Racial and Ethnic Equity
Featured Content
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)
Racial and Ethnic Bias in New Mexico Drug Law Enforcement
For more than four decades, governments have used harsh criminal punishments as the primary tool to address the possession, use, and sales of illegal substances. Complex laws and regulations have been created to penalize drug use and the possession of controlled substances. These drug laws have resulted in disparate impacts for people of color. (Policy brief)
Native American Children and Families in New Mexico: Strengths and Challenges
This special report looking at economic indicators and social conditions in New Mexico’s 22 tribal communities—including the high rate of Native children who can speak a language in addition to English. (A special KIDS COUNT report)
Recent Publications
A new Child Tax Credit would put us on the road to a stronger New Mexico
Fact sheet New Mexico’s tax system is upside down—most New Mexico families pay more than twice the rate in state and local taxes than the wealthiest pay. A new state-level Child Tax Credit would help hard-working families and make our tax system more fair. (State-level data on how this tax credit would benefit families)
2018 KIDS COUNT Data Book
Report After ten years of austerity, New Mexico has fallen to last in the nation in child well-being. The state also lost a lawsuit claiming that it is not meeting its constitutional obligation when it comes to public education. It's time to change course. This annual publication reports the latest data on child well-being in New Mexico to help us choose the path forward. (An annual KIDS COUNT report; state-, county-, tribal-, and school district-level data on indicators of child well-being; data by race and ethnicity where available)
Recent Blog Posts
Advancing equity in New Mexico: Immigration
Given New Mexico’s substantial immigrant population and that group’s important contributions to our state – which includes paying taxes – it is essential that we enact policies that promote opportunity for all families. During the 2019 New Mexico legislative session, lawmakers passed several bills that will have broad benefits to immigrants, their families, and the state as a whole.
Advancing Equity in New Mexico: College Affordability
Higher education is one of the most powerful engines of social mobility. Our economy and families thrive, and our future is brighter, when we make adequate, strategic investments in our public universities and colleges and ensure that they are accessible for all youth. But New Mexico has underfunded its public higher education institutions for years, and tuition has increased as a result. New Mexicans of color are among those who are hit the hardest by these budget choices.
Recent News Coverage
New Mexico once again ranks last in nation for childhood well-being
The Kids Count report found that 18% of the nation’s children live in poverty, down from the Great Recession. But the same advances weren’t seen in the Southwest, where many children are Native Americans, Latinos and immigrants who have long faced disadvantages. “The nation’s racial inequities remain deep, systemic and stubbornly persistent,” said the annual Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Ready for Census 2020?
The nonprofit New Mexico Voices For Children recently issued a news release that cites an estimate that the feds will have as much as a $1 billion shortfall to pay for the count, along with the dire prediction that “Trump’s underfunding … is likely to hurt NM.”
Resources
We led an initiative called Race Matters in 2006 with funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The materials they developed for this work are still available on their website.