These early childhood education maps are the result of six years of work by the New Mexico Community Data Collaborative and numerous partners advocating for improved outcomes for young children.

The risk assessment map contains 12 key indicators and 2 composite indices that measure community risk factors associated with early childhood health and development in each of New Mexico’s 108 Small Areas. The 12 indicators were selected by more than a dozen early childhood advocacy organizations and agencies. This was a collaborative process to identify the most important measures for early child risk and to create an index that illustrates the combined impact on sub-county communities. This effort began in 2010 with a needs assessment for home visiting that brought $1 million to New Mexico. This was followed by the school district child and health risk assessments conducted for the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) to establish the Early Childhood Investment Zones and the allocation of new Pre-K funding in 2013.