New Mexico is home to nearly 70,000 infants and toddlers. New Mexico families are the state's strongest asset, yet current policies aren't meeting their needs. Children's growth and development are shaped by early life experiences. Good health, secure and stable families, and positive early learning environments foster children's physical,…

Safety net programs emerging from the War on Poverty and later antipoverty efforts such as Head Start, Medicaid, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), among others have reduced poverty, and strengthened longer-term outcomes for poor children, leading to better health and greater economic…

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the primary federal legislation establishing national wage and hour standards. The purpose of the Act is to protect the working class from overwork and underpay by providing non-waivable rights to a minimum wage and a premium pay rate at time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40…

This report proposes several distinct--yet interrelated--policy opportunities that can move more Texans into the middle class. These proposals blend greater state-level investments with common sense policy changes to increase economic well-being for working Texans. While Texas policy makers have recognized the connection between workforce…