Lawmakers hear CYFD staffing, Title IV-E and CCWIS funding requests as LFC and executive budgets diverge

Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) leaders told a Senate committee that the agency needs more staff, targeted training and federal‑funding clarity as lawmakers weigh competing budget recommendations.

Dr. Rachel Garcia, the Legislative Finance Committee analyst for CYFD, told the Senate Finance/Appropriations hearing that "the LFC budget recommendation for CYFD totals $389,000,000 and it maintains a flat operating budget, while making significant targeted investments in nonrecurring." She said the LFC recommended about $41.3 million in nonrecurring funds to address workforce challenges, including $24 million in general fund growth appropriations intended to hire 101 caseworkers and roughly $5.4 million for a pilot child‑welfare workforce training academy.

The difference between the LFC and the executive recommendation is mainly timing and coding of funds, Garcia said. The executive proposal would move roughly $64.2 million and 162 FTE into a new family services division and would place several costs in the base operating budget; the LFC left comparable spending in nonrecurring accounts and kept prevention programming inside protective services. Garcia also noted that LFC’s package would include roughly $1.8 million in recurring general fund increases for operating cost rate changes and about $1.47 million in special appropriation to cover an increased liability insurance premium.

CYFD Cabinet Secretary Teresa Casados pressed several operational and remediation requests tied to the Kevin S. arbitration/remediation order, which the department received at the opening of the legislative session. The secretary itemized a roughly $24.3 million remediation request that would create 50 case‑aid positions, a regional overnight emergency response team of 25 positions costing about $2.8 million, and a separate $15 million request to increase foster parent maintenance payments by up to $900 per child per month (the department estimates about $5.2 million of that could be matched with federal funds and about $9.8 million would be new general fund operating dollars). Casados said those items reflect concrete staffing and service changes the remediation order requires.

Casados described workforce numbers and recruitment efforts. She said CYFD currently has 2,303 positions (plus one half‑time), 621 of which are vacant (a 27% vacancy rate), and that the department has issued about 128 offer letters in recent weeks following a rapid‑hire event. Casados said the department counted 284 employees with a bachelor’s or master's in social work and 129 licensed social workers. "We had over 400 people, I believe, that came through looking for work at CYFD," Casados said of the rapid‑hire event.

On federal funding, Department leaders and a consultant cited Title IV‑E and other federal streams as key and tricky. Casados and staff said an outside review by consultant Don Winstead found New Mexico is not leaving large amounts of Title IV‑E money on the table and pointed to eligibility and methodology constraints, including New Mexico’s relatively low 1996 standard of need. The department reported an $11 million decline in federal revenue in FY24 compared with prior years attributable to ended grants, timing and drawdown methodology; officials said about $5 million in SSBG drawdowns were rolled into the current fiscal year and that the agency expects to recover portions of prior declines.

The committee also heard an information‑technology update: the department is building a federal CCWIS‑compliant child welfare system called New Mexico IMPACT. Casados said the implementation contract is signed and the pending request is the last funding for testing and rollout; the department expects to begin testing and phased rollout in the fall. Officials said the new system will allow field staff to work on tablets, upload photos and reduce administrative burden.

Senators pressed the secretary on immediate operational concerns. Senator Tobias called the situation "horrific" and pressed the secretary on children sleeping in offices; Casados said at the time of the hearing there were 16 youth over age 12 in offices or custody beds and nine children under age 10 at a receiving center. Several lawmakers urged expedited hiring and prioritized frontline positions. Senator Peter Wirth (chair) and other members signaled support for targeted reforms; Senator William Padilla said, "I see a little bit of light there coming out," while Senator Cynthia Trujillo and Senator Craig Brandt—both of whom described personal or professional experience with foster care—pressed on training, licensure and repeat‑maltreatment metrics.

Committee members and staff discussed policy choices: whether to fund recurring personnel costs in the base (executive approach) or to use nonrecurring appropriations for pilot and workforce investments (LFC approach); whether to create a separate family services program code (executive supports a new P‑code; LFC did not fund the carve‑out); and how to ensure federal drawdowns are accurate and sustainable. Garcia said the LFC recommended technical assistance before general‑fund backfill for federal shortfalls: "The LFC recommendation was don't backfill yet. First, get someone in there to help identify where we may have opportunity to claim more revenue."

Lawmakers did not take formal votes during the hearing. Members requested more data on foster family turnover and exit reasons, on how education funding is handled for youth in out‑of‑state residential treatment facilities, and on how CCWIS rollout will be phased. Casados said the department is working with higher‑education partners (including Highlands) on training programs and with PED on education funding issues.

The hearing highlighted competing fiscal approaches rather than final allocations: LFC’s package holds recurring operations mostly flat while funding workforce and remediation needs through special appropriations; the executive plan places some of those costs into recurring base budgets and would establish a separately coded family services division. The committee left the hearing with outstanding technical questions and requests for follow‑up data, and with several senators urging rapid hiring and support for frontline CYFD staff.