CYFD ‘in crisis:’ AG files lawsuit after 14 child deaths tied to agency failures

New Mexico’s child welfare agency has failed to protect children in its care for years — and used state confidentiality laws to hide it, according to a new investigative report from the New Mexico Department of Justice.

Attorney General Raúl Torrez released the report Wednesday and filed a lawsuit in Santa Fe District Court seeking to bar CYFD from using confidentiality statutes to shield itself from oversight and retaliate against foster parents and caregivers who raise concerns.

The investigation, launched in April 2025 following the death of a teenager at an AMI Kids facility, reviewed more than 20,000 pages of records and included more than 150 witness interviews. Among the findings: 14 children died in the past two years in circumstances tied to lapses in CYFD decision-making. Independent monitors found the agency met performance standards for zero of 42 targeted outcomes in 2024 — down from a 5% compliance rate in 2023.

“This report confirms what too many families, advocates, and frontline professionals have long known — New Mexico’s child welfare system is in crisis,” Torrez said.

The report also details a pattern of retaliation against foster families. In one case, a Silver City grandmother who shared court records with law enforcement to assist in a child abuse prosecution had a child removed from her care without notice, just as she was completing her foster licensing process. Investigators heard from foster parents who said CYFD’s conduct is directly responsible for a shortage of foster homes statewide.

Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said the findings matched what his deputies have reported for years. “When 72-hour holds are obstructed, safety plans are used as a substitute for real protection, and communication breaks down, children stay in danger,” Allen said.

Key findings from the report include:

• CYFD routinely misses interviews and home visits, allowing abuse and neglect to go undetected.
• Children in state custody are housed in office buildings, hotels and group shelters due to a shortage of foster homes.
• The agency delayed removals from unsafe homes and prematurely reunified children with unfit caregivers.
• CYFD withheld information from the state attorney general, State Police, the Office of the State Auditor, and independent court monitors — even after the Legislature amended the confidentiality statute in 2025 to require more openness.

Read the full CYFD investigative report: nmdoj.gov/publications/cyfd-report/