New Mexico
CYFD launches new center to keep foster kids from sleeping in offices
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Foster teens sleeping overnight in office buildings: it’s a problem the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) has promised to fix, as it struggles to find foster families. Now, the department is opening up what it calls a solution. KRQE News 13 spoke with CYFD about those plans and others who feel its not enough.
“It’s been a long year for me since I came onboard a year ago, in really trying to restructure the agency,” said Teresa Casados, cabinet secretary for CYFD. One of the problems CYFD has dealt with as the state faces a lack of foster families surrounds kids and teens staying overnight in their offices—where conflicts between workers and foster children have escalated to the point of 9-1-1 calls.
The situation—highlighted in a KRQE Investigates report—has been hard to fix according to Casados, who says the agency has had little luck signing up new foster parents.
“From the 124 events that I think we’ve had, we had 19 people that actually engaged with us after those events,” Casados said. Despite low interest, the department’s been working to get kids out of CYFD’s offices in a different way: a new multipurpose home for boys aged 12 and up in Albuquerque.
“It’s a CYFD facility that we have. It used to be the Girl’s Reintegration Center, and we’ve made some upgrades to that location. AMI Kids is operating that for us,” Casados said.
The facility has four bedrooms with three beds to a room, a classroom, and an outdoor recreation area. Staff includes a chef, a nurse, and therapists onsite. Casados says they have partnerships with a charter school and a local community college to do online school and have a tutor onsite. They also have a partnership with Workforce Solutions.
“It’s really about normalcy for those kids and providing them the environment that will prepare them for you know, life. Some of these are older youth. They’re 15, 16, 17 years old,” Casados said.
“We’re still continuing to look for placement, but if they end up going into Fostering Connections or transitional living for youth, we want to make sure they’re prepared and have the skills to be successful,” Casados said.
So far, five kids are living there. The facility has the capacity for 12, and Casados hopes to have the rest of the boys living in the offices transition to the center by month’s end.
However, some advocates aren’t thrilled with the venture, saying the state has other obligations it still needs to meet. Jesse Clifton, an attorney with Disability Rights New Mexico, says CYFD has already settled a lawsuit in 2020 that highlighted the overuse of congregate care.
“The allegations of that lawsuit in general terms alleged that children who have been subject to abuse and neglect and had been brought into the custody of the state of New Mexico were further subjected to more abuse and neglect as opposed to updating the resources and supports they needed to thrive,” Clifton said.
“The lawsuit aimed at total system reform, and the lawsuit was brought in 2018 and it settled in 2020 with the state agreeing that the child welfare system in New Mexico was in need of pretty total reform,” Clifton said, “Those have overwhelmingly been disappointing progress reports as there’s much of the settlement that has yet to be satisfied and many of the deadlines have passed.”
He says prior to the lawsuit, children were inappropriately housed in group care: “Everyone has always agreed, I mean from the time of the settlement agreement to the corrective action plan which was as recent as last year—children belong in family homes. That’s the goal.”
Clifton says the new center doesn’t align with that goal. “That term multi-service home, multipurpose home, is a little bit of a misnomer because for all of its amenities is not a family home. It’s still congregate care and so we just have to keep those realities in mind,” Clifton said, “While this is movement of some kind, it’s not the movement that was agreed to and it’s not again the solution. This is more of a band-aid than a solution.”
Casados says the goal here is ending the office stays: “I think this is the better of those two situations, but our goal really is to make sure we can get those kids into permanent placement in a family-like setting…You know locations like this, you know multiservice homes are not ideal and there will be some people that don’t think this is the best course of action for us to take. We just want to make sure we’re meeting the needs of the kids.”
CYFD is also working to create a similar home for girls in Albuquerque who are currently staying in their offices.
CYFD emphasizes: they are looking for people to become foster parents to help with this issue. “Any help that we can get in encouraging individuals across the state to become foster families or even to give it a try if they want to be a respite family and try that slowly, we’d love to have a conversation with them about that,” Casados said.
For more information on becoming a foster parent, head to CYFD’s website here.
New Mexico Lobos (22-8, 13-6 MWC) at Utah State Aggies (24-6, 14-5 MWC)
Logan, Utah; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: New Mexico takes on Utah State after Deyton Albury scored 22 points in New Mexico’s 82-74 loss to the Colorado State Rams.
The Aggies have gone 13-1 in home games. Utah State scores 82.7 points and has outscored opponents by 12.2 points per game.
The Lobos are 13-6 in conference matchups. New Mexico is second in the MWC allowing 70.1 points while holding opponents to 41.7% shooting.
Utah State makes 50.1% of its shots from the field this season, which is 8.4 percentage points higher than New Mexico has allowed to its opponents (41.7%). New Mexico scores 9.9 more points per game (80.4) than Utah State gives up to opponents (70.5).
The teams square off for the second time this season in MWC play. Utah State won the last matchup 86-66 on Feb. 5. Mason Falslev scored 19 points points to help lead the Aggies to the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Collins Jr. is scoring 17.3 points per game with 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists for the Aggies. Falslev is averaging 15.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 50.0% over the past 10 games.
Jake Hall is shooting 48.6% and averaging 15.8 points for the Lobos. Antonio Chol is averaging 1.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Aggies: 7-3, averaging 79.5 points, 28.5 rebounds, 16.6 assists, 7.2 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 47.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.4 points per game.
Lobos: 6-4, averaging 79.8 points, 32.0 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 7.0 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.6 points.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
New Mexico
New Mexico (NMAA) High School Boys Basketball State Championship Brackets, Schedules – March 7, 2026
The 2026 New Mexico high school boys basketball state championships begin on Saturday, March 7, with 40 games in the first round of action.
High School on SI has brackets for every classification in the New Mexico high school basketball state brackets. The championship games begin on March 14 at the University of New Mexico – The Pit.
New Mexico (NMAA) High School Basketball State Championship Brackets, Schedule – March 7
No. 1 Volcano Vista vs. No. 16 Santa Fe – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 8 Las Cruces vs. No. 9 Albuquerque – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 5 Hobbs vs. No. 12 Organ Mountain – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 4 La Cueva vs. No. 13 Atrisco Heritage Academy – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 3 Rio Rancho vs. No. 14 Mayfield – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 6 Sandia vs. No. 11 Farmington – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 7 Centennial vs. No. 10 Carlsbad – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 2 Cleveland vs. No. 15 Alamogordo – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 1 Highland vs. No. 16 Grants – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 8 Belen vs. No. 9 Portales – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 5 Taos vs. No. 12 St. Pius X – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 4 Del Norte vs. No. 13 Valencia – 03/07, 7:00 PM MT
No. 3 Hope Christian vs. No. 14 Pojoaque Valley – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 6 Albuquerque Academy vs. No. 11 Goddard – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 7 Gallup vs. No. 10 Silver – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 2 Artesia vs. No. 15 Bloomfield – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 1 St. Michael’s vs. No. 16 Wingate – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 8 Tohatchi vs. No. 9 New Mexico Military Institute – 03/07, 3:00 PM MT
No. 5 Santa Fe Indian vs. No. 12 Sandia Prep – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 4 Navajo Prep vs. No. 13 Hot Springs – 03/07, 3:00 PM MT
No. 3 Cobre vs. No. 14 Ruidoso – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 6 Bosque vs. No. 11 Cottonwood Classical Prep – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 7 East Mountain vs. No. 10 Robertson – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 2 Tularosa vs. No. 15 West Las Vegas – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 1 Texico vs. No. 16 Clayton – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 8 Tucumcari vs. No. 9 Mora – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 5 Mesilla Valley Christian School vs. No. 12 Dulce – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 4 Santa Rosa vs. No. 13 Eunice – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 3 Mesa Vista vs. No. 14 Hozho Charter Academy – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 6 Rehoboth Christian vs. No. 11 Oak Grove Classical – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 7 Escalante vs. No. 10 Menaul – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 2 Pecos vs. No. 15 Mescalero Apache – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 1 Logan vs. No. 16 Quemado – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 8 Cliff vs. No. 9 To’hajiilee – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 5 Alamo Navajo vs. No. 12 Grady – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 4 Melrose vs. No. 13 Elida – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 3 Cimarron vs. No. 14 Pine Hill – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 6 Roy/Mosquero vs. No. 11 Mountainair – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 7 Magdalena vs. No. 10 Springer – 03/07, 3:00 PM MT
No. 2 Fort Sumner/House vs. No. 15 Gateway Christian – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
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