Ten percent of New Mexico children have had at least one parent incarcerated at some point in their lives, one of the highest such rates in the nation, according to a study released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
One in every ten children in New Mexico have at least one parent incarcerated at some point in their lifetime, according to a recent report. That’s the third-highest rate in the nation and just one of three states with a rate in double digits.
More than 52,000 kids in New Mexico – about 10 percent of the state’s child population – have had a parent who at some point in their lives served time in jail or prison, according to a new Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a national advocacy organization working to improve the lives of at-risk children and families.
The administrative rule that was the subject of last Sunday’s editorial was never intended to limit free speech outside of the classroom nor be used as a hammer to intimidate public employees. If that’s how it’s being used, it clearly needs to be revisited and clarified.
I am grateful to U.S. District Judge Kenneth Gonzales, who, early in March, issued an injunction to prevent the Human Services Department from imposing work requirements for those enrolled in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
New Mexico schoolchildren are being shortchanged millions of dollars by oil and gas companies that vent or flare natural gas into the atmosphere, according to a new report. The study by the Western Values Project says a proposed Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulation would require producers on public lands to pay royalties on that methane gas that otherwise escapes.
"Economic headlines for New Mexico have rarely been good in recent months. In November and December, the state led the nation in highest unemployment rate. In January, New Mexico improved, but only to 49th. Stories abound of people moving out of the state to states with better economic climate."
Veronica Garcia, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, said losing wages to recover from an illness or care for a child becomes more threatening when monthly earnings are already low.
In the next legislative session, New Mexico Voices for Children plans to lobby lawmakers for a bill requiring paid sick leave for all private sector workers in the state. (The group says nearly all public sector workers have paid sick leave.) Executive director Veronica C. García says “no parent should ever have to make the terrible choice between paying their bills and caring for a sick child.”
“You are about to make very serious decisions that will impact the health of the state and the economy of the state,” said Bill Jordan of New Mexico Voices for Children.