The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to release fiscal year 2025 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payment error rate data by June 30. As reporters prepare to cover the release, New Mexico Voices for Children is urging caution against a common misconception: SNAP payment error rates do not measure fraud.
New Mexico improved slightly in child well-being, moving from the 50th to 49th ranking nationally in the 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book, a 50-state report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation that examines how children and families are faring nationwide. While the improvement reflects progress in some areas, the data show New Mexico continues to face significant challenges in education and family stability, underscoring the need for continued investments in children and families.
The state of New Mexico returned $132 million to 239,000 households this year via the state’s new Child Tax Credit (CTC). The state CTC is the latest in a series of tax credits that New Mexico has enacted, increased or expanded to help New Mexicans who earn the lowest incomes. That’s one of the data points in a new report, “How Tax Credits Impact Child Poverty and Well-being,” which is the second in the “From Poverty to Prosperity” series.
New Mexico’s child poverty rate is either the highest in the nation or better than the national average – depending on which poverty measurement is used. Both poverty rates come from the U.S. Census Bureau, but take very different factors into account. In order for state lawmakers to make informed decisions about public policies affecting children, they must understand the factors that influence these poverty measurements.
“This information is crucial for lawmakers as it shows how anti-poverty policies improve children's daily lives by providing essential resources that enhance well-being and lead to better long-term outcomes for families,” said Gabrielle Uballez, Executive Director of NM Voices for Children. “It's equally exciting to note that this data doesn’t even count one of the state’s newest anti-poverty policies – the Child Tax Credit.”
Immigration policies have taken center stage in public debates this year, but much of the conversation has been driven by emotion, not data. A new in-depth national study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) aims to help change that by quantifying how much undocumented immigrants pay in taxes – both nationally and in each state.
New Mexico has made improvements in lowering child poverty over the past decade, according to the national 2024 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, a 50-state annual report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Data Book, which analyzes how children and families are faring, was released today by the Baltimore, MD-based foundation. This year, the Data Book also includes information on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and chronic absences.
New Mexico, along with other states that saw a precipitous drop in children enrolled in Medicaid, should do whatever they can to quickly re-enroll those children – most of whom are likely still eligible for the free health insurance program – to prevent gaps in coverage. That was among the conclusions in a report released today by Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy Center for Children and Families (CCF).
New Mexico Voices for Children is pleased to welcome Gabrielle Uballez as its new executive director. Uballez is a seasoned social sector leader with over a decade of experience in organizational leadership, partnership development, program design, and racial equity. She most recently served as a program officer at Asset Funders Network, where she played a key role in advancing national and regional initiatives focused on racial and economic justice in philanthropy. She joins NM Voices on April 8, 2024.
Child well-being in New Mexico appears to be slowly improving. As history has shown us, fighting poverty is a policy choice. This was made clear by the pandemic-era changes in the federal Child Tax Credit (CTC). The CTC expansion led to the largest decrease in national child poverty on record. Not only did child poverty dramatically decline, but the gaps between the poverty rates for children of color and those for white children also narrowed. Not surprisingly, the year after the federal CTC expansion expired, the gaps in poverty by race and ethnicity widened again. Still, child poverty in New Mexico remains lower than it did a decade ago.