Child well-being in New Mexico appears to be slowly improving with a marked decline in child poverty. Data from New Mexico Voices for Children found child poverty in the state is lower than it was a decade ago - having dropped from 29-percent in 2012 to 24-percent in 2022 - keeping with a national downward trend. Report author Emily Wildau, senior research and policy analyst for New Mexico Voices for Children, said the improvement is due to new state policies and the pandemic-related expansion of the federal Child Tax Credit. .
Tennessee s "State of the Child" 2023 report shows some progress, but also highlights ongoing areas of concern. From the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, the report examines kids health and mental health, education, family economics, child care and the state s child-welfare and youth-justice data. Kylie Graves, director of policy and legislative affairs for the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, said a key finding is that, among children of all age groups, those younger than five are most likely to live in poverty. .
While Missouri s legislative session has just begun, child-care tax credits are at top of mind with a bipartisan House bill. HB 1488 takes a three-pronged approach to supplementing the child-care industry. Casey Hanson, deputy director with Kids Win Missouri, said it will help make strides in Missouri s child-care deserts and help with better outcomes for all Missouri children. .
Black children in Michigan are performing worse than their peers nationally in every metric measured, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation s new Race for Results report. The January report shows an overall nationwide failure to equip all children to succeed - with policy choices and lack of support for families resulting in particularly dire outcomes for Black, Latino and American Indian or Alaska Native children. .