New Mexico has officially ended a long-criticized practice of allowing foster children with no homes to be placed in state Children, Youth and Families Department offices, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday.
All of the remaining children staying in agency offices have been placed in “safe and appropriate settings,” the governor announced in a news release. Most of them have been placed in family-based settings or were reunified with their families “with additional wraparound services,” though some were placed in congregate care settings such as group homes.
“We owed it to these kids to make it happen, and now overnight office stays for children in CYFD’s care are a thing of the past,” Lujan Grisham said in the release.
Friday’s announcement came after Lujan Grisham in January signed an executive order barring the practice, a mandate that was set to go into effect on Sunday.
The move came after years of criticism over the practice, which has been employed because of New Mexico’s failure to recruit and retain enough appropriate foster placements. Critics have argued office stays are harmful to children, with some experiencing abuse or sexual assault during such placements.
According to the release, CYFD had as many as 30 children stay in offices during the winter holidays.