Press Releases & Media Statements

Reinstating a tax on the sale of food for consumption at home could harm the health of New Mexicans who are already food insecure—meaning they don’t always have enough to eat. And while the revenue generated from a tax on food could be used to mitigate some of the damage the tax would do, the report finds that it is unlikely governments would spend the new revenue toward that end.

Five New Mexicans who have spent their lives working on behalf of some of the state’s most vulnerable residents will be honored at the Spirit of Hope Awards Gala on November 21, 2015. The annual event is a fundraiser for the child advocacy group New Mexico Voices for Children.

The state’s current plan to spend up to $1 billion to divert water from the Gila River through a pipeline is ill conceived, particularly since the state has significant problems that would be more effectively addressed with such a significant level of funding.

The Medicaid expansion has been especially successful in New Mexico. Although the expansion covers low-income adults, we’ve seen a huge wave of children—more than 30,000—gain coverage when their parents enrolled. That is exactly what we expected would happen and is why we advocated so strongly for the expansion.

New Mexico has seen small improvements in some areas of child well-being over the last few years, but those gains are counteracted by declines in other areas. For 2015, the state’s national KIDS COUNT® ranking stays at 49th—unmoved since last year—in the new edition of the KIDS COUNT Data Book, which was released today. The national KIDS COUNT Data Book, released annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, ranks the 50 states on 16 indicators of child well-being that fall into the categories of Economic Well-Being, Education, Health, and Family and Community. As with last year, New Mexico is ranked 49th. The state had dropped to 50th in 2013.

The 21st annual Amy Biehl Youth Spirit Awards will be presented to four remarkable youth on Monday, June 29 as part of the 3rd annual KIDS COUNT Conference. The awards presentation will begin at 11:30am and will be followed by the dynamic speaker Reverend Dr. William Barber. KOB TV anchor Nicole Brady will emcee the awards, and Attorney General Hector Balderas will be on hand to congratulate the winners.

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, will unveil new legislation that he is sponsoring in Congress, at the 3rd Annual KIDS COUNT Conference presented today by New Mexico Voices for Children. The theme of this year’s conference is Child Well-Being: A 2-Generation Approach.

New Mexico Voices for Children issued the following statement regarding today’s Supreme Court decision to uphold tax credits under the Affordable Care Act: “Although New Mexico would not been adversely impacted by the Supreme Court’s decision either way, we’re pleased that the nation’s highest court has again upheld the Affordable Care Act,”

A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows that, nationally, one in every seven children in the welfare system is in a group home. This, despite the fact that more than 40 percent of these children have no clinical need to be in such restrictive settings. The Casey Foundation report, “Every Kid Needs a Family,” makes the case that children do better when they are placed in a family setting.

New Mexico is spending $4,383 less per student than it did before 2008, when adjusted for inflation. Only two states—Louisiana and Alabama—have made deeper cuts. And although most states—including New Mexico—have increased funding for higher ed over the last few years, 47 states are still spending less per student on higher education than before the recession.