Establishes the Office of the Child Advocate to bring greater oversight to the department

Santa Fe, NM - A key Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) reform bill is now headed to the House Floor, after passing the House Appropriations and Finance Commitee today with a unanimous vote of 17-0. 

House Bill 11 would establish the Office of the Child Advocate within the Attorney General's office. This new office would review and strengthen the services provided by CYFD to better protect children's rights to privacy, health care, and education. It would also investigate and work to resolve complaints, make referrals and recommendations, operate a toll-free hotline, and provide an annual report detailing its work and findings. 

The Office of the Child Advocate is one of the solutions to emerge from a months-long working group studying potential CYFD reforms.

The bill has a dozen bipartisan sponsors including Rep. Tara Jaramillo (D-Socorro), Rep. Kathleen Cates (D-Rio Rancho), Majority Whip Reena Szczepanski (D-Santa Fe), Rep. Eleanor Chávez (D-Albuquerque), and Rep. Marian Matthews (D-Albuquerque).  

"Whenever a child is harmed, we must take immediate steps to understand what went wrong so that we can prevent future tragedies," said lead sponsor Rep. Jaramillo. "House Bill 11 builds on the success of similar initiatives in other states, while addressing the unique needs of New Mexico, to bring greater accountability to CYFD and better protect our children." 

The bill now moves to the Senate.