Children Youth and Families Department

An estimated 40,000 New Mexico children were raised by grandparents or a relative besides their parents in 2024, according to the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department. A bill in the legislature would create a pilot program to assist these kinship caregivers.

Nearly two dozen pieces of legislation advanced through chamber votes or committee hearings in the New Mexico Legislature over the weekend.

The Kevin S. lawsuit , originally brought by 14 foster children against the state of New Mexico, has been settled for almost five years. But even with corrective plans, change has stalled out.

The state of New Mexico was served with a class action lawsuit in 2018 by 14 foster children and two advocacy organizations to better the child welfare system. The parties reached a settlement agreement in 2020 which is now known by the name of one of the plaintiffs, Kevin S. KUNM explores how the suit began and how it has progressed over the last six years in the third part of a series.

Yesterday we heard about the origins of the Children, Youth, and Families Department, and the state’s decades of struggle to provide care for New Mexico’s most vulnerable children. CYFD improved for a time under a consent decree. But advocates say since then those gains have gone away. KUNM picks up the story in the second part of a series.

With the legislature opening next week, and record revenues coming to state coffers, lawmakers are setting priorities for the 30-day budget session. KUNM spoke with two of them about their biggest issues.

With the legislative session just around the corner, one state senator is proposing to take the Children, Youth and Families Department out from under the governor. The bill is meant to address controversy around the department.

On May 1, New Mexico became the second state to establish hazard pay specifically for child care workers, OLÉ New Mexico announced. The Children, Youth…

Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women nationwide. On Tuesday, the City of Albuquerque announced the creation of a new task force that…

New Mexico’s behavioral health system still hasn’t recovered from 2013, when many service providers were forced to close under former Gov. Susana…