Hull: Kevin S. Progress Means Nothing Without an Engaged and Committed Governor

While Deb Haaland plans to hand CYFD to a commission, Gregg Hull pledges to own child welfare personally and make the best interest of the child the North Star of his administration

RIO RANCHO, New Mexico — After today’s hearing in the Kevin S. child welfare case, Republican gubernatorial nominee Gregg Hull said the progress the state reported is encouraging but late. He added that whether it lasts now depends on the next governor.

“It is encouraging to see what CYFD and the Health Care Authority can do when they finally make the safety of our kids a priority,” said Gregg Hull. “But this is progress that should have happened six years ago. The state made these promises to New Mexico’s foster children in 2020, and today’s hearing made one thing clear: all of it hinges on who sits in the governor’s office next. The next hearing is in May 2027. By then, New Mexico will have a new governor, and I intend to be the one who shows up for these kids.”

The independent experts monitoring the case have said repeatedly that successful child welfare reform requires sustained accountability and an engaged, committed governor. Deb Haaland has proposed the opposite. Her plan calls for eventually taking CYFD out of the governor’s hands and placing it under an independent commission.

“The experts New Mexico is paying to fix this system have told us what works, and it starts with a governor who owns it,” said Hull. “Deb Haaland’s answer is to hand CYFD off to a commission. My answer is to take responsibility. When a child is sleeping in a CYFD office, the buck should stop on the governor’s desk, not get lost in a committee. As governor, the best interest of the child will be the North Star of my administration. That means no reunification at all costs and no protecting a bureaucracy. It means putting the safety, stability, and well-being of the child first. I want New Mexico to be the best place in America to be a child, where kids don’t just survive, they thrive.”

Hull pointed to a tool already in state law: the New Mexico Children’s Cabinet, which was created to bring the state’s child-serving agencies together. New Mexico has more cabinet-level agencies than almost any state, and too often they do not talk to one another.

“We don’t need another layer of government. We need to use the one we already have,” said Hull. “Under my administration, the Children’s Cabinet will bring CYFD, the Health Care Authority, Early Childhood Education and Care, Public Education, and the Department of Health to the same table, working toward the same goal. We will bring in national child welfare experts who have turned around systems like ours to help us get it right. As mayor, I built my record on bringing people and agencies together to solve problems. That is the kind of hands-on leadership our kids need in Santa Fe.”