Santa Fe Reporter--“I think we can learn a lot from Kids Count’s individual data sets—for example, this year, the ranking says more kids are living in households with high housing costs of burden. That points to, ‘We need to fix housing in New Mexico, we need to do it expeditiously,’” Uballez says.
NM Political Report--“Although there’s still work to do, New Mexico’s official child poverty rate continues to improve but change takes time,” said Gabrielle Uballez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children said. “And this measure of poverty only considers income. When we look instead at the supplemental poverty measure, which measures the impact of some of our best poverty-fighting policies, we see that New Mexico’s investments in families through refundable tax credits and income support programs have a real impact on lowering poverty rates and supporting family well-being.”
Santa Fe New Mexican--“New Mexico’s ranking is not a reflection of who we are, but serves as a motivation to continue improving the systems in New Mexico that make it possible for kids and families to thrive,” said Gabrielle Uballez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children.
Business Insider--"People use the money to feed themselves and to keep a roof over their head," Javier Rojo, senior research and policy analyst with New Mexico Voices for Children and author of the pilot report, told BI. "They use it very wisely to put themselves in a better position economically in the future."
The Philadelphia Citizen--Advocates say policies like those also help reduce family stress by alleviating parents’ need to scramble for care from family or friends while they are at work. “Families are not dealing with the chronic stress that comes from that uncertainty or financial instability; [it] really results in better health outcomes,” says Jacob Vigil, deputy policy director with New Mexico Voices for Children.
New American--“There was a concerted effort on behalf of advocates to make sure that all this additional funding that was coming from state sources would seamlessly continue the policies that the federal funds had initially paid for. So we've continued the eligibility up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level for subsidized child care, effectively making it universal access here,” said Jacob Vigil, deputy policy director of New Mexico Voices for Children, a nonpartisan, statewide advocacy organization.
Santa Fe New Mexican--Our families deserve more than financial survival. We deserve to thrive. Next year, 2025, will be a powerful chapter of our story, 20 years in the future, in which we tell the story of how we made New Mexico the best place to be a kid. We did it by supporting the people who love them most: moms.
NM Political Report--She said one area to consider for the future is guaranteed income and what that might look like in New Mexico. “It gives families dignity and the resources to decide where to put the money, in summer camps, home repairs, or food. They are the experts in their own lives,” she said.
Santa Fe New Mexican--This Tax Day, we all have much to be thankful for as we consider the bounty of public goods and services that are made possible with our tax dollars. These include a school system, the roads, first responders, our parks, libraries, museums and so much more. This year, we have even more to be thankful for. That’s because in the last few years our state has made the most improvement in the nation in making our tax system more fair, equitable, and racially just.
KOB TV--“A really great provision of the child tax credit is that it is fully refundable. What that means is that, if you don’t owe any taxes, you will be able to get a check or a deposit in your bank account from the state for that refund amount,” said Paige Knight, the deputy policy director at New Mexico Voices for Children.