NM Voices in the News
To schedule an interview with one of our policy team members, or be added to or removed from our press release list, please contact Mikayla Ortega
Saving Children’s Lives by Passing Common-Sense Gun Laws
Carlsbad Current Argus--Guns are the leading cause of death for kids in New Mexico, with the largest share of gun deaths being suicides. Legislators have the opportunity to protect our children from gun violence with common-sense regulations during this legislative session.
Do alcohol taxes hurt poor people?
New Mexico In Depth--Just because a particular tax is regressive doesn’t mean it can’t be a part of a pro-poor agenda, according to Sharon Kayne, a spokesperson for New Mexico Voices for Children. The nonprofit has long supported increases in alcohol and tobacco taxes, she said, and voiced support for an alcohol tax increase during the Monday hearing.
New Mexico should continue to lead the nation on investments in early childhood
Rio Rancho Observer--New Mexico now leads the nation for something good: our expansion of child care assistance. The federal funding that paid for that expansion ends soon, and our state lawmakers need to replace it in order to ensure that our parents can work and their children are well cared for.
Bill to give New Mexico taxpayers $750 rebate sails through Senate committee
Santa Fe New Mexican--Paige Knight, senior research and policy analyst for New Mexico Voices for Children, spoke in favor of the bill but recommended “progressively structured” rebates so “the families who are most in need receive a larger rebate since rising food and energy prices hit lower income households the hardest.”
Study: NM led in fossil fuel air pollution, lost revenue
Carlsbad Current-Argus--“When oil and gas companies waste resources, the state loses critical tax and royalty revenue and families and children suffer from the loss of investment in schools and other critical public services,” Wallin said.
Support children’s health through the Public Health and Climate Resiliency Act
Carlsbad Current-Argus--Children are especially vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, which include extreme heat, poor air quality, drought, flooding, and wildfires. However, this legislative session, lawmakers have the opportunity to protect New Mexicans from these threats to public health by passing the Public Health and Climate Resiliency Act.
Mixed results from annual Kids Count Data Book
NM Political Report--New Mexico continues to sit last in the U.S. for reading and math proficiency but the rates of those proficiencies over the long term have improved at a higher rate when compared to the U.S. rates, Wildau said. “It’s not as high as we’d like but we have seen improvements. And the number of improvements are stronger over the long term than the U.S. as a whole,” Wildau said.
New Mexicans Warned That Extra Federal Food Aid Will End
Associated Press--The advocacy group New Mexico Voices for Children is pushing for lawmakers to increase by nearly four-fold an existing state $175 child tax credit, saying that would help to offset the loss of the extra federal benefits and address the continued financial fallout from the pandemic for low-income families.
Report: Pandemic’s effects worsened for New Mexico families in 2022
Santa Fe New Mexican--On a positive note, more young New Mexicans are enrolled in prekindergarten programs than at any time in the past decade, the 2022 data shows. Wallin attributed this change to recent investments in New Mexico’s early education system: It’s “one of our strong suits.”
Support for Universal Pre-K Grows as More States Jump on Board
Education Week--“It stands to be a real generational change, a generational shift, in the trajectory of our state. And it’s a game changer in terms of the long-term vision for making our state’s population and economy stronger.”