The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department plans to set up three new group homes for foster children in Bernalillo County, despite years of concerns from lawmakers and others that the practice endangers children.
The agency issued a request for proposals July 9 that seeks to set up three new facilities to house between six and 10 children each — one exclusively for boys, another exclusively for girls, and a third designed to host both, according to CYFD’s website.
The new facilities would replace three that were previously operating on “sole source emergency contracts” designed to provide housing and other services to foster children quickly, spokesperson Jake Thompson said in a statement. The contracts for the existing facilities expired at the end of June, and the homes are either in the process of closing or are on temporary extensions.
“CYFD aims to ensure the best programs possible to meet the needs of the young people in our care,” Thompson wrote. “… The department is proceeding this year with a competitive process. The goal is to identify supportive environments that will accept our children 24/7 and provide stability and services to meet their social and emotional needs.”
The request for new contractors comes after the contract with Florida-based nonprofit AMIkids Inc. for a troubled Albuquerque group home for boys was allowed to expire at the end of June.
Spokesperson Roxane Wergin said earlier in June the organization chose not to accept a contract extension, and that it was “proud of the work our team has done in service to youth and families through this program and remain committed to our mission of helping young people develop the skills and confidence needed to succeed.”
The AMIkids facility faced a number of issues during its two years of operation, and in April 2025, a 16-year-old boy named Jaydun Garcia died by suicide at the site. A lawsuit filed earlier this year alleged staff at the facility failed to act in preventing the boy’s death.
Meanwhile, Thompson said CYFD also offered contract extensions to nonprofit Youth Development Inc. to continue operating two other Albuquerque facilities, with one hosting boys and the other hosting boys and girls. The organization accepted the extension, Thompson said, adding it will last for the next six months — long enough, CYFD hopes, for the state to finalize contracts for the three new facilities. He added the extension includes a clause allowing for an emergency extension to ensure the new homes are available.
Thompson said the new homes would not be additional facilities, and do not represent an expansion of the state’s use of group homes to house foster children who are otherwise difficult to find placements for.
Rather, he said they are designed to replace the existing facilities with temporary contracts. Thompson noted the statewide capacity of such group homes to house foster children — currently around 26 beds — will not change.
He added the state does not yet know how much the three new facilities will cost, as that will depend on the proposals contractors send in. Thompson noted CYFD has $10.5 million from the state Legislature’s Government Results and Opportunity program, which funds temporary pilot projects, to pay for its group homes.
So far, 17 organizations have apparently viewed CYFD’s request for proposals — including Youth Development Inc. and AMIkids.
CYFD has long argued congregate care facilities, like the Albuquerque home for boys, offer a middle-of-the road option between housing children in agency offices — a strategy the state announced it ended earlier this year — and the ideal situation of placing foster kids with families.
Despite CYFD’s insistence the three new facilities do not represent an expansion of its use of group homes, some have expressed concerns about the agency’s apparent commitment to continue using such facilities.
Sara Crecca, an attorney who has specialized in child welfare issues and who is representing Garcia’s estate in his wrongful death lawsuit, said CYFD has frequently demonstrated it is not able to ensure adequate care for foster children being housed in group homes. She noted the facilities also often fail to provide kids with the services they need, like on-site, in-person therapy — something Garcia reportedly requested before his death but was not provided.
“The state has to make a decision to stop warehousing our kids. They deserve better. They’re removed from families, and they deserve family-like settings so they can thrive. And these institutions do not provide that. Period,” Crecca said.
