Jerry Ortiz y Pino

New Mexico has ranked consistently near the bottom when it comes to child well-being. The Children, Youth and Families Department, which is supposed to protect the most vulnerable children, has also battled scandals, secrecy, and staffing instability for decades. In the first of a series, KUNM looks deeper into the legacy of these longstanding challenges and how they affect families in the foster care system.

There’s a push in the legislature to make it easier for minors to get medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder. Twin bills in the House and Senate call for the state to stop funding programs that restrict the treatment, while creating a fund to support programs that offer it.

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.

Even before former Gov. Susana Martinez kicked the legs out from under behavioral health care system six years ago, services in the state were inadequate.…

More than 20 organizations joined together Tuesday to call on lawmakers not to cut funding for behavioral health services. Roberta Rael, founder and…

Psychiatric Meds In School—PASSEDIf parents refuse to give their child psychiatric medicine, the school can’t prevent the student from participating in…

A New Mexico legislator is trying to help inmates sign up for Medicaid around the state. Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino says his bill, Senate Bill 42, could help…