AG excoriates governor over message on CYFD bill
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham talks about some of the bills on crime in the Legislature this year. The news conference was held in the Governor's Office, Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday signed a bill to create an independent office for child welfare, but made clear her displeasure with both the Legislature and State Attorney General Raúl Torrez over the debate surrounding the Children, Youth and Families Department.
Because the governor's office received HB5 more than three days before the session's end, she was required to sign or veto it by Friday morning.
House Bill 5 creates an Office of the Child Advocate headed by a state child advocate appointed by a seven-member committee with members chosen by the governor, lawmakers and the courts. The office is administratively attached to the office of the attorney general (which is how the renamed Department of Justice is referred to in the legislation), but amendments added on the Senate Floor curtailed some of the office's original powers. That included removing its ability to subpoena; and requiring the New Mexico Office of the attorney general to develop rules to prevent conflicts of interest. An amendment also removed language that would have allowed the new office the authority to determine if CYFD or one of its employees had violated a child's rights and referred such instances to the Attorney General.
The bill is one of several lawmakers debated during the session in response to ongoing problems at the beleaguered agency. The state's Risk Management Division recently reported a $3.9 million shortfall in its settlement fund, with child welfare cases playing a heavy role. In 2024, CYFD settled for $18 million across 12 settlements, according to a Source NM review of the settlement data available on the state's portal. The settlements ended lawsuits alleging the department's responsibility for the deaths or severe injuries of children in state custody, from years ago.
In her message to lawmakers on Friday, the governor noted the importance of protecting children and said that is why she had proposed creating the Child Protection authority 'to receive and investigate complaints of abuse, neglect and foster care cases. The Legislature's preferred Office of the Child Advocate, she said, was 'initially weaponized' by the AG and the Legislature 'to intimidate CYFD and its staff.'
The bill, she added, 'was not designed to protect children.' Rather, 'it was a thinly-disguised vendetta by a Legislature that is still upset at my continuing pursuits of meaningful criminal justice legislation.'
Lujan Grisham's message also made note of an earlier version of the law that would have allowed the AG 'to engage in civil litigation against CYFD and its employees. 'I find it disturbing that the individual who refers to himself as 'the chief legal counsel and advisor to the executive branch of state government including all executive department' literally lobbied for authority to bring legal action against the very people he purports to be 'counsel and advisor' to and did not appreciate the obvious conflict of interest that would have created.'
The governor concluded by describing herself as 'deeply disturbed by the legislature's gleeful condemnation of CYFD. These same legislators insulted social workers, foster families, and case managers. People that literally spend their days trying their best to do good work for our children to keep them safe and give them the supports they need. The irony that the same individuals that literally refuse to fully fund the agency to hire enough staff then criticize their vacancy rates and unmanageable workloads.
In response, Department of Justice Chief of Staff Lauren Rodriguez issued a statement that said, 'While we are encouraged by HB5 becoming law, we are deeply disappointed that the Governor chose to center the discussion around herself and her inner circle.The focus of this bill should have remained squarely on the children who suffer from neglect, abuse, and systemic failures. Nowhere in the Governor's statement is there acknowledgment of their struggles or the urgent need for reform. I believe leadership means prioritizing the people we serve, not engaging in personal grievances.'
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