ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., —While New Mexico is stuck near the bottom in child well-being — ranking 49^th out of the 50 states — there is some good news in the annual KIDS COUNT® Data Book, which was released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. “We’ve seen really great improvements in measures of health and, as with last year, we can attribute much of that to the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act,” said New Mexico KIDS COUNT Director Amber Wallin.

“Governor Martinez’s sudden embrace of legislation that would overhaul the state’s tax system—and her desire to make such significant changes during a special session—are both irresponsible and appear to be an attempt to distract New Mexicans from the budget mess she created with her drastic vetoes. Such an important undertaking should be considered very carefully and should allow plenty of time for input from the public.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – New Mexico’s opioid crisis, already responsible for one of the highest incidents of drug-related deaths in the nation, could be further exacerbated under the U.S. House plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). According to new estimates released today by the Washington, DC-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), the House ACA repeal bill would cut New Mexico’s Medicaid funding by more than $13 billion over the next ten years, jeopardizing New Mexico’s ability to provide adequate coverage for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment to all eligible residents.

ALBUQUERQUE—James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, issued the following statement regarding several vetoes issued by Governor Susana Martinez: “Governor Martinez’s outdated ‘no new taxes’ political pledge has resulted in the worst economy in our state in decades. Because of her political ideology, New Mexico has the worst unemployment rate in the country; young New Mexicans are fleeing the state in search of jobs; and schools are dangerously underfunded.

“The American Health Care Act, as written, would repeal major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and impose a per capita cap on Medicaid, which would drastically cut federal funds coming into the state. This would be detrimental to New Mexico in many ways.

ALBUQUERQUE—James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, issued the following statement regarding the recent immigration raids in southern New Mexico: “We are disturbed at the news of immigration raids in southern New Mexico and urge immigration officials to keep the best interests of all of our children and families at heart going forward.

ALBUQUERQUE—The annual New Mexico KIDS COUNT data book—a project of New Mexico Voices for Children—has some bright spots for child well-being as well as some trouble spots. Measures of children’s health saw the most gains, with declines in the rates of babies born at a low birthweight, children without health insurance, and teens abusing alcohol and drugs. The teen birth rate has also declined, following a similar national trend.

ALBUQUERQUE—New Mexico should increase its minimum wage in increments of $1 a year every year until it reaches $12.50 by 2021 and index it so that it increases with inflation. That is the policy recommendation in a new report from New Mexico Voices for Children, a child advocacy organization. The report looks at the demographics of the state’s minimum wage earners, as well as makes the case for indexing the wage.

New Mexico’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program—what was formerly known as ‘welfare’—could do a much better job of helping families find educational pathways out of poverty. No TANF money is spent on education and training services that help parents gain credentials and secure family-sustaining employment. And while a significant percentage of TANF funding is used to pay for services like child care assistance and NM Pre-K, too few families with young children who receive TANF benefits are able to take advantage of these programs.

New Mexico is among the states with the highest income inequality in the country, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). New Mexico ranks 12th in the country, with its richest residents—the top 5 percent of households—having average incomes 15 times as large as the bottom 20 percent of households and five times as large as the middle 20 percent of households. The top 5 percent of New Mexico’s households receive 19 percent of the state’s income, even without counting capital gains.