Report: New Mexico ranks last in the nation for child well-being, again
Jun. 11—New Mexico has once again been ranked the worst state in the country for child well-being, according to the newest annual Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count data book.
The study, which utilizes data from 2023, focuses on four categories: economic well-being, education, health and family and community. The most recent study marks the fifth consecutive year in which New Mexico has earned the 50th spot.
Among the four categories, the state came in last for education and family and community; 49th for economic well-being; and 46th for health.
Those results reflect a marked lack in progress over the five years since the state received a 2018 landmark ruling that its public education department was violating students' constitutional rights with the quality of instruction provided — and a subsequent May ruling that it had not done enough to improve.
The Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) remains marred in controversy. The state also has one of the lowest average median household incomes in the U.S., and while the state has the second-richest sovereign wealth fund in the nation and has, in recent years, markedly spent more on education, those efforts have yet to yield discernible dividends.
New Mexico's lackluster rankings don't surprise Daniel Crespin, a father of eight who lives in the International District and works part-time as a plumber, allowing him to spend more time at home caring for his children.
"My middle schooler is reading at a lower grade level, and they're not doing anything to push them in school," Crespin said. He added that the cost of childcare would be burdensome to the family.
"It's really hard to get help out here, and there are some programs that try to do something, but the funding is not there. It's always going somewhere else," he said.
Spending time at North Domingo Baca Park with her 5-year-old daughter Isla Vigil and the girl's father Isaac Vigil, Amanda Alire expressed a similar sentiment, noting that her 13-year-old son, who's enrolled in Santa Fe Public Schools, is reading at a "fourth-grade" level.
She added that she works two jobs and north of 70 hours a week to provide for herself and her children, whom she had been raising alone — Vigil was in prison until earlier this month. But, as a result, her income puts her above the poverty threshold.
"I don't get any other support, I don't qualify for any assistance," Alire said. "There's nothing that would help because they say you make too much money, even though you're taking care of two kids by yourself with one income."
Noting that the state has passed a slew of policies directed at improving education and childhood well-being since 2023, nonprofit New Mexico Voices for Children — which partnered with the Annie E. Casey Foundation on the report — believes the state's ranking could change in the coming years. They also think the state's circumstances and demographics don't warrant a comparison to others.
"Other states have vastly different circumstances than New Mexico, whether that's their population, their racial and ethnic makeup, their just general structure," Gabrielle Uballez, executive director of the organization, said in a May interview. "We like to look at comparing New Mexico to itself."
House Democrats cited several bills approved during this year's 60-day legislative session that could benefit New Mexico children, including a $10.8 billion budget bill that directs over $100 million to transitional housing and the state's Early Childhood Education and Care Department. They also cited the creation of a new state Medicaid trust fund that could help the state weather federal funding decreases, legislation expanding childcare assistance for prekindergarten children and established an outside oversight office to review complaints involving CYFD.
"I'm a big believer in data, data is always good. It helps us improve. I'm really proud of all of the work we've done over the last several legislative sessions," House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, said in a phone interview. "Those are all good things, and I think that eventually we'll see those returns. Having said that, I do think that there's more work that remains to be done."
Some New Mexico lawmakers question if the state's increased spending and new policies are yielding results.
"We have had unprecedented investments in early childhood education, we've had the Zuni lawsuit and Yazzie-Martinez lawsuit, and even this year, the judge says we are not making improvements on educational outcomes," Rep. Rebecca Dow, R-Truth or Consequences, said in a phone interview. "It's time for parents to be in charge of their kid's education and for dollars to follow students. We are so far behind the curve ... we can look to any state and do better."
She also expressed support for school-choice programs, noting declining enrollment in public schools and saying that "poverty is an excuse" and that "if poverty is keeping children in a failing school system, all the more reason to pass school choice."
"The courts agreed the families who felt like the public education system was failing them went to court, and the courts agreed that New Mexico is failing to adequately educate students. The remedy was to give money to the system that was failing students," Dow said. "It's time to stop funding the same system, and one size will never fit all."
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