Despite Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signing numerous policies intended to improve the well-being of New Mexico鈥檚 children, the state continues to rank last nationally. That鈥檚 according to from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, released Wednesday. But, despite the concerning score, there is hope in the data.
The annual study looks at factors like poverty, education, health and family 鈥� like how many children are being raised by a single parent and the rate of teen pregnancy.
Amber Wallin is the executive director of , which coordinates the study locally. She said the low ranking is despite recent policy changes.
鈥淲e鈥檝e expanded early childhood care and education programs 鈥� we鈥檙e a nation-leader in that area,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e made child care within reach and we鈥檙e increasing wages, we鈥檙e supporting our child care providers.鈥�
Last year, the state gave child care providers and expanded which enrollees of the state鈥檚 Child Care Assistance Program , substantially expanding access to free childcare. This year, New Mexico also increased the amount of its state child tax credit for those with the lowest incomes.
So, why is New Mexico still dead last? Wallin said it's partly because most of the data in this year鈥檚 report is from 2021.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 before many of the policies New Mexico has passed had gone into place,鈥� she said. 鈥淐ertainly before they had a chance to really have an impact.鈥�
For the last decade, New Mexico has ranked either 50th or 49th for how well its kids are doing, but Wallin said that doesn鈥檛 mean the state is stagnant.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to look beyond the rankings, to dig a little bit deeper, and look at what New Mexico has done over time,鈥� she said.
Since 2010, the rate of New Mexico children living in poverty is down by 20%, for instance, and the rate of teens giving birth here dropped by nearly 65%. More of the state鈥檚 kids are also graduating high school.
Wallin said the reason those improvements haven鈥檛 boosted the state nationally is that others are improving too, and New Mexico had a lot of catching up to do.
鈥淎nd so it鈥檚 going to take continued improvements, continued investments, and really doubling down on this progress we are seeing,鈥� she said.
The state鈥檚 best individual rankings this year include being 26th in the nation for the number of families with burdensome housing costs and 33rd for how many kids lack health insurance.
