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Committee advances memorial to pilot trauma‑informed storytelling for children in CYFD care
Summary
House Memorial 61, which would fund a pilot to test trauma‑informed storytelling interventions for children in CYFD custody or care, received a unanimous due‑pass recommendation. CYFD said it will contract for a small pilot and work with researchers and speech‑language pathologists to develop measures and a one‑year evaluation.
House Memorial 61, requesting a trauma‑informed storytelling strategy for children in custody or care of the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD), received a unanimous due‑pass recommendation from the House Health & Human Services Committee.
Deputy Secretary Kathy Geningstall (introduced in committee as the deputy secretary for behavioral health and family services at CYFD) described the memorial as a pilot to develop storytelling-based interventions that help children process trauma and build coherence in narrative skills. "One of the major components of that healing has to do with the use of language and the development of language," she said, explaining CYFD would work with speech-language pathologists and behavioral specialists and the researchers who developed the digital storytelling approaches referenced in testimony.
Geningstall and the sponsor said the pilot would be small, contract-based and designed to let the department test approaches before proposing larger-scale legislation. She described hiring or contracting for a speech-language pathologist to work intensively with a handful of families and caseworkers to build shared experiences and develop story-based therapeutic activities; CYFD said it would likely structure the project as a contract or RFA and expects an initial pilot period of about one year.
Committee members expressed support and asked for detail. Representative Eleanor Chavez asked who would deliver the intervention and how the department would staff it; Geningstall said CYFD would work with researchers to plan and initially contract for services rather than immediately hire permanent staff. Representative Nicole Chavez suggested outreach to organizations such as the Children's Grief Center; members said they would welcome CYFD and researchers returning with evaluation metrics and a budget.
Representative Sena Cortez moved the due-pass recommendation; Representative Anaya seconded. The committee voted 10–0 to give the memorial a due-pass recommendation.
CYFD said it will develop a pilot scope, contract for services as needed, and report back on outcomes; the memorial asks for a strategy and study before any broader statutory action.
