Jun 11 2025

Advocacy group talks report ranking New Mexico last for child wellbeing

2025-06-12T18:19:25-06:00Economic Security News Coverage, Health News Coverage, Kids Count News Coverage, News Coverage, Racial and Ethnic Equity News Coverage, Tax and Budget News Coverage|

KOB--The 2025 National Kids Count is in, putting New Mexico at the bottom for child well-being. “A reminder that these numbers are from 2023, so we hadn’t fully implemented our almost universally free childcare and access to pre-K yet in 2023, it was just starting to roll out. That number we expect it to rise in coming years,” she said. Graduation rates are still trending upward, but stats that do raise some eyebrows are math and reading scores.

Jun 11 2025

Report: NM’s child well-being shows mixed momentum

2025-06-12T18:16:52-06:00Economic Security News Coverage, Health News Coverage, Kids Count News Coverage, News Coverage, Racial and Ethnic Equity News Coverage, Tax and Budget News Coverage|

Public News Service--A traditional marker used to measure child well-being in the U.S. shows New Mexico notched both improvements and declines in several areas. The Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count Data Book historically shows New Mexico at or near the bottom of its report, which puts it at 50th in the nation. Emily Wildau, senior research and policy analyst at New Mexico Voices for Children, said it is important to remember the data was collected in 2023, when kids and families were experiencing severe inflation from the pandemic.

Jun 11 2025

Report: New Mexico ranks last in the nation for child well-being, again

2025-06-12T18:15:39-06:00Economic Security News Coverage, Health News Coverage, Kids Count News Coverage, News Coverage, Racial and Ethnic Equity News Coverage, Tax and Budget News Coverage|

Albuquerque Journal--New Mexico has once again been ranked the worst state in the country for child well-being, according to the newest annual Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count data book. Those results reflect a marked lack in progress over the five years since the state received a 2018 landmark ruling that its public education department was violating students’ constitutional rights with the quality of instruction provided — and a subsequent April ruling that it had not done enough to improve.

Jun 09 2025

Newest national rankings place New Mexico last for child well being

2025-06-11T14:57:23-06:00Economic Security News Coverage, Health News Coverage, Kids Count News Coverage, News Coverage, Racial and Ethnic Equity News Coverage, Tax and Budget News Coverage|

KUNM--Gabrielle Uballez, Executive Director for New Mexico Voices for Children says the state’s poor performance reflects remote learning during the pandemic and the subsequent learning loss during those two years of school closures, but the responsibility to improve education is multifaceted.

Jun 09 2025

Once again, N.M. ranks 50th for kids; this must change

2025-06-12T18:18:02-06:00Blog Posts, Economic Security Blog, Economic Security News Coverage, Education News Coverage, Health Blog, Health News Coverage, Kids Count Blog, Kids Count News Coverage, News Coverage, Racial and Ethnic Equity Blog, Racial and Ethnic Equity News Coverage, Tax and Budget Blog, Tax and Budget News Coverage|

Santa Fe New Mexican--New Mexicans are a people of strength, resilience and deep-rooted pride — shaped by our commitment to community and our dedication to the well-being of families. That’s why it’s painful to reconcile our values with the news in this week’s release of state rankings on child well-being from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual Kids Count Data Book. Once again, New Mexico is ranked 50th. Two things are true: Progress takes time — and our children can’t afford to wait.

Nov 22 2024

House speaker, advocates plot pushback on Trump deportation plans

2024-11-25T13:25:33-07:00Economic Security News Coverage, News Coverage, Racial and Ethnic Equity News Coverage, Tax and Budget News Coverage|

Santa Fe New Mexican--“New Mexico is home to an estimated 60,000 undocumented immigrants,” said Zulema Chavero, citizenship coordinator for Somos Un Pueblo Unido. She said they “pay more than $67.7 million annually in state and local taxes,” citing a 2020 report from New Mexico Voices for Children.

Nov 20 2024

Child poverty measures tell two stories in New Mexico

2024-11-21T11:32:37-07:00Economic Security News Coverage, News Coverage, Tax and Budget News Coverage|

Santa Fe New Mexican--“Far too many families are living in poverty, when we look at the [official poverty measure],” Voices for Children research and policy analyst Emily Wildau said. “But the [official poverty measure] doesn’t actually show us the also very real impact of those programs that do lift many kids and families out of poverty.”

Oct 07 2024

Experts ‘cautiously optimistic’ about New Mexico’s child poverty rate continuing to decrease

2024-10-07T12:00:14-06:00Economic Security News Coverage, News Coverage, Tax and Budget News Coverage|

Source NM--“When you look at the supplemental poverty measure, it’s actually measuring the impact of a lot of really strong anti-poverty programs like our tax credits and SNAP programs, and even school lunches are included in that measure. And so it kind of gives us a better sense of basically what a household has in resources,” said Emily Wildau, Senior Research & Policy Analyst/KIDS COUNT Coordinator for New Mexico Voices for Children.

Sep 16 2024

When anti-poverty programs are accounted for, New Mexico’s child poverty ranking improves

2024-09-17T10:08:39-06:00Economic Security News Coverage, News Coverage, Tax and Budget News Coverage|

NM Political Report--“We know that poverty is a policy choice,” Uballez said through the release. “Fortunately, our state lawmakers continue to invest in state tax credits and income support programs that lift New Mexican families above the poverty line. We build upon our success by continuing to enact policies that work for our kids and families to improve access to benefits while also exploring new opportunities to build wealth, raise wages, and break generational cycles of poverty.”

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