EDITORIAL: Funds for baby bonds could be better spent on boosting foster care

Following the federal government’s recent decision to no longer pay for foster children at New Mexico’s new “multi-service” foster home that just opened in May, the need for our state to implement new and sustainable solutions — solutions that impact children in need of immediate support and care — has never been more clear.

More than 2,000 children are in state custody and the Children, Youth & Families Department has only 1,016 licensed homes available. The math simply isn’t adding up. More than 980 New Mexican children are in need of homes. Bold, new approaches are desperately needed.

While some families have offered to take on more than one child, that unfortunately would not be enough to cover the state’s needs for 980 at-risk children lacking a stable home. And besides, we don’t want to see foster homes grow to the size of mini-institutions.

Some state leaders are proposing government-funded trust accounts known as “baby bonds” for every child born in the state after a certain date. But instead of focusing on long-term proposals that pay dividends in a couple of decades, state lawmakers should direct funding toward today’s most vulnerable children by incentivizing new foster home family recruits and retaining existing ones.

The proposed $6,000 per child baby bonds, estimated to cost $120 million annually, could instead fund recruiting efforts aimed at adding licensed homes and additional services to support foster children, while creating long-term funding streams to boost the number of desperately needed licensed foster homes.

To incentivize the recruitment and retention of new foster families, the state could establish a robust program that includes providing initial stipends to new foster parents upon becoming licensed and procuring items for foster children – such as bedding, toiletries and school supplies. Additionally, funds could be used as ongoing monthly payments per foster child placed in their home to better support the child.

The state could also create a public awareness campaign to highlight the need for foster parents and support available foster homes, continuing to partner with community organizations and faith-based groups to reach potential recruits. Additionally, allocating funds to enhance training, respite care, and other support services for existing foster families could help address the high turnover rate.

While we support efforts to begin bridging New Mexico’s wealth inequality, the state has an opportunity to help address an immediate gap as well – as opposed to 18 years from now.

Foster Care Capacity data from 2020 found that 1,815 non-white and 1,729 white children were in foster care services. This data highlights this is a widespread community issue. It is by no means one group of at-need children.

Without adequate conditions and support, these children will be at elevated risk of ending up homeless, incarcerated or addicted to drugs, according to research cited in a recent Legislative Finance Committee report. These same statistics were what caused the federal government to stop funding group homes.

Research has consistently shown that children in foster care who are placed in stable, nurturing family environments tend to have significantly better outcomes compared to those in group homes or other institutional settings. Children in family-based foster care are more likely to experience improvements in their mental health, academic performance, and overall well-being.

One longitudinal study tracked children in foster care into adulthood and found that those who spent more time in family-based placements were less likely to experience homelessness, incarceration, or other negative outcomes as young adults. The consistency, individualized attention, and sense of belonging that foster families provide are crucial for helping these vulnerable children heal and thrive.

Many New Mexico families are active supporters of foster care, offering support for children’s emotional well-being, helping them complete high school, and ensuring they know they belong. Nothing is more important than a child feeling a sense of belonging. Many arrive in foster care performing poorly in school, with behavioral problems or with a juvenile criminal record. But we don’t have nearly enough foster homes to meet the needs of our most vulnerable children.

New Mexico is currently struggling to even retain its existing foster homes. On average, the same number of foster families that leave are replaced with new recruits, leading to a stagnation as more children need help. This stagnation sees abused or neglected children removed on an emergency basis from their parents and having nowhere to go.

For children acting out due to neglect from parents, they are often further ignored. With only four active juvenile detention centers statewide, the pressures on CYFD and foster homes are greater than ever before. Arresting a child for a violent or serious offense is one thing. Housing them, and getting them the professional help they need and restoring a familial sense of belonging, is something else.

So, children are living at CYFD offices short-term. CYFD had a high of 50 children statewide in March who stayed in their offices. That is not acceptable. These children deserve far better than that — they deserve a home.

The need to have children, who desperately need a place of their own and the attention of committed adults, sleep or stay in CYFD offices cannot continue to be the norm. This has only led to further trauma, marginalization and ostracism — not to mention lawsuits, such as the current arbitration for alleged failure to comply with the 2020 Kevin S. settlement agreement, in which a court correctly ruled that children should not be housed in CYFD offices for non-emergency reasons.

Baby bonds are worth revisiting, but at the present we have hundreds of at-risk children who need immediate support. New Mexico continues to provide opportunities to attend college through the Lottery and Opportunity scholarships, enabling post-secondary education for families who previously could not consider this opportunity. But for those in a failing foster care system, their risks of homelessness, future drug dependencies and incarceration cannot be discounted.

With the federal government no longer funding the CYFD group home, there is an urgent need for additional foster homes. If our state is “awash with funds,” we should prioritize the well-being of children today. We can’t wait 18 years.

Lawmakers should invest in recruiting more foster parents to care for today’s at-risk children. If we take care of today’s at-risk children, there will be fewer of them in the future, and there would be no need for baby bonds.

Raising the number of licensed foster homes is an investment into a safer, happier and less drug-dependent group of young New Mexicans.