associated Press--"To the opponents who say we need to protect the fund, I say what about protecting our kids," said Bill Jordan of New Mexico Voices for Children.
Feb 09
2018
Feb 06
2018
Children’s programs starting to make a difference
Las Cruces Sun-News--If you can find an investment with a higher rate of return, that has the added benefit of improving the state’s economy and quality of life for all, we’d love to hear about it.
Feb 03
2018
Bill to tax unhealthy foods dies in committee
Las Cruces Sun-News--Bill Jordan, of New Mexico Voices for Children, said the additional tax would hurt those who could least afford it. “Adding a 7 or 8 percent tax is not a solution for obesity,” he said. “New Mexico also has a problem with childhood hunger. Adding a $100 million tax a year is not a solution to hunger.”
Feb 03
2018
Invest new dollars in New Mexico
Santa Fe New Mexican--We seem to finally have crawled out of the revenue ravine, and some legislators want to place us back on the edge of that same fiscal precipice? Sounds suicidal.
Feb 02
2018
Business group blasts House budget on economic development funds
Albuquerque Journal--New Mexico Voices for Children spokeswoman Sharon Kayne said that while her organization has historically supported JTIP, it also believes “some of the best economic development comes from investing in infrastructure and human capital.” “We need a well-educated and skilled workforce,” said Kayne. “That’s how to get jobs here.”
Jan 29
2018
Within New Mexico, Doña Ana County struggles with child well-being too
Las Cruces Sun-News--New Mexico continues to struggle when it comes to improving child well-being, and Doña Ana County isn’t faring well either. New Mexico was ranked as the second-worst state in child welfare, according to the 2017 New Mexico Kids Count Data book, a nationwide effort to track the status and well-being of children across the nation and in each state in four areas: economy, education, health, and family and community.
Jan 28
2018
Analysis: Legislative efforts to boost child well-being often mired in partisanship
Searchlight NM--“I wouldn’t say that New Mexico state government has failed children,” said Sharon Kayne, a spokeswoman for New Mexico Voices for Children, an advocacy group. “Rather, it has failed to take a comprehensive, coordinated approach to improving child well-being. It dabbles a bit here and tries something new there and hopes that small fixes will cure a very big and complex problem,” she said.
Jan 27
2018
Stuck at the bottom: Why New Mexico fails to thrive
Searchlight NM--New Mexico Voices for Children, a nonprofit advocacy group, conducted a study last year to show exactly what it would take to move the needle. Because of the state’s relatively small population — New Mexico ranks 36th with just over 2 million residents in 2017 Census estimates — on some key indicators it wouldn’t take much.
Jan 26
2018
New Mexico Should Stop Being So Miserly
KRWG--One of the favorite tropes of news articles and literature is the miser—an individual who hoards money even to the determent of their own well-being. These skinflints refuse to spend money even when doing so would improve their quality of life or that of their family. Take, for example, Hetty Green who inherited $7.5 million dollars in 1864, a vast sum for the time. Turns out that Green was also a brilliant business woman, allowing her to amass even more wealth. She was also a famous miser.
Jan 21
2018
A sad state for New Mexico’s children
Searchlight NM--“Have we made a difference in 30 years?” James Jimenez asked that question on the 30th anniversary of the founding of New Mexico Voices For Children. As the group’s executive director, he was grappling with how an agency formed to advocate for the state’s children should “celebrate” when the state is ranked near last in the nation in child well-being.