The House Judiciary Committee on Saturday advanced a package of bills and a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at strengthening oversight, records retention and financial protections for children in state custody.

Sponsor and supporters said the measures — which include creating an independent Office of the Child Advocate, requiring CYFD staff to use state-issued devices with defined retention, codifying Family First/plan-of-safe-care reforms, proposing a constitutional commission to govern CYFD, and preserving federal benefits for children — are designed to increase accountability and protect vulnerable children.

The most detailed debate centered on House Bill 5, which would create an Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) to receive and investigate complaints about the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD). “New Mexico needs an independent, impartial means to gather, investigate, and proactively address the well-being of children in state custody,” Representative Abeta, the bill sponsor, told the committee. The bill would administratively house the OCA in the Department of Justice while requiring operational autonomy for investigations and decisions. The sponsor and a Department of Justice expert said a nine-member selection committee would forward candidates to the governor and attorney general and that the OCA would be required to report annually to the Legislative Finance Committee and to notify the OCA within 72 hours of a child fatality or near fatality in state custody.

CYFD Secretary Teresa Casados urged caution. “As drafted, HB 5 will not contribute to this goal,” she told the committee, saying that placing the office administratively with the attorney general’s office could create “jurisdictional disputes and potential conflict of interest” because the attorney general represents the state in litigation involving CYFD. Casados also warned that the bill’s requirement to notify complainants about personnel investigations might conflict with employee privacy rules.

Supporters including youth attorneys, foster and resource parents and advocates said the OCA would provide families and children an independent route to raise concerns that currently must be lodged inside the agency. “We need this office so deeply,” attorney Sarah Kreka said during public comment.

The committee adopted an amendment to HB 5 changing effective and appointment dates in the bill and then voted to advance the bill as amended.

House Bill 203, presented by Representative Zepanski on behalf of Representative Dixon, requires CYFD employees to use state-issued devices for work communications and sets minimum records-retention and backup practices after problems surfaced in litigation and sworn testimony that personal devices were being used and then wiped when employees left the agency. Attorney Sarah Kreka described cases in which phones and laptops were factory-reset after a child fatality, impeding investigations. CYFD’s chief information officer told the committee that the department is implementing mobile device management and incremental backups and is moving to a federally compliant CCWIS system to reduce reliance on personal devices. State information-security officials urged caution and a study to assess operational and privacy risks before full implementation; the State Personnel Office opposed portions of the bill that it said could undermine progressive-discipline protections. The committee approved HB 203 as amended.

The committee also approved a House Judiciary substitute for House Bill 205, a multi-part bill that: codifies Family First Prevention Services Act concepts and plans-of-safe-care for substance-exposed newborns, assigns lead responsibility for plans of safe care to the Health Care Authority (HCA), clarifies care-coordination expectations, and establishes a CYFD nominating committee. The substitute clarifies agency responsibilities and the committee advanced the substitute while issuing a “do not pass” for the original bill.

Members spent substantial time on House Joint Resolution 5, a proposed constitutional amendment that would remove CYFD from the cabinet structure and create a five-member commission to hire an executive director to run the department. Proponents, including former child-welfare leaders, argued the change would provide sustained, professional leadership and make oversight more transparent. “If the current governance and structure of CYFD was working, then we would not be here,” said Alvin Salee, a long-time child-welfare professional who testified in favor. Opponents, including the Health Care Authority and CYFD leadership, warned the change could fragment decision-making and hamper cross-agency collaboration for services that must be coordinated among Health, HCA, Indian Affairs and other agencies. The committee voted to advance the resolution to the next stage for consideration by voters if approved by the Legislature in later steps.

Finally, House Bill 364 requires CYFD to identify federal benefits (for example Social Security survivors or disability benefits) to which a child in state custody is entitled, to pursue those benefits, to establish an account or representative-payee arrangement in the child’s interest, and to prohibit using the child’s federal benefits for routine department maintenance costs. Representative Anaya, sponsor of HB 364, told the committee the bill “clarifies and really ensures that youth in CYFD custody are getting all of the federal benefits that they are afforded.” Disability Rights New Mexico and national advocates said the change is a feasible near-term reform that preserves assets for children and young adults as they age out of care; CYFD said it supports the effort and asked for statutory clarity about which benefits are in scope.

Votes at a glance

- House Bill 5 (Office of the Child Advocate), as amended — advanced from committee (due pass as amended). Motion to due-pass made by Representative Romero and seconded by Representative Sapanski.

- House Bill 203 (CYFD device use and records retention), as amended — advanced from committee (due pass as amended). Motion to due-pass made by Representative Romero and seconded by Representative Abeta.

- House Bill 205 (Family First/Plans of Safe Care and CYFD nominating committee) — committee substitute advanced (committee voted “do not pass” on the original bill and “do pass” on the judiciary committee substitute); motion made by Speaker Martinez and seconded by Representative Chavez.

- House Joint Resolution 5 (constitutional amendment to create an independent CYFD commission) — advanced from committee (due pass). Motion carried on a roll call vote.

- House Bill 364 (federal benefits for children in CYFD custody) — advanced from committee (due pass). Motion to due-pass made by Speaker Martinez and seconded by Leader Sapanski.

What’s next

Each measure will proceed to further legislative consideration and, where noted, additional implementing language and technical fixes are expected to be drafted by sponsors and staff. The constitutional amendment would require additional legislative steps and, if approved by the Legislature, voter ratification before taking effect.

Committee members, witnesses and advocates asked sponsors and staff to refine statutory definitions (for example, which federal benefits are included and how representative-payee arrangements should be administered), to address potential conflicts with personnel rules, and to work with tribes and other stakeholders on implementation details. Several members urged that any changes intended to strengthen child welfare include guaranteed tribal representation in enabling legislation and that legislators and agencies coordinate on implementation timetables.

The committee adjourned after completing its agenda.