Legislative analysts and CYFD outline child-welfare needs as committee weighs LFC recommendation

Carly Malone, the Legislative Finance Committee analyst for child welfare, told the Appropriations & Finance Committee that the interim subcommittee focused on best practices and strategies to support the Children, Youth and Families Department ahead of the FY27 budget hearing. Malone said the legislature’s 2025 child-welfare legislation — including Senate Bill 42 and House Bill 5 — reshaped roles, required a Family First Protection Services Act strategic plan (now approved) and created an Office of the Child Advocate attached to the attorney general’s office.

The update matters because New Mexico’s child-maltreatment indicators exceed national averages and the department is operating with recurring gaps. Malone said New Mexico’s child maltreatment rate was 12.6 per 1,000 children versus 7.4 nationwide, repeat maltreatment about 15% versus a 9% benchmark, and protective-services turnover ran near 39% in the latest quarter.

“The plan has been approved,” Malone said of the Family First strategic plan, which LFC said should increase federal reimbursement eligibility. Malone and DFA analyst Marybeth Densmore also reviewed GROW appropriations: FY25 funded $6.2 million across four pilot projects (roughly $4.2 million reverted), and FY26 provided $32.6 million with only about $8 million expended and $2.4 million encumbered as of the previous day.

Acting Cabinet Secretary Valerie Sandoval said CYFD supports the executive budget for three main reasons: more recurring general‑fund dollars for stability, flexibility of GROW funding to respond if the March Kevin S. hearing produces new remedial orders, and a $500,000 executive appropriation for Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) implementation. “One of my main goals is to fully fund the department to help us move the needle,” Sandoval said, noting CYFD had roughly 2,400 authorized FTE with about 1,800 filled and roughly 2,100 children in state custody.

Committee members pressed CYFD on specific operational problems. Representative Dow asked how an escalation at the Las Cruces office occurred and whether children were sleeping in offices; Sandoval confirmed staff were frightened, law enforcement responded, and said 20 children statewide were in offices the prior night, including placements at receiving centers in Bernalillo and Dona Ana counties. On foster-parent pay, Sandoval said an earlier request to double payments was not approved but GROW funding provides an additional $1.25 per month per child and continuous GROW funds fund recruitment and foster-care-plus pilots. Sandoval acknowledged the amount is insufficient for full-model implementation.

Representative Dow also asked how many children died in state custody in 2025; Sandoval responded “nine,” prompting committee members to stress urgency. Lawmakers repeatedly raised the need to convert office placements to appropriate housing and to prioritize staff recruitment and retention.

On fiscal action, Vice Chair Dixon moved that the committee adopt the LFC recommendation for CYFD; the motion was seconded and adopted with no recorded opposition. The committee asked staff and agency leaders for follow-up on GROW spend plans, foster-parent compensation modeling, and the Maximus federal-funds review.

What’s next: the committee adopted the LFC recommendation but directed additional work on implementation and data follow-up, including details on children placed in offices, a breakdown of Title IV-E and other federal drawdown opportunities identified by the Maximus review, and a cost estimate to implement Foster Care Plus at full fidelity.

(Reporting drawn from testimony by Carly Malone, Marybeth Densmore and Acting Cabinet Secretary Valerie Sandoval.)