Healthy and Safe Communities
Our communities, workforce, and economy cannot be healthy when so many New Mexico children and families lack access to a comprehensive and high-quality system of physical and behavioral health, prevention, and wellness resources. Safe and supportive communities build resilient families and a strong state.
Featured Content
New Mexico’s Working Families Tax Credit and the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit
Tax credits for low- and moderate-income working families are a common-sense way to spur economic activity by putting money into the hands of consumers who will spend it. They have also been shown to improve health outcomes. These are just some of the reasons New Mexico should increase its Working Families Tax Credit.
Investing in a Healthier New Mexico: The Economic and Fiscal Benefits of the Medicaid Expansion in New Mexico
The Medicaid expansion, as part of the Affordable Care Act, has been very good for New Mexico. Not only are tens of thousands of New Mexicans able to access health care, the program has brought billions into the state that has created thousands of jobs, economic activity, and tax revenue. (Report)
The Well-Being of Black Children in New Mexico
Although our state’s Black children are generally faring better than Black children nationally, they still face significant obstacles to success. This report, created in partnership with the NM Office of African American Affairs, looks at how New Mexico’s Black children are doing on 20 indicators of child well-being. (A special KIDS COUNT report)
Recent Publications
Ensuring New Mexico’s Kids Have Enough to Eat
Fact sheet New Mexico children face major challenges when it comes to having enough food to eat, but there are common-sense policy solutions that we can take to end food insecurity and improve children's health, well-being, and opportunities to reach their full potential. (State-level data on childhood food insecurity)
Only Wealthy Immigrants Need Apply: The Chilling Effects of “Public Charge”
Policy brief The Trump Administration is trying to change an immigration rule that would harm families and children -- even those family members and kids who are U.S. citizens. This policy brief, co-released with the Fiscal Policy Institute of New York, takes a look at how changes to "public charge" would harm families and New Mexico's economy. (State-level data on fiscal and economic impacts of federal rule change.)
Recent Blog Posts
How New Mexico can use the safety net to respond to COVID-19
Even with social distancing, the coronavirus pandemic has made it clear how interconnected we all are – that the health of an entire community is dependent on the health of each of its members. For the community to be healthy, everyone must have access to health care, shelter, and nutritious food.
Lawmakers must enact policies to lessen the economic harm of the coronavirus on New Mexico families
On Wednesday, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham took the necessary step of declaring a state of emergency in New Mexico in order to address the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As the state moves forward with immediate activity to address the health implications of this global pandemic, we also urge lawmakers to consider enacting policies that will help mitigate its economic fallout for families and children in New Mexico.
Recent News Coverage
Methane rule to help fight crises
By James Jimenez, Albuquerque Journal Mar. 27, 2020 As the [...]
We Can Prevent Neglect, Child Abuse by Working ‘Upstream’
For the most part, I found New Mexico’s social workers to be kind, strong individuals. It also seemed evident that they are being asked to do one of the most difficult jobs in state government. Helping to decide the fate of children is no small matter, and even the best-intentioned decisions can go terribly wrong.
Current Initiatives
A Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a study to determine if a public policy may have unintended consequences on the health of a community or population. Specifically, this HIA, A Health Impact Assessment of a Food Tax in New Mexico, looks at whether reinstating the gross receipts tax on food–essentially raising the cost of groceries–would negatively impact the health of New Mexico’s low-income families and, if so, whether the potential benefits of more revenue for local governments would offset such impacts.