Minority Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena

By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican

In a sign lawmakers’ patience with the state Children, Youth and Families Department has run out, the House unanimously approved three bills Tuesday designed to bring greater oversight to the troubled child welfare agency.

All three measures now head to the Senate.

But even if they make it out of the other chamber, their fate is up in the air amid pushback from the Cabinet department.

Child welfare advocate Maralyn Beck, founder of the New Mexico Child First Network, said the unanimous approval shows the Legislature is done listening to excuses and waiting for the department to reform itself.

“After years of fighting to improve much needed outcomes for our children and families, the legislative body has heard our cries,” she said. “This is an incredible day for the most vulnerable youth and families in New Mexico.”

The first bill is a measure to create the Office of the Child Advocate, an independent agency to oversee CYFD.

“If you all could think about one person who was always in your corner — whether it was your mom, your dad, your grandma, your grandpa, an aunt, an uncle — you had someone in your corner advocating for you,” Rep. Michelle “Paulene” Abeyta, D-To’hajiilee, said while introducing House Bill 5 on the floor.

“Unfortunately, far too many children who are in state custody do not have someone advocating for them,” she said, adding the office would serve that critical purpose.

Minority Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, who was among the sponsors of the bill, said she couldn’t express how much she appreciated the measure. She offered an amendment that would prohibit the governor, “whoever that is at the time,” from requesting additional names from a selection committee charged with recommending an applicant for the position of state child advocate. The amendment was deemed “friendly” and approved by the chamber.

“We’ve been trying to do this for some time now,” Armstrong said, referring to yearslong efforts to create an independent oversight agency. “You know, it takes a village to give people an avenue when there is something wrong.”

Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, called the bill a “huge deal” but also noted similar efforts have failed in the past.

“I hope it goes through all the way … because sometimes CYFD bills get stopped for some reason; I can’t figure out why,” she said. “This has been one of the ones that’s been brought forward numerous times, and I’m happy to see it moving through.”

CYFD officials have said HB 5, along with a proposed constitutional amendment to restructure the agency’s governance, “would disrupt meaningful, ongoing reform” at CYFD.

“Linking the Office of Child Advocate, administratively, to the Attorney General’s Office will lead to jurisdictional disputes and potential conflicts of interest,” CYFD Cabinet Secretary Teresa Casados said in a statement Saturday after a House Judiciary Committee vote on the two measures. “This would be a grave disservice to New Mexico’s most vulnerable children and the dedicated CYFD professionals who have devoted their careers to protecting and helping them.”

The proposed constitutional amendment, House Joint Resolution 5, would create an independent commission that would hire an executive director to oversee the agency. The full House didn’t take up that proposal Tuesday.

“New Mexico’s most vulnerable children and the dedicated CYFD professionals who work tirelessly to protect and support them rely on us to advocate for legislation that strengthens our child welfare system,” Casados said in a statement after Tuesday’s votes. “Unfortunately, these three bills fall short of that goal. I’m hopeful the Senate will listen to the experts’ concerns and give us equal opportunity to share our perspective in committee.”

The two other measures that sailed through the House Tuesday with bipartisan support are House bills 203 and 205.

HB 203 requires CYFD employees to only use their department-issued devices for communication related to their assigned duties and back up and save all electronic records, according to a fiscal impact report.

HB 205 consists of a package of CYFD reforms that were endorsed by the Legislative Finance Committee, including strengthening plans of care for newborns exposed to drugs and moving responsibility for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act program from CYFD to the state Health Care Authority. It would also create a nominating committee to vet candidates for CYFD Cabinet secretary, with the governor then picking a nominee from the vetted list.

“The children and families of New Mexico deserve transparency and accountability from CYFD,” Rep. Meredith Dixon, D-Albuquerque, said in a statement.

House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, said in a statement New Mexico’s children pay the price when CYFD fails.

“Our goal is to give this critical state agency all the tools and resources it needs to succeed, while also providing necessary oversight to hold them accountable for doing right by our kids,” he said.