New Mexico's child poverty rate has seen a notable decline, thanks to state programs such as refundable tax credits. This information comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual supplemental poverty measure, which was released in September.
Unlike the official poverty measure that only considers wage-based income, the supplemental poverty measure evaluates the impact of anti-poverty initiatives. These include tax credits and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP), among others.
Emily Wildau, Senior Research & Policy Analyst and KIDS COUNT Coordinator for New Mexico Voices for Children, explained the significance of this measure. "When you look at the supplemental poverty measure, it’s actually measuring the impact of a lot of really strong anti-poverty programs like our tax credits and SNAP programs, and even school lunches are included in that measure. And so it kind of gives us a better sense of basically what a household has in resources," she said.
Wildau also highlighted that the local cost of living is taken into account by this metric. She emphasized that refundable tax credits have been particularly effective in reducing child poverty rates in New Mexico.