STUDY CYFD AS INDEPENDENT EXECUTIVE DEPT

HM001

HOUSE MEMORIAL 1

57
th legislature
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
second session
, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Patricia Roybal Caballero and Pamelya Herndon

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE FINANCE COMMITTEE TO CREATE A TASK
FORCE TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY AND IMPLICATIONS OF AMENDING THE
CONSTITUTION OF NEW MEXICO IN ORDER TO CREATE A CHILDREN, YOUTH
AND FAMILIES DEPARTMENT AS AN INDEPENDENT EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
NOT UNDER THE CONTROL OR DIRECTION OF THE OFFICE OF THE
GOVERNOR AND ESTABLISH AN INDEPENDENT GOVERNING COMMISSION TO
HIRE AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO ASSUME MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
OF THE DEPARTMENT.

WHEREAS, when it comes to child welfare, it is imperative
to have a well-structured system that timely and effectively
serves vulnerable children and families; and

WHEREAS, the system of care must meet the needs of
children and families in a manner that encompasses the best
interests of the children and families it serves; and

WHEREAS, the children, youth and families department was
created by the legislature in 1992 in response to the efforts
of former First Lady Alice King to consolidate all services for
children and families under one cabinet secretary and to carry
out as its primary responsibilities the effective
administration of protective services for children and
families; supervision and services for delinquent youth and
youth who are at risk of becoming delinquent offenders and
improvement of their ability to thrive in their communities;
and the administration of a behavioral health system for all
children in New Mexico; and

WHEREAS, over the past three decades, the children, youth
and families department has assumed numerous other obligations
and responsibilities, which has diminished its effectiveness
and focus on its primary areas of service; and

WHEREAS, identifying an organizational structure that will
best fulfill the children, youth and families department's
primary responsibilities is critical to system improvement; and

WHEREAS, the mission and work of the children, youth and
families department have been plagued by operational missteps,
leadership changes and high turnover and vacancy rates, all
combining to result in dismal outcomes for New Mexico's
vulnerable children and families; and

WHEREAS, a snapshot-in-time view of the broad reach of the
children, youth and families department was captured in a May
2023 KOB-TV website post of the department's online dashboard,
which revealed that at the time there were one thousand seven
hundred forty-four children in state custody, one thousand
seven licensed foster homes and four thousand two hundred
thirty-eight pending department investigations, showing that at
any given time, the department touches the lives of thousands
of New Mexico children and families; and

WHEREAS, in that same KOB-TV website post, the dashboard
indicated a children, youth and families department vacancy
rate of twenty-five and four-tenths percent, and the
department's high turnover rate has been identified as a key
obstacle to operational stability and performance; and

WHEREAS, according to a June 25, 2025 LegisStat report
published by the legislative finance committee, the 2023 data
available from the federal administration for children and
families shows that New Mexico's child maltreatment rate was
twelve and six-tenths per one thousand children, seventy
percent higher than the national average of seven and four-tenths per one thousand children, and New Mexico's repeat child
maltreatment rate for fiscal year 2024 was fifteen percent
compared to the national benchmark of nine percent; and

WHEREAS, the same LegisStat report notes that, although
the children, youth and families department has submitted
proposed federal Family First Prevention Services Act plans,
which are federal plans requiring states to implement
evidence-based prevention programs in order to receive plan-related Title 4 federal funds, the most recent plan submitted
by the department was not approved, meaning that New Mexico
continues to be one of only a few states without an approved
plan and that the state continues to miss out on the
opportunity for associated federal reimbursement; and

WHEREAS, the failure of the children, youth and families
department to obtain approval of a federal Family First
Prevention Services Act plan is just one example of the
department's continuing performance struggles, and the
LegisStat report indicates that in fiscal year 2025, the
department inappropriately used the majority of a twenty-million-dollar ($20,000,000) appropriation intended to provide
start-up costs for behavioral health services that would have
been eligible for medicaid or other federal reimbursement; and

WHEREAS, a June 11, 2024 report on New Mexico's child
welfare system by the child welfare subcommittee of the
legislative finance committee provides a suggested framework to
improve outcomes for New Mexico's children and families to
include:

A. implementation of evidence-based prevention and
early intervention programs;

B. development of a professional social work
workforce;

C. expansion of access to behavioral health and
other services; and

D. strengthening oversight and accountability
mechanisms; and

WHEREAS, organized pursuant to the Executive
Reorganization Act, the children, youth and families department
is a cabinet-level executive department that, among other
duties, provides juvenile justice services, child protective
services, behavioral health services and program support; and

WHEREAS, some stakeholders have proposed that
consideration should be given to whether the current executive
branch structure best serves the mission of the children, youth
and families department and that perhaps the department should
be restructured separate from the office of the governor and
instead established as a department governed by an independent
commission to provide enhanced transparency and more direct
oversight of the department; and

WHEREAS, implementing such a structural change would
likely require amending the constitution of New Mexico to
create a children, youth and families commission appointed by
the legislature; and

WHEREAS, the proposed restructuring would change the
governance and operations of the children, youth and families
department by providing that a commission would be charged with
the hiring and oversight of the department's executive
director; and

WHEREAS, before the time and expense of pursuing a
constitutional amendment is expended, a restructuring proposal
should be carefully studied and evaluated to determine whether
it would enhance the children, youth and families department's
ability to effectively carry out its duties in furtherance of
its statutory obligations; and

WHEREAS, a study of any proposed restructuring of the
children, youth and families department should include input
from key department staff with experience at various pertinent
levels within the department, child welfare, behavioral health,
foster care and juvenile justice experts, advocacy
organizations, tribal governments, families impacted by the
services or programs administered by the department and other
relevant stakeholders; and

WHEREAS, the study should identify the potential benefits,
challenges and costs of moving forward with the proposed
changes and identify any positive or negative implications or
outcomes; and

WHEREAS, the study should provide a comparison of how
similar commission structures function in other states,
followed by findings and recommendations regarding whether the
proposed structural and governance model would likely improve
outcomes for New Mexico's children and families;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative
finance committee be requested to appoint a bipartisan task
force to study the feasibility and implications of amending the
constitution of New Mexico in order to create a children, youth
and families department as an independent executive department
not under the control or direction of the office of the
governor and establish an independent governing commission to
hire and oversee an executive director to assume the management
and operations of the department; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be composed of
no more than eighteen members, including bipartisan legislative
representation, key children, youth and families department
staff, subject-matter experts in social work, behavioral
health, foster care and juvenile justice, tribal government
representatives, stakeholders and advocacy groups representing
stakeholders; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative finance
committee be requested to provide sufficient administrative and
staff support for the task force to enable the task force to
meet at least monthly and move the task force's work forward in
a structured, consistent, public and transparent manner; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in evaluating the proposed
changes, the task force be requested to study, recommend and
report on:

A. the potential advantages and disadvantages of
transitioning from the current cabinet-level executive
oversight to an independent governing commission structure;

B. the estimated costs associated with creating and
maintaining a new commission, including staffing, operations
and necessary infrastructure changes;

C. similar commission structures in other states
and whether those states have experienced measurable improved
child welfare outcomes;

D. the potential impact on accountability,
transparency and coordination with other state agencies;

E. appropriate qualifications for commission
members and the executive director of the newly structured
department;

F. the path forward for ensuring a smooth
transition process and a time line if the proposed changes were
implemented;

G. potential legal and constitutional issues,
including the need for, and pursuit of, a constitutional
amendment;

H. any input from tribal governments on how the
proposed restructuring would impact Indian child welfare; and

I. any other relevant considerations the task force
deems appropriate; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to
make recommendations to the legislature and the governor by
November 15, 2026 for consideration during the first session of
the fifty-eighth legislature; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the members of the legislative finance
committee, the director of the legislative finance committee
and the governor.

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