New Mexico Voices for Children

In the wake of new federal data about food benefits — which could potentially cost New Mexico hundreds of millions of dollars — advocates at New Mexico Voices for Children urged the public to remember the newly released state error rates should not be mistaken for fraud rates.

New Mexico is seeing improvements in child poverty and economic well-being according to this year’s Annie E. Casey’s Kids COUNT report, but the state still ranks 49th in the nation for child well-being overall. Advocates say major investments in children are making a difference, though the full impact may take years to appear.

A new report from the Urban Institute finds federal spending on children has declined in recent years and is expected to continue decreasing, even as federal spending overall increases.

New Mexico will funnel millions of dollars into its universal free child care program over the next five years as it becomes the first state to tackle such an initiative.

Federal cuts to food assistance through the budget reconciliation bill, better known as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” put more than 450,000 New Mexicans at risk seeing their benefits drop by more than 20%, or losing their assistance altogether. But, state officials say they’ll do everything they can to fill gaps left by those federal cuts.

New Mexico Voices for Children, a local non-profit working to improve child well being, has new leadership in Gabrielle Uballez. KUNM sat down with Uballez to learn more about her plans to create a healthier and safer New Mexico for children and families.

Things are getting better for New Mexico’s kids, but slowly. That is according to a report that comes out each year at the beginning of the legislative session. The study also included data on environmental health for the first time.

Despite Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signing numerous policies intended to improve the well-being of New Mexico’s children, the state continues to rank last nationally. That’s according to this year’s Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, released Wednesday. But, despite the concerning score, there is hope in the data.

The expansion of the federal child tax credit in 2021 made a dent in how many U.S. children are living in poverty, but it ended after just one year. New Mexico, a state with the second highest child poverty rate in the country, quickly passed its own version of the tax relief for people with children last year. While parents won’t see the benefits of the state credit until they file taxes next year, lawmakers are already debating whether to increase it.

Legislation to reduce “pyramiding” in New Mexico’s tax code will likely be proposed this legislative session. While the move could provide relief for small businesses and consumers, it’ll also reduce the recurring revenue of the state’s gross receipts tax.