A lack of child care capacity still leaves parents desperately seeking care, while providers face new hurdles to participate in the program.
Child & Family Welfare
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Data: Little progress so far in expanding New Mexico child care capacity
Data shows capacity in licensed facilities and registered homes increased by just 10 slots between July and mid-December.
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Early Childhood Department pitches $1.2B budget as it grows child care access
Amid an expansion of New Mexico’s child care assistance program to universal access, the state Early Childhood Education and Care Department pitched a $1.2 billion budget for the coming fiscal year to the Legislative Finance Committee on Tuesday. The proposed spending plan, which includes an additional $160.6 million to expand a state-subsidized child care program […]
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CYFD asks for $422.3M in coming fiscal year to fill jobs, meet other requirements
Amid mounting pressures from a landmark child welfare case and lawmakers’ concerns, the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department pitched a $422.3 million spending plan for the coming fiscal year to the powerful Legislative Finance Committee on Tuesday. The ask, which the agency said was an overall 4.7% increase over the current fiscal year’s […]
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New Mexico seeks $1 billion in federal rural health care dollars
The New Mexico Health Care Authority has requested $1 billion in federal funding to bolster rural health care, with the goals of expanding access to specialty care and chronic condition management, strengthening training programs for providers and building a statewide health care data system. The state submitted a 128-page application dated Nov. 4 to secure […]
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CYFD again relying more on placing children out of state, to advocates’ chagrin
More than 100 children in New Mexico’s foster system are in homes and treatment facilities in other states, according to numbers provided by the state Children, Youth and Families Department this week. The numbers mark the latest uptick in a practice the agency was directed to curb years ago through the landmark Kevin S. child […]
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CYFD makes some gains but unlikely to meet recruitment goals
The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department is unlikely to meet several targets laid out by an arbitrator in a landmark child welfare lawsuit, according to numbers presented during a Monday hearing in the case. The agency expects to have 132 net new caseworkers by the end of the year, an amount chief operations […]
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Babies exposed to drugs taken into CYFD custody reaches triple digits, department says
About 100 infants in New Mexico have been taken into state custody so far under a new initiative aimed at safeguarding newborns with drugs or other substances in their system. The state also has worked to improve communication with hospitals and work out kinks in the plan, leading to better safety and treatment for vulnerable […]
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New Mexico has a plan to fix its failure to educate disadvantaged kids. Not everyone thinks it’s enough.
After seven years of draft plans to respond to a landmark education lawsuit failing to come to fruition, the New Mexico Public Education Department finally has a comprehensive blueprint to build an adequate system for the state’s most disadvantaged students. Earlier this month, the agency filed in court an updated, finalized draft of the one […]
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New Mexico not alone in child welfare struggles, national expert tells lawmakers
Amid a worsening crisis in New Mexico of children sleeping in state offices for lack of adequate foster homes and a bleeding child welfare workforce, the light at the end of the tunnel can seem far away. But the state is not alone in its woes, a national expert reminded lawmakers on Tuesday. New Mexico’s […]
