Child welfare advocates cite reasons for optimism despite rises in abuse, early death

Jan. 22—New data reaffirms what families, advocates and policymakers long have known: It's hard to be a kid in New Mexico.

The nonprofit New Mexico Voices for Children on Monday released its 2023 Kids Count Data Book, a report that lays bare major health concerns for children and teens, including rising death rates — to 43 per 100,000 people under 18 in 2021 — and an increased prevalence of child abuse.

This year's Data Book, largely based on child welfare figures collected in 2021 and 2022, also delves into something new: the health impacts of environmental contaminants. It indicates New Mexico children suffer from asthma, a health condition often linked to pollution, at rates more than double the national averages in some areas.

There are reasons for optimism, said Emily Wildau, a research and policy analyst with the organization, during a news conference Monday morning.

Key policy changes — including expanding accessibility to higher education, paid sick leave, child care assistance and K-12 education funding — are starting to bear fruit, leading to lower child poverty rates, teen birth rates and the number of family heads lacking a high school diploma, she said.

As the 2024 legislative session stretches into its second week, Wildau urged state lawmakers to prioritize families and equity, in particular a statewide paid family and medical leave program; continued investments in early childhood and K-12 education; and increases in the state's child tax credit, which will go into effect this season.

"All of these common-sense decisions ... not only prevented a significant decline in well-being for New Mexico kids and families, but it also laid a strong foundation for us to continue seeing improvements in many indicators of child well-being in the 2022 data," Wildau said.

Still, there is bad news: New Mexico children experience abuse and death at rates higher — sometimes much higher — than national averages.

The rate of 43 out of 100,000 children and teens who die before reaching adulthood far outpaces the nationwide rate of 30 and has increased steadily over the past decade. Hispanic and Native American kids in the state die at a higher rate than white kids.

The child and teen death rate is inextricably tied to gun violence, which overtook car accidents as the leading cause of death for kids across the U.S. in 2020. Dozens of New Mexico children die by gunfire each year, an issue that sparked a fiery exchange in a recent legislative hearing.

Sen. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, who opposes some proposed gun control measures — a high priority for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham — falsely asserted more kids in the state die from abuse and neglect under the watch of the state Children, Youth and Families Department than by guns.

CYFD spokeswoman Caroline Sweeney wrote in an email Department of Health data shows 40 children died by firearms in 2022, while there were four deaths of children in CYFD care in 2022 and two in 2023.

"None of these deaths at CYFD were gun related," Sweeney wrote. She added the number of child gun deaths for 2023 was not available.

About 13 of every 1,000 children in New Mexico experienced child abuse or neglect between July 2022 and June 2023, higher than 11 in the previous fiscal year.

The report notes the most recent figure could be an undercount, likely due to the state's very high rate of chronic absenteeism.

Nearly 2 in 5 New Mexico students miss more than 10% of class time. When children are absent from school so frequently, teachers and other adults might not notice signs of abuse or neglect, the report states.

Despite some of the state's persistent challenges, Wildau said there's reason to expect an improved New Mexico in the future.

The rate of students not graduating from high school on time decreased by 10% in the last decade to 23% during the 2019-20 school year. The number of young adults neither working nor in school has dropped, too, to its lowest rate in a decade, as have teen birth rates.

Child poverty rates have held steady at nearly a quarter of New Mexico kids.

That's not nothing, Wildau said.

"We've seen some significant policy improvements in the past few years that point towards a bright future for the state," she said. "If lawmakers continue putting kids and families first — particularly by continuing to invest in policies and programs that are only just beginning to show fruit — we expect to see more improvements in the coming years for New Mexico's kids."

Wildau argued lawmakers should focus on prioritizing children and families this legislative session with higher per-child tax credits, continued investments in education and paid family leave.

They should do it with an eye on equity, she added, because outcomes remain worse for children of color — 77% of all New Mexico children — in nearly every indicator.

"Equality of opportunity is not something that will just happen," Wildau said. "It has to be a product of policies and programs that work together to create a foundation for all of New Mexico's kids and families and communities [to] have an equal chance to strive for success."