NM Voices in the News
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New Mexico Voices for Children has new leadership
NM Political Report--She said one area to consider for the future is guaranteed income and what that might look like in New Mexico. “It gives families dignity and the resources to decide where to put the money, in summer camps, home repairs, or food. They are the experts in their own lives,” she said.
On Tax Day, New Mexicans can be thankful
Santa Fe New Mexican--This Tax Day, we all have much to be thankful for as we consider the bounty of public goods and services that are made possible with our tax dollars. These include a school system, the roads, first responders, our parks, libraries, museums and so much more. This year, we have even more to be thankful for. That’s because in the last few years our state has made the most improvement in the nation in making our tax system more fair, equitable, and racially just.
New child tax credit available to New Mexico families
KOB TV--“A really great provision of the child tax credit is that it is fully refundable. What that means is that, if you don’t owe any taxes, you will be able to get a check or a deposit in your bank account from the state for that refund amount,” said Paige Knight, the deputy policy director at New Mexico Voices for Children.
CT lawmakers want $100 million for child care ‘trust fund’
CT Mirror--Later in the day Thursday, Jacob Vigil of New Mexico Voices for Children, a child advocacy and economic policy group, testified before the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee about his state’s early childhood trust fund, which was established in 2020. The fund started with $300 million in seed money, and the state designated a portion of surplus oil and gas revenues to sustain the trust fund each year.
Public hearing held on bill that would overhaul state’s early childhood initiative
Connecticut Inside Investigator--“In New Mexico, we did something similar to what HB 5002 is looking to accomplish, and truly it’s been a game changer in our state,” said Jacob Vigil, the Deputy Policy Director of New Mexico Voices for Children, who spoke in support of the bill. Vigil said that New Mexico’s early childhood trust fund received an initial endowment of $300 million upon its founding in 2020, and is now sitting above $5 billion in 2024.
New Mexico is Right to Hold Out for Higher Prices for its Most Valuable Commodity
The Paper--New Mexico is a land with many valuable assets – from our rich cultural diversity to our stunning physical beauty, to our mineral wealth. These assets belong to us all and while it’s impossible to put a price on some of them – our culture and natural landscape, to be precise – we can and do put a price on our mineral wealth. And that price needs to be fair so that we are all receiving the benefit of the bounty beneath our feet.
While depressing, data on child well-being has helped prompt great changes
Albuquerque Journal--The civil rights leader James Baldwin said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” In other words, we can’t solve a problem if we refuse to look at it. Looking helps us know the extent of the problem. The column “An optimist’s guide to depressing data” takes the “New Mexico KIDS COUNT Data Book” to task for citing bad-news data about child well-being. We understand. We, too, find it demoralizing that New Mexico has the highest rate of child poverty in the nation.
Hires, Applause, ETC: Albuquerque Journal Business Briefcase
Albuquerque Journal--Gabrielle Uballez has joined New Mexico Voices for Children as executive director. Uballez has more than 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.
Supporters of Paid Family and Medical Leave say it will return
NM Political Report--Bill Jordan, interim co-director and government relations officer for New Mexico Voices for Children, said his organization is “deeply disappointed” in the vote that happened on the House floor on Wednesday. He said New Mexico is now a leader in investing in children getting a healthy start in life.
Advocates for family and children say budget provides benefits for children
NM Political Report--“They paid 40 percent less taxes just for making money on investments. We work for our money. They let their money work for them and they get a 40 percent discount on their taxes. It’s not fair and it doesn’t provide any economic benefit to the state,” Jordan said.