New Mexico Voices For Children

Education and early learning/care - nmvc believes that investing in the early years and in the education continuum is the best way to ensure that new mexicans have the best opportunities to succeed in school and throughout life. Program activities include: promoting access to quality home visits for infants and toddlers; supporting funding sources that sustain education programs; supporting methods for closing racial/ethnic acheivement gaps in all stages of education; and supporting efforts to improve educational outcomes for homeless youth. Racial/ethnic equity and civic participation nmvc believes that our collective and individual needs and voices should be represented in public policy and that the recognition of human and civil rights of all persons and families should not be limited by race, ethnicity, religion, ability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or country of origin. This includes supporting just immigration reform, supporting policies that ensure access to public programs for all new mexico residents regardless of language or immigration status, opposing voter suppression tactics, encouraging civic participation and open and transparent governmental processes, ensuring all new mexico residents have the opportunity to participate in the policymaking process, supporting policies that address systemic inequities, and supporting policies that improve racial and gender equity in the state.

Tax fairness & budget adequacy- nmvc believes in equitable, responsible, and transparent tax & budget policies that generate sufficient revenues & address income inequality. Nmvc also believes that children & families should be a high priority in federal, state & local budgets, as should essential services & functions. This includes ensuring adequate budgets for health, education, & public safety services, as well as infrastructure improvement; supporting progressive tax policies & essential government programs that directly benefit low and middle income new mexicans & reduce poverty; promoting transparency & accountablity in tax policy, tax incentives, and throughout the budgeting process; and close tax loopholes & require that all corporations pay their fair share of taxes.

Healthy and safe communities - nmvc believes that it is an ethical and moral imperative that all new mexico children and families have access to a comprehensive and high-quality system of physical and mental health and wellness resources. Nmvc also believes that all new mexicans should live in safe and supportive communities. Program activities include: fully fund the medicaid and other health care programs; simplify enrollment in and expand access to public health programs (including medicaid, chip, and snap) and wellness initiatives, especially in rural and low-income areas; increase investments in out-of-school-time programs, community development, and community involvement; support efforts to enhance public safety, prevent child abuse, reduce the incidence of adverse childhood events, and promote adequate gun safety measures. ; support policies and programs that reduce environmental contamination that compromises the health of new mexico's families. Racial and ethnic equity and civic participation: nmvc believes that our collective and individual needs and voices should be represented in government and that the recognition of human and civil rights of all persons and families should not be limited by race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, sexual identity, gender identity, or country of origin. Program activities include: be a voice for racial and ethnic equity in the nonprofit sector and in the development and approval of public policies; support just and humane immigration reform; challenge voter identification proposals and other voter suppression tactics; support policies that remove historic barriers for children of color; and promote activities that ensure a complete count of all new mexicans. Healthy and safe communities: nmvc believes that it is an ethical and moral imperative that all new mexico children and families have access to a comprehensive and high-quality system of physical and mental health and wellness resources. Nmvc also believes that all new mexicans should live in safe and supportive communities. Program activities include: fully fund the medicaid and other health care programs; simplify enrollment in and expand access to public health programs (including medicaid, chip, and snap) and wellness initiatives, especially in rural and low-income areas; increase investments in out-of-school-time programs, community development, and community involvement; support efforts to enhance public safety, prevent child abuse, reduce the incidence of adverse childhood events, and promote adequate gun safety measures; support policies and programs that reduce environmental contamination that compromises the health of new mexico's families. Kids count: the kids count program allows nmvc to advocate for the unmet needs of the state's children by giving a clear picture of what those needs are. This is done by identifying and tracking indicators of child wellbeing using data from the u.s. Census and other sources. This program is embedded in all of the policy areas. The expenses are included among the education and early leaning, healthy and safe communities, racial and ethnic equity and civic participation, and economic security and prosperity program expenses. Federal policy: nmvc works with new mexico's congressional delegation and their staff to advocate for fair immigration policies and increases in the federal budget for programs that promote child well-being such as medicaid, the children's health insurance program and the child nutrition act. The federal policy work will change focus from time to time based on funding and the organization's focus areas. It is embedded in all of the policy areas. The federal policy work is part of the kids count and spp work. State priorities partnership (spp): within the spp, a national network, nmvc works to ensure that state and federal tax systems are transparent, fair, and that they generate enough revenue to maintain programs that are critical to the wellbeing of children in the state. Nmvc believes children and families should be a high priority in federal, state, and local budgets. Fiscal policies can and do have negative consequences for certain groups of people; namely, low-income working families with particularly negative impacts on communities of color. They can also help to alleviate poverty. The expenses related to spp is included under the tax fairness and budget adequacy program expenses