After a yearlong investigation spurred by the suicide death of a 16-year-old at a state-contracted group home, the New Mexico Department of Justice is suing the state's Child, Youth and Families Department. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said during a Wednesday press conference that state DOJ investigators reviewed over 20,000 pages of records and interviewed more than 150 witnesses. Torrez said investigators found 8 systemic failures including traumatic office stays, undermining law enforcement and premature reunifications.
"CYFD has a cultural orientation that prioritizes reunification at the expense of safety," Torrez said. "And when you peel away each of those systemic failures, it is that core cultural orientation which drives most of the most tragic outcomes that we see inside the system."
Torrez said another overarching theme is the weaponization of confidentiality provisions against CYFD employees, foster parents and others who have information about the failures of the foster care system.
Torrez said he wants to see the CYFD completely rebuilt.
"Instead of trying to redesign a broken house, start with a blank sheet of paper and build what you think needs to exist from the ground up," Torrez said. "And then see if you can map that on to the existing structure.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said on social media that she shares the, "heartbreak over these disturbing allegations," but she also pointed out the events the DOJ investigated all happened prior to the appointment of current CYFD Secretary Valerie Sandoval. Lujan Grisham ended her statement by saying, "the Attorney General's report is shocking but shock value doesn’t solve the problems." Without offering any specifics, Lujan Grisham said her response to the report was to continue the daily work of keeping New Mexico's children safe.
