New Mexico has fallen to 49th in the country in an annual ranking of child welfare in the states.
Only Mississippi fared worse than New Mexico in the 2012 Kids Count Data Book released Wednesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Although this year's report says New Mexico has made a few gains in children's health, it says the state has a long way to go in improving the economic, education, and community-related well-being of kids.
The report says more than one-third of the state's parents lacked secure employment in 2010, up 23 percent from two years before. And 30,000 more New Mexico kids now live in poverty than in 2005.
Last year, New Mexico ranked 46th in the country.