New Mexicans are Worth More: Raising the State’s Minimum Wage
New Mexico's minimum wage has not been raised in nearly a decade. Worth $7.50 an hour back in 2009, it now has the purchasing power of $6.30. Nearly a quarter of a million workers and more than 100,000 children would benefit from an increase in the state minimum wage. (A Working Poor Families Project report; state-level data on selected demographics of low-wage workers)
New Mexico’s 2018 KIDS COUNT profile
New Mexico has fallen to 50th in the nation in child well-being after ranking 49th for the past four years. This state profile shows how our children are faring on the 16 indicators of child well-being used in the national KIDS COUNT rankings. (State profile; state-level data on indicators of child well-being)
The Well-Being of Black Children in New Mexico
This presentation, given at the NM Office of African American Affairs' Black Child Wellness Summit, introduces our Well-Being of Black Children in New Mexico special KIDS COUNT report on how New Mexico's Black children are doing on some 20 indicators of child well-being. (Presentation)
The Well-Being of Black Children in New Mexico
Child poverty in New Mexico is among the worst in the nation and disparities exist within all indicators of child well-being for children of color. 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 some 20 indicators of child well-being. (A special KIDS COUNT report; state-, county-, and school-district-level data on indicators of child well-being)
Helping NM Families Get Ahead by Fixing the Child Care Cliff Effect
This fact sheet for The Cliff Effect: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back sums up the report's basic message about how the sudden loss of benefits like child care assistance--called the cliff effect--can act as a disincentive for hard-working families trying to lift themselves out of poverty. Also includes policy recommendations for mitigating the cliff effect. (Fact sheet; state-level data on the child care assistance program)
The Cliff Effect: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
How can a $1 raise in pay throw families into poverty? When they are at the ceiling for child care assistance eligibility, a tiny raise can mean they go from paying 18 percent of their income on child care to 38 percent. Work supports like child care assistance should help families achieve economic stability. But the sudden loss of benefits--called the cliff effect--can have the opposite effect. (Report; state-level data on the child care assistance program)
Moving the Needle on Child Well-Being
New Mexico has a long and proud history of cutting-edge innovation in many fields, so making progress on child well-being is within our reach if we fully commit to it. This report lays out the ways in which we can move the needle on child well-being by enacting smart public policies. (A special KIDS COUNT report; state-level data on indicators of child well-being)
Improving the best anti-poverty measure in New Mexico
New Mexico's Working Families Tax Credit works with the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, which has been hailed as one of the best anti-poverty, pro-job creation measures Congress has ever enacted. This fact sheet explains why this tax credit works so well and how New Mexico policymakers could make it even more effective. And it could all be paid for by ending an ineffective tax credit. (Fact sheet; state-level data on the Working Families Tax Credit)
New Mexico Kids at the Crossroads
With the highest rate of child poverty in the nation, New Mexico is not providing the opportunities our children need to succeed. But the good news is that we can improve opportunities for New Mexico’s kids through public policy. This children's agenda for candidates in the 2018 election provides 30 policy recommendations that will help improve child well-being in New Mexico. (Policy agenda)
Citizen’s Guide to Legislative Advocacy in New Mexico
Learn the ins and outs of working with your legislators to promote an important policy or cause. (A Fiscal Policy Project publication)