skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

NM Struggles in Child Well-Being Report but Celebrates Positive Trends

play audio
Play

Monday, August 8, 2022   

Since 2020, New Mexico has been working to create a more cohesive, equitable and effective early-childhood system. But it could be a while before it climbs out of 50th place in child well-being.

The 2022 Kids Count Data Book shows New Mexico placed last in a 50-state report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, analyzing how children and families are faring.

The state launched its Early Childhood Education and Care Department two years ago, and Emily Wildau - Kids Count coordinator with New Mexico Voices for Children - said she believes it's making a difference.

"They've done a ton of work to make sure that more kids are in school, to make sure that more families can access child-care assistance to pay for it," said Wildau. "And we get a lot of states looking to New Mexico to see what we're doing in early-childhood education."

A recent study by WalletHub placed New Mexico in the top 10 best states for early-childhood education programs based on access, quality and the availability of resources and economic support.

The Casey report tracks a total of 16 indicators of child well-being, including issues such as child poverty, high school graduation rates and teen birth rates.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president for external affairs with the Casey Foundation, said the increased financial support to families under the American Rescue Plan Act was significant.

"The expansion of the Child Tax Credit lifted millions of children out of poverty," said Boissiere. "When policymakers enact policies that we know lift families out of poverty, then children do well."

Wildau noted that New Mexico saw notable reductions in the rate of uninsured children and has seen a significant long-term decline in teen births in the past decade.

"Ten years it went from 53 births per 1,000 to 22," said Wildau, "so that's a really big drop in teen births."

New Mexico has one of the largest Land Grant funds in the country, and this November voters will decide whether more of it should be allocated to early childhood education.



Disclosure: Annie E Casey Foundation contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Education, Education, Juvenile Justice, Welfare Reform. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021