近距离内射合集

Repeat cases of child maltreatment dropped in 14 New Mexico counties over the past year, but rose in hot spots such as Bernalillo, Santa Fe, and Lea counties, according to data released Tuesday from the state Children, Youth and Families Department.

The overall repeat maltreatment rate of just under 15 percent statewide was a slight improvement over the prior year, said CYFD Secretary Teresa Casados at a legislative budget hearing in Santa Fe on Tuesday. Yet, the national rate is still about 9 percent.

Hiring is up, but the agency is still wrestling with high staff turnover and a chronic shortage of foster homes.

CYFD, which is seeking a 6.1% increase in its operating budget that begins July 1, is asking for $37.8 million for 101 positions to meet caseload standards and to open a CYFD training academy. The agency plans to give licensed social workers on staff a temporary 10 percent salary increase to help with retention.

But funding alone isn鈥檛 the answer, several legislators told Casados.

The strained relationship between the administration and the Legislature over how to remedy the problems dominated the hearing on Tuesday.

鈥淭wo years ago, the exec told everybody, we鈥檙e going to fix this on our own, don鈥檛 change any laws, and the Legislature stayed silent ... and (said) we鈥檒l give them a chance to fix that,鈥� said state Sen. George Mu帽oz, D-Gallup. 鈥淲e had the money and we had the opportunity to make the change and it didn鈥檛 happen.鈥�

With Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham鈥檚 second term expiring on Dec. 31, 2026, Mu帽oz told CYFD cabinet secretary Teresa Casados, 鈥淵our days are numbered, we鈥檝e got two years and how much change can you make? Let鈥檚 fix what we have. If we don鈥檛 work together to fix this, it鈥檚 going to get worse.鈥�

Mu帽oz noted that exit surveys of CYFD employees in 2023 revealed the most frequently reported reason for leaving was 鈥渓ack of support from leadership鈥� at 19%. Eight percent cited being 鈥渙verworked.鈥� Another 8% said they had new opportunities, and 7% cited 鈥渢oo many caseloads/backlog.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檝e strengthened the pay (to try to keep workers),鈥� said Mu帽oz, who chairs the Legislative Finance Committee. Since 2000, he added, 鈥渢he pay scale went up 37.7%.鈥�

Mu帽oz said he doesn鈥檛 blame Casados for the leadership issues, noting she is the third CYFD secretary in five years and took office last year. But he said, the agency needs stability and should instill in its supervisors the need to communicate better.

Casados announced her agency will be starting a new program, called Foster Families Plus, for children in state custody who need more intensive care than regular foster families can provide. The pay rate will be enhanced for such families, and CYFD hopes the new category of foster homes will help the agency eliminate the need for hard-to-place children to temporarily live in CYFD offices, she said.

CYFD created five new positions to better support and retain foster families, but even though the openings have been posted, Casados said no one has applied. CYFD has 250 job openings agency-wide, with 155 in protective services.

With the aim of preventing neglect and abuse, CYFD鈥檚 new Family Services section has provided help to more than 1,650 families this year, but Casados said, 鈥淎ll of this work is concerning if our maltreatment numbers don鈥檛 decline.鈥�

The percentage of children who experience repeat maltreatment went down in Sierra, Curry, Cibola, Valencia, Grant/Catron, Eddy, Dona Ana, Sandoval, McKinley, Lincoln, Otero and San Juan counties, but the rest of New Mexico鈥檚 33 counties showed single digit increases. Bernalillo County鈥檚 repeat cases went from 15.9 percent to 18.2 percent over the past year.

CYFD still hasn鈥檛 been able to find enough suitable placements so that youths in state custody don鈥檛 have to be housed temporarily in CYFD offices. In response to a question from state Rep. Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, Casados said a total of 17 youths spent the night Monday in a CYFD office.

鈥淎s we all acknowledge it is unacceptable, it鈥檚 dangerous and it鈥檚 creating and causing some of the challenges that are affecting kids and affecting staff,鈥� Small said of the office stays, which have been used for several years statewide because of a lack of suitable foster homes.

Small said he鈥檇 like CYFD 鈥渢o robustly look to leverage a partnership with the Legislature on legislative changes. That鈥檚 not been the approach used for the majority of this administration. ...鈥�

Casados said CYFD in the future will be looking to replace some federal funding with state general funds.

But Small said he doesn鈥檛 鈥渇eel comfortable making that a recurring budget item before there is an appropriate approach (involving the Legislature). Saying no to those policy proposals from both chambers and both parties (by saying) 鈥楴o, we don鈥檛 want that,鈥� fundamentally changes the budget conversation.鈥�