New Mexico’s Children, Youth and Families Department has struggled for years, and those failures have taken a real toll on children, families, and taxpayers. High staff turnover, weak oversight, and uneven decisions have left too many kids at risk. When the system fails early, the consequences follow children for life, showing up later in poor school outcomes, higher crime, and growing public costs. Fixing CYFD is about protecting kids and acting responsibly, not politics.
My plan starts with real accountability and clear standards for how the agency operates. CYFD should be measured by outcomes that matter to families: child safety, stable placements, school progress, and steady movement toward permanent homes. Independent oversight and transparent review are critical. Problems must be identified and corrected early, not after another child is hurt.
A stable workforce is the foundation of child protection. CYFD cannot do its job when caseworkers are overloaded and constantly leaving. I support setting realistic caseload limits, strengthening pay and training, and improving day-to-day support for frontline workers. At the same time, the state needs better tools to manage risk. Other states have adopted modern data systems that give supervisors real-time insight into caseloads, safety concerns, and pending actions. These systems flag overloaded workers early, identify high-risk cases sooner, and help leadership make smarter staffing decisions. New Mexico should move in the same direction so problems are addressed before they turn into crises.
Placement decisions must always put safety first. Reunification can be the right outcome, but only when a home is truly safe. Too often, children have been returned to situations with clear danger signs. Every reunification decision should include a structured risk review that takes issues like drug use, domestic violence, and past neglect seriously. I support creating an independent safe placement review board that can weigh in on difficult cases and provide an extra layer of protection when red flags are present. Clear documentation for high-risk decisions and a stronger voice for foster parents and relatives will further protect children and support good caseworkers.
Protecting children today leads to safer communities tomorrow. Strong casework and stable homes reduce future strain on courts and corrections. My goal is to rebuild CYFD into an agency New Mexicans can trust, one that protects children, supports families, and uses clear data and strong oversight to prevent failure instead of reacting to it.
