Las Cruces, NM – On this edition of PUENTES a la comunidad, bridges to the community, host Emily Guerra spoke with New Mexico Voices for Children Executive Director, James Jimenez, about the “2020 New Mexico KIDS COUNT Data Book” recently released at the New Mexico
State Legislature. It is separate from the National KIDS COUNT Data Book released every summer by the Annie E. Casey Foundation which ranks the 50 states against each other on overall child well-being. New Mexico ranks 50th in the national data book. Most of the data in this edition are from 2019, prior to the COVOD-19 pandemic, and they show that outcomes for children have been improving in many areas. According to Jimenez, dramatic improvements were seen in indicators like child poverty, health insurance coverage, young children enrolled in school, and teen birth rates.
Before the pandemic hit, New Mexico’s lawmakers had begun making substantial investments in the programs and services that help our children and families thrive. NM Voices for Children is advocating that the New Mexico Legislature and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham continue to make those investments.
More information available at nmvoices.org; organizenm.org (Café – NM Comunidades en Accion y de Fe); and ngagenm.org.