N E W M E X I C O ’ S C H I L D R E N 2 0 1 2 New Mexico’s Children At a Glance1
State Population2……………….……2,059,179 Population, Children Under 183……….518,672 State Poverty Rate4………………………20.4%
Poverty Rate, Children Under 185……30.0% Poverty Rate, Children Ages 5–176…..28.4% Poverty Rate, Children Under 57……..33.0% CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT In 2010, New Mexico had 30,313 total referrals for child abuse and neglect. Of those, 16,622 reports were referred for investigation.8
In 2010, 6,018 children were victims of abuse or neglect in New Mexico, a rate of 11.8 per 1,000 children, representing a 12.1% increase from 2009. Of these children, 86.5% were neglected, 13.9% were physically abused, and 3.6% were sexually abused.9
The number of child victims has increased 1.6% in comparison to the number of victims in 2006.10
In 2010, 19 children in New Mexico died as a result of abuse or neglect.11
In 2010, 1,869 children in New Mexico lived apart from their families in out-of-home care, compared with 2,009 children in 2009. In 2010, 801 of the children living apart from their families were age 5 or younger, and 182 were 16 or older.12
The number of children living apart from their families in out-of-home care has decreased 20.7% in comparison to the number of children in out-of-home care in 2006.13
Of New Mexico children in out-of-home care in 2010, 25.5% were white, 3.4% black, 58.4% Hispanic, 9.4% American Indian/Alaskan Native, 0.2% Asian or Pacific Islander and 3.1% of more than one race or ethnicity.14