New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently signed an executive order to restructure the state’s Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD).
The order, according to a KOAT report, aims to increase transparency within the department and reduce high caseload numbers. The order also calls for independent annual audits and creates a policy advisory council and an office of innovation.
“How do we know if it's working?” Lujan Grisham said. “We're going to know how it's working because we're going to get an out-of-state firm. They will look at compliance, progress and productive efforts.”
The governor hopes the order will address issues within CYFD.
“No one around this table isn't worried about the safety and well-being of kids. There is not one,” Lujan Grisham said.
Others disagree. Maralyn Beck, founder of New Mexico Child First Network, is skeptical.
“It just feels like a lot of words,” Beck said. “It feels like more words and no actions.”
Beck favors the creation of an office of the ombudsman, a legal oversight for CYFD. State Sen. David Gallegos (R-Eunice) is sponsoring a bill that will make that happen.
“What this bill would do is give us an outside view,” Gallegos said. “It creates the office, but it is housed outside of CYFD. When there's issues that come up, we would have someone to go ask the hard questions.”
The governor apparently opposes an ombudsman.
“I don't need that here,” she said. “I need people to work together to build a system.”