ALBUQUERQUE—The annual New Mexico KIDS COUNT data book—a project of New Mexico Voices for Children—will be released on the first day of the 2017 legislative session. The annual publication presents the latest state and national data on child well-being in New Mexico in the areas of economic security, education, health, and family and community. Data are presented by county, tribal area, school district, race and ethnicity, and other demographics where available.
This year’s essay focuses on how important it is to make public investments in our children despite the state’s precarious financial situation. The release will be part of Celebrating Children and Youth Day and will include youth speakers talking about the issues they’d like our lawmakers to address. The theme this year is “Forget Me Not” and youth will deliver packets of flower seeds to legislators to remind them that children, like flowers, need optimal conditions in order to grow and thrive.
“If a seed falls in poor soil and does not receive enough sunshine and rain, and then fails to bloom we understand what’s to blame—and it’s not the seed,” NM Voices for Children KIDS COUNT Director Amber Wallin said. “But when children grow up in environments lacking in resources and opportunities, we are all too eager to blame them when they struggle in school and later in life. Like any good gardener, we need to ensure that all our children are receiving the resources they need to thrive and grow into productive and contributing members of society. Nothing less than our state’s future economic well-being depends upon it.”
WHAT: PRESS CONFERENCE for the Release of the 2016 NM KIDS COUNT Data Book
WHEN: Tuesday, Jan. 17, 10 am
WHERE: Rotunda, New Mexico State Capitol, Santa Fe
WHO: New Mexico Voices for Children
James Jimenez, Executive Director, New Mexico Voices for Children
Amber Wallin, KIDS COUNT Director, New Mexico Voices for Children
Gloria M. Lopez, youth speaker
Crystal Pena, youth speaker
Diana Salcido-Favela, youth speaker, Juntos
Danielle Wheeler, youth speaker, AmeriCorps Vista
Jacob Griego, youth speaker, Enlace
By NM Voices for Children
