Albuquerque Journal--“Rising temperatures, droughts and floods have huge impacts on food chains — which then impact the amount of food, the quality of food and increases the prices of food,” Shiv said. “All of that makes it harder to access healthy, nutritious food … in a state where 21% of children already have limited access to food.”
Carlsbad Current Argus--“We were all taught at a young age then we make a mess, we need to take responsibility and clean up after ourselves. These reforms are especially important because we know orphaned wells and infrastructure threaten the health of our families and communities,” Knight said. “We know that updating the federal royalty and rental rates is an important step to making sure the oil and gas industry pays its fair share.”
Santa Fe New Mexican--By increasing per-child reimbursement rates and restructuring co-payment schedules, the changes benefit families and providers simultaneously, Amber Wallin, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, said in an interview Thursday. “New Mexico really is leading the nation in thinking about how you can address such an important system that’s so critical not just for our kids and our families and our workers, but for our entire economy,” Wallin said.
NM Political Report--Divya Shiv, research and policy analyst for New Mexico Voices for Children, called the disenrollment “really scary.” She said that during the pandemic, when families were able to stay on Medicaid regardless of whether they recertified or provided documentation proving eligibility, many families experienced economic stability and were protected from the high cost of medical care.
Las Cruces Sun-News--The fact is, New Mexico has made some extraordinary headway in improving opportunities for kids in recent years. Some of it’s made nationwide headlines. Our investments in child care assistance, voter-approved expansion of early childhood services, and child-focused tax policy improvements all received national accolades.
NM Political Report--Wallin said New Mexico Voices for Children would like to see the state “continue to keep up its investments in kids and families.” “The key is we don’t stop now. We continue to look at the long view. We continue to find new areas,” she said, adding that one could be increasing child educator pay.
Albuquerque Journal--But Amber Wallin, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, said the state has launched new programs that may take time to show up in the annual report. The state, she said, dramatically expanded a child care assistance program in mid-2021 — the year much of the data is based on — and voters just last year authorized hefty increases in the funding available for early childhood education and K-12 schools.
Santa Fe New Mexican--“The thing about the rankings is that they’re only one small part of the story about child well-being and about opportunity. … They don’t tell us about where we’ve been as a state, how far we’ve come or where we should be going,” Wallin said.
KOAT TV--The 2023 Kids County Data Book shows New Mexico ranks last in the nation for child well-being. New Mexico was ranked on 16 different indicators for the well-being of children. The report shows New Mexico ranks 49th in economic well-being, with 24% of children living in poverty.
Carlsbad Current Argus--Releases of excess natural gas through venting or burning it through flaring also wasted a resource Kayne said could mean more revenue to the public. “That fact that we just allow it to be vented into the atmosphere is concerning to say the least,” she said. “It’s a natural resource and it could mean more revenue.”