HJR5 may have unintended consequences for state's most vulnerable children

During my 24 years in the New Mexico Senate, my two primary goals were protecting working families and creating opportunities for children. This guided my most important decisions. That’s why I must speak out against House Joint Resolution 5, a proposal that would remove the Children, Youth and Families Department from the governor’s Cabinet, effectively dismantling executive oversight and replacing it with an untested, unaccountable oversight commission. HJR5 also would enshrine this commission in the New Mexico Constitution, making it difficult to abolish if it proves ineffective, as independent experts predict.

HJR5 would put already vulnerable children under CYFD’s care at even more risk. I urge the New Mexico Legislature to reject it.

Reforming state institutions is complex work requiring thoughtful long-term planning, executive authority and independent oversight. HJR5 disregards this necessity by handing this authority over to a political, unelected, unaccountable commission, without providing any clear plan for its future.

Stable leadership and clear chains of command are crucial in a crisis. Hard-working, dedicated public servants at CYFD respond to middle-of-the-night emergencies involving children in desperate circumstances every week. Such stressful situations demand immediate decisions and seamless coordination across multiple agencies. HJR5 would replace this responsive structure with a five-person commission and an executive director with no clearly defined duties or emergency protocols.

The resolution’s timeline is particularly alarming, as it creates a six-month leadership vacuum between the commission’s formation and the hiring of an executive director. Who will make emergency placement decisions during this period? Who will coordinate with law enforcement? Who will ensure federal compliance? The resolution raises troubling questions and proposes no clear answers.

HJR5 also puts millions of dollars in state and federal funding at risk. CYFD operates under federal guidelines that assume executive branch oversight. If the state moves the department outside this structure, it threatens funding streams, with no backup plan. In an era of federal funding uncertainty and instability, it’s dangerous to play with federal funding that CYFD needs to help the children in its care.

The resolution also ignores CYFD’s obligations under the existing Kevin S. settlement, which convenes CYFD and Human Service Department officials, child advocates and nationally recognized experts to transform New Mexico’s child welfare system. When agencies have failed to comply with similar agreements in other states, it has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The instability that HJR5 would create may only make it harder for CYFD to meet court-mandated improvements.

Let’s also consider the human cost. CYFD employs about 2,000 dedicated professionals. HJR5 throws their labor agreements into question and creates uncertainty that could drive experienced staff toward the exits.

Child welfare requires seamless collaboration with early childhood education programs, health care, law enforcement and the courts. HJR5 does not provide for that. In fact, it could significantly hinder such cross-agency cooperation and communication.

Yes, CYFD needs improvement, but destabilizing the agency by removing it from the executive branch would be like treating a broken arm by amputating it. We need to strengthen the agency’s foundation, not tear it apart. This requires adequate funding by the Legislature, support for the agency’s frontline workers and a continued commitment to ongoing reforms.

Our state’s most vulnerable children deserve thoughtful, evidence-based improvements to the system that protects them, not a constitutional amendment that affects the health, welfare and safety of our most vulnerable children. I urge the New Mexico Legislature to reject HJR5.