Lowering New Mexico’s chronic childhood poverty rate continues to be a hard nut to crack, but advocates see some promise in new data and public policy initiatives. The annual “Kids Count” report issued Jan. 22 by New Mexico Voices for Children (NMVC) shows that almost a quarter of the state’s kids are stuck in poverty – 24% compared to a 16% national rate. The state’s rate has stayed mostly flat over the past decade, but was 29% in 2012.

New in this year’s report is information on how environmental health and breastfeeding affects the state’s children. New Mexico’s high childhood asthma rates, for example, are often concentrated in low income areas that have industrial operations like oil and gas production, Wildau said. 

“We included the breastfeeding data because there are so many benefits for the parent and the child,” she said.

Wildau said the state’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program is aligned to address health concerns of pregnant women, including increased access to fresh fruits and vegetables and other nutritional support.

At almost 100-pages, the report features mostly 2022 government data that looks at economic well-being, education, health and other benchmarks. NMVC releases the report to coincide with the legislative session in Santa Fe with the hope of informing lawmakers and nudging them to pass, extend or strengthen policies.

Report author and NMVC senior research and policy analyst Emily Wildau said the backdrop to it all is a wide disparity gap among New Mexico’s 77% minority child population and their families.

“Despite our many improving trends, big challenges exist,” Wildau said. “We’ve seen significant policy progress, but [policies] must continue to address barriers in communities of color.”

Wildau noted improvements like a decrease from 12% to 9% in the last decade in the rate of teens who aren’t in school and aren’t working. The rate of students who don’t graduate on time has improved too, dropping to 23% in 2019-2020 from 33% in 2009-2010. In addition, the state is just 1% above the national rate of 11% for children in families where the head of household lacks a high school diploma. The teen birth rate has continued to improve as well, dropping to 19 per 1,000 in 2021 from 49 per 1,000 in 2011.

Nevertheless, Wildau said poverty rates continue to nag and disparities exist in nearly every other indicator. Absenteeism remains high, with 39% of the state’s students chronically absent in the 2022-2023 school year. New Mexico has a higher rate of kids with asthma problems (9%) than the national average (7%), and child and teen death rates, which have been climbing since 2017, increased to 43 per 100,000 in 2021 from 34 per 100,000 in 2011.

Policy help

Wildau said passing a state Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML) would be significant to shore up some of the disparities. PFML would allow paid time off of work for family or medical reasons. With no federal law in place, it falls to the states to pass such legislation. It is back on the agenda in Santa Fe, and sponsors say the bill has been updated to assuage some past concerns raised by the business community to improve its chances. 

NMVC wants to see an increase in the state child tax credit for low-income families with young children. A previous federal child tax credit was heralded for the biggest decrease in national childhood poverty on record but it expired in 2022.

“Going into the legislative session we’re hoping to see the state one increased, especially for kids under six, who experience the highest poverty rates,” Wildau said.

Other recommendations include fully funding early childhood education and expanding eligibility for childcare assistance, keeping the state’s tuition free “opportunity scholarship” higher education program, and continued support for paid sick leave and increased teacher pay. NMVC also supports early childhood development programs and wants lawmakers to adequately fund programs within the state’s Human Services Department to prevent reductions in Medicaid or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs.

“All of these common sense decisions will contribute to improvements,” Wildau said. “Things are pointing in the right direction.”

NMVC also wants to see recurring tax cuts for lower income families and increased tax rates for the wealthiest earners.
For more information, and to access the “Kids Count” report, click here.