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Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Report: New Mexico ranks last in the nation for child well-being, again
Jun. 11—New Mexico has once again been ranked the worst state in the country for child well-being, according to the newest annual Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count data book. The study, which utilizes data from 2023, focuses on four categories: economic well-being, education, health and family and community. The most recent study marks the fifth consecutive year in which New Mexico has earned the 50th spot. Among the four categories, the state came in last for education and family and community; 49th for economic well-being; and 46th for health. Those results reflect a marked lack in progress over the five years since the state received a 2018 landmark ruling that its public education department was violating students' constitutional rights with the quality of instruction provided — and a subsequent May ruling that it had not done enough to improve. The Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) remains marred in controversy. The state also has one of the lowest average median household incomes in the U.S., and while the state has the second-richest sovereign wealth fund in the nation and has, in recent years, markedly spent more on education, those efforts have yet to yield discernible dividends. New Mexico's lackluster rankings don't surprise Daniel Crespin, a father of eight who lives in the International District and works part-time as a plumber, allowing him to spend more time at home caring for his children. "My middle schooler is reading at a lower grade level, and they're not doing anything to push them in school," Crespin said. He added that the cost of childcare would be burdensome to the family. "It's really hard to get help out here, and there are some programs that try to do something, but the funding is not there. It's always going somewhere else," he said. Spending time at North Domingo Baca Park with her 5-year-old daughter Isla Vigil and the girl's father Isaac Vigil, Amanda Alire expressed a similar sentiment, noting that her 13-year-old son, who's enrolled in Santa Fe Public Schools, is reading at a "fourth-grade" level. She added that she works two jobs and north of 70 hours a week to provide for herself and her children, whom she had been raising alone — Vigil was in prison until earlier this month. But, as a result, her income puts her above the poverty threshold. "I don't get any other support, I don't qualify for any assistance," Alire said. "There's nothing that would help because they say you make too much money, even though you're taking care of two kids by yourself with one income." Noting that the state has passed a slew of policies directed at improving education and childhood well-being since 2023, nonprofit New Mexico Voices for Children — which partnered with the Annie E. Casey Foundation on the report — believes the state's ranking could change in the coming years. They also think the state's circumstances and demographics don't warrant a comparison to others. "Other states have vastly different circumstances than New Mexico, whether that's their population, their racial and ethnic makeup, their just general structure," Gabrielle Uballez, executive director of the organization, said in a May interview. "We like to look at comparing New Mexico to itself." House Democrats cited several bills approved during this year's 60-day legislative session that could benefit New Mexico children, including a $10.8 billion budget bill that directs over $100 million to transitional housing and the state's Early Childhood Education and Care Department. They also cited the creation of a new state Medicaid trust fund that could help the state weather federal funding decreases, legislation expanding childcare assistance for prekindergarten children and established an outside oversight office to review complaints involving CYFD. "I'm a big believer in data, data is always good. It helps us improve. I'm really proud of all of the work we've done over the last several legislative sessions," House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, said in a phone interview. "Those are all good things, and I think that eventually we'll see those returns. Having said that, I do think that there's more work that remains to be done." Some New Mexico lawmakers question if the state's increased spending and new policies are yielding results. "We have had unprecedented investments in early childhood education, we've had the Zuni lawsuit and Yazzie-Martinez lawsuit, and even this year, the judge says we are not making improvements on educational outcomes," Rep. Rebecca Dow, R-Truth or Consequences, said in a phone interview. "It's time for parents to be in charge of their kid's education and for dollars to follow students. We are so far behind the curve ... we can look to any state and do better." She also expressed support for school-choice programs, noting declining enrollment in public schools and saying that "poverty is an excuse" and that "if poverty is keeping children in a failing school system, all the more reason to pass school choice." "The courts agreed the families who felt like the public education system was failing them went to court, and the courts agreed that New Mexico is failing to adequately educate students. The remedy was to give money to the system that was failing students," Dow said. "It's time to stop funding the same system, and one size will never fit all."
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Santa Fe police haven't provided reports on downtown shootings
Editor's note: The Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) 'enables access to public records of governmental entities in New Mexico,' according to the New Mexico Department of Justice. Public Records Watch is an occasional series from The Santa Fe New Mexican that documents how public agencies respond to IPRA requests. Police have been sparse on details regarding two downtown shootings in recent months and have still provided no reports from their investigations of either incident. 041723 md (copy) Alvin Crespin enters a plea during a hearing in 2023 in the First Judicial District Court. He was shot to death April 25 in De Vargas Park. Records staff from the city of Santa Fe have estimated it will take two months to provide any police reports related to the fatal shooting of Alvin Crespin at De Vargas Park in late April. The city also has yet to provide any reports on another fatal shooting in early May in downtown Santa Fe. A man was charged with shooting and killing Crespin at the downtown Santa Fe park April 25, and a woman was accused of conspiring in the homicide and acting as a getaway driver. Police arrested the suspects, Pierre Cheykaychi and Alexis Chavez, in the week after the shooting. A request for police reports related to the investigation was submitted April 28. Records staff have estimated they will be able to produce the reports June 27. City staff have pushed back the expected date to provide the reports twice, deeming the request for police reports in a single murder investigation "excessively burdensome or broad," a designation that allows city staff to take longer than 15 days to produce records in response to a request. Little is still known about the shooting death of Raven Iron Lightning Scott on May 12 in downtown Santa Fe — including whether Scott's death was a homicide. Police have declined to answer questions about the fatal shooting, including those seeking details about the circumstances of his death. Raven Raven Iron Lightning Scott Scott died from his injuries from at least one gunshot wound, police said, and he was found at a city-owned parking lot at Water Street and Don Gaspar Avenue in the early hours. Police have not filed any criminal charges in the shooting. The New Mexican submitted a request for reports from the death investigation May 22. After 12 days, city records staff have not given an estimated date for producing the records. City spokesperson Regina Ruiz did not respond to an email seeking an explanation for the delays in providing the public records. Deputy police Chief Ben Valdez wrote back Tuesday saying he would check on the requests with the city's records staff.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
No treatment, and a $250 bill: Barriers to dental care send people to unprepared ERs
When Michael McCoy's tooth suddenly fell out in October, he went to the emergency room at Columbia St. Mary's in Milwaukee for help. After getting his blood pressure and weight checked and a brief wait, McCoy was told there was nothing the hospital could do — but he was still charged $250. McCoy, 67, was sure the charge must be a mistake, so he contacted Public Investigator. But according to Ascension and his insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, the bill was correct. The charge represents "facility fees" — the portion of the bill that covers the costs of delivering care, including medical equipment, nurses and other medical support staff. "They could have told me as soon as I got there that they didn't do dental work of any kind there, instead of finding reasons to stall and bill me," McCoy said. McCoy's situation isn't unheard of. Dental hygienist Matt Crespin told Public Investigator that across the country, people often turn to the ER for urgent dental care but are not aware that ERs usually aren't equipped to treat dental emergencies. And because of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, a federal law that requires hospitals to provide at least a screening to anyone who comes to the ER, hospitals can't turn a patient away. For many, dental care is too expensive and difficult to access, Crespin said, making regular upkeep out of reach. That sends people to ERs with problems that are often preventable. When it comes to dental pain, Crespin said most hospitals can't offer much more than ibuprofen and a referral to a dentist or a specialist. But even a referral can be a challenge, he said. In Wisconsin, only about 30% of dentists accept Medicaid or other state-sponsored plans. "Finding a provider that's willing to take a patient in — particularly one on an emergency basis — can be pretty challenging," Crespin said. People with private dental insurance also face barriers to dental care. According to a 2023 analysis by KFF, a health policy research group, more than one in four adults delayed or skipped some form of health care due to cost, with dental care being the most commonly missed. Nearly half of dentists surveyed in a 2024 American Dental Association report said they were considering dropping more insurance networks or had already done so. The survey found that nearly all dentists who dropped insurance networks last year cited low reimbursement rates as the main reason. Many also cited "administrative burden," the study said. To increase profits, Crespin said many dentists stop accepting private insurance at all, catering instead to patients who can afford to pay out-of-pocket for preventive and cosmetic services. "I drive by a dental office every day near my home in the suburbs of Milwaukee that's advertising teeth whitening and Botox," he said. "That's not treating dental disease." In McCoy's case, the hospital sent him home with instructions to take Tylenol or ibuprofen and contact a dentist in the morning. McCoy ultimately paid his ER bill, but said he did so reluctantly. "I still think it's ridiculous to pay $250 for nothing," he said. Crespin said Wisconsin has earned national recognition for its efforts to expand access to dental care. In 2017, the state became one of the first to allow dental hygienists to provide care without the presence of a licensed dentist. Wisconsin also passed legislation in 2023 to authorize the licensure of dental therapists — mid-level providers who offer preventive and restorative dental care when there are shortages of dentists. They must practice in federally designated shortage areas or serve high-need populations, according to the law. Crespin is also on the advisory committee for a new dental therapy training program at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau that's set to start training providers to practice in places like hospitals, K-12 schools and nursing homes. "We have to continue to find different ways for patients to access dental providers in places where they already are," he said. Crespin, who is also the executive director of the Children's Health Alliance of Wisconsin, said the organization is piloting a project to integrate dental care into pediatrician visits. 'That seems to be helping,' Crespin said, 'but we're still early in that work.' While barriers to dental care remain, there are some local programs working to close the gap, including: DentaMed Healthcare's Mobile Dental Van: Every Thursday, a mobile clinic parked outside of the Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee treats ER patients referred for dental care on-site. The van also visits schools throughout Milwaukee, Racine and Waukesha to provide free preventive services. Wisconsin Association of Free and Charitable Clinics: You can use their online search tool to find a clinic in your area that provides free care, including dental services. Federally Qualified Health Centers: These are clinics and health centers across Wisconsin that provide low-cost or sliding scale dental care to uninsured, Medicaid, and privately insured patients. Ascension Seton Dental Clinic: Ascension St. Francis Hospital at 3267 S. 16th Street offers a dental clinic for urgent dental services during weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., closing earlier at 4:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. The clinic provides low-cost care for patients who may struggle to afford traditional dental treatment. Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be emailed at QClark@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: People seeking dental care turn to ERs, then face hefty bills
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
Man shot, killed in Santa Fe park entangled in 2021 killing; police mum on investigation
Santa Fe police have mostly kept mum on the details of the deadly shooting late Friday of a homeless man in a downtown park. The victim, 49-year-old Alvin Crespin, was accused in a different killing in the city several years ago, and he had been released from the Santa Fe County jail less than six months before he was shot several times at De Vargas Park. The police department declined to provide an interview about the ongoing investigation into Crespin's slaying, and Capt. Jimmie Montoya of the Criminal Investigations Unit declined to answer a list of questions sent via email Tuesday, writing only that officers are "in the early stages of the investigation" and "at this time, we do not have any further information for release." Crespin was from Santo Domingo Pueblo but was known to be homeless in Santa Fe for years before he was charged with murder in 2021, when he was found in a Cerrillos Road motel room with the body of a man police alleged he had stabbed to death days earlier. He eventually pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was most recently released from jail in December, records show. Officers responding to a report of shots fired Friday night arrived at De Vargas Park around 11 p.m. and found him with "multiple gunshot wounds," according to a news release. It wasn't clear where he was shot or where he was found in the park. Crespin was "in and out of consciousness" when police arrived, and he was pronounced dead later at a local hospital, Chief Paul Joye said Saturday. Montoya said members of the public are encouraged to contact police if they have any video that captured the incident or if they observed anything before or after it. He did not say whether investigators had found any footage or how many witnesses officers have interviewed. Murder case hit snags Crespin's troubles with the law began in early January 2021 when a man being treated for an anxiety attack at Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center told police there was a body in the bathtub of Room 237 at the GreenTree Inn. Officers arrived at the motel for a welfare check that evening and found Crespin and another man in the room, along with the body of 50-year-old Virgil Tortalita, who was also from Santo Domingo Pueblo. Police believed his body had been in the bathtub for about four days and was in "varying stages of decomposition." Crespin initially was charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors alleged he had stabbed Tortalita during a struggle on New Year's Day and then wrapped his body in bedsheets and kept it in the bathtub. Later that year, a judge declared Crespin incompetent to stand trial, and he spent about six months at the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas, N.M. A public defender told the court Crespin wasn't able to understand his charges or "rationally or effectively" communicate with his attorney, according to reports from the time. The case hit other snags. Prosecutors said they had difficulty maintaining contact with witnesses — who were all homeless — and they faced the "catastrophic failure" of a hard drive containing surveillance footage from the motel. Crespin pleaded guilty in April 2023 to two counts of tampering with evidence and served the remainder of his sentence in jail. He was released in September 2023, court records indicate, but he failed to report to his probation officer several times. He checked into the Santa Fe Recovery Center for rehabilitation in March 2024, a report says. The following month, he was booked into jail again after probation officers said they had found him on the streets of the city's south side with an open bottle of alcohol at his feet and a knife in his pocket, violating the provisions of his probation. The last court record pertaining to Crespin was an order for his release from jail filed Dec. 19.
