Taylor Velazquez

Congress passed President Trump’s contentious tax and spending plan referred to as the “Big Beautiful Bill.”Health care, social programs, education, and clean energy will see major cuts to pay for increased spending on immigration enforcement, defense, and tax cuts for the upper class.

The state is launching a new pilot program to help grandparents and others who are raising their relatives’ children. This comes after the ongoing Kevin S. settlement alleged the Children, Youth, and Families Department was not placing foster children in appropriate housing settings. KUNM has more.

New research from the University of New Mexico advocates for adding more psychologists in schools and expanding their roles to promote safety. KUNM spoke with UNM Law School Professor and report author Maryam Ahranjani about how education systems could benefit from moving away from heavy policing focusing on mental health.

Feeding America has released their annual, Map the Meal Gap study, that takes a look at food insecurity risk from 2023. According to the data, New Mexico ranked fourth in childhood hunger. Now with several funding cuts from the federal level to both assistance programs and food banks, the Roadrunner food bank told KUNM what this could mean for local hunger relief.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation released their annual Kids Count Data Report Monday. New Mexico remains last in child wellbeing and ranks at or near the bottom for several other crucial categories like education and health. KUNM Taylor Velazquez has more on the challenges that persist for the state’s kids and families.

As the school year wraps up, the New Mexico Public Education Department is reporting increased graduation rates with last year’s class having the highest number of graduates in the last fifteen years. KUNM has more on initiatives that helped students secure their diplomas.

Touro University, a New York based non-profit, brought its dental training program to New Mexico this year, making it the first in the state. It is now opening a clinic aimed at alleviating the state’s professional shortage while providing affordable care.

A sweeping budget bill has been moving its way through Congress that would drastically decrease funding for Medicaid. A recent study from Georgetown University found this would have a detrimental effect on rural maternal health, especially here in New Mexico.

New Mexico’s child welfare system has struggled over the decades to provide appropriate resources to foster children, ultimately leading to lawsuits. Now two nonprofits are working together to help close the gaps and provide essential services to foster families and state agencies.

Nationwide schools are facing chronic absenteeism, and it’s even worse in New Mexico which saw the largest increase - of 119% from 2019 to 2023.