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Committee backs task force to study foster‑care recruitment, retention and alternatives after reports of children sleeping in state offices
Summary
Committee substitute for Senate Bill 305 would create a task force to study and recommend reforms to foster‑care recruitment and retention. Sponsors said the panel aims to get children out of state offices and improve supports for foster families; the committee gave the measure a due‑pass recommendation.
Senate Bill 305 (committee substitute) would create a task force to examine foster‑parent recruitment and retention, explore alternative models such as county‑run systems and nonprofit partnerships, and recommend actions to reduce the number of children sleeping in state offices, according to sponsor testimony during the Jan. 21 committee hearing.
Senator Biosyn (sponsor) said the bill was driven by reports that at least 41 children for whom the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) is legal guardian were “on the run or missing” and by accounts of children forced to sleep in state offices. She described the situation as “untenable,” cited the Kevin S. settlement the state reached in 2020, and said reforms promised under that settlement remain incomplete.
Marilyn Beck, founder of New Mexico Child First Network, testified in support and described models used in other states—particularly Utah—where statutory, nonprofit and county innovations had reduced or eliminated the practice of children sleeping in offices. Beck said the panel could examine county‑run systems and nonprofit partnerships that recruit and train foster parents.
Committee members asked about task‑force membership, reporting and funding. The committee substitute added members requested by stakeholders, including a tribal member with lived experience and representation for kinship caregivers and LGBTQ+ community members; it also specifies reporting to CYFD and the Legislative Finance Committee. The sponsor noted existing FY25 funds ($1.25 million in prior appropriation) devoted to foster‑parent recruitment and retention and said a separate appropriation had been removed from the substitute.
Senators discussed whether the task force should be statutory or a memorial, and the chair advised sponsors they could convert the measure into a memorial later if they preferred statutory removal of an appropriation. A motion for a due‑pass recommendation carried; the transcript records a committee vote of 9 to 0 on the committee substitute.
Supporters argued the task force would allow evidence‑based review, bring in institutions of higher education for research, and examine innovative models to keep children out of state offices and stabilize placements.
