It is a race to the finish line for legislation aimed at reforming New Mexico’s troubled Children Youth and Families Department.
SANTA FE, N.M. — It is a race to the finish line for legislation aimed at reforming New Mexico’s troubled Children Youth and Families Department.
That starts with major changes to a program our 4 Investigates team discovered was failing our most vulnerable families – the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, known as CARA.
An emergency room is not the place any of us want to be but, at an Espanola hospital last July, a northern New Mexico grandmother was almost relieved when officers show up.
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“This is what I needed, this is really what I needed,” she said to an officer.
She’s not thankful that her 10-month-old grandson overdosed on fentanyl.
“I’m not saying I wanted this to happen. But this is what happened right now. I can use this in court to petition for my own grandson,” she said.
She’s hopeful this time someone may finally listen.
“It makes me sick to my stomach. No mother and no New Mexican should have to hear that. And we should be held accountable for that,” said Republican state Rep. Gail Armstrong, the New Mexico House Minority Leader. “The governor should be held accountable for that. CYFD should be held accountable for that.”
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Armstrong remembers when New Mexico passed CARA in 2019. Instead of calling CYFD for child abuse when a baby was born to a mom on drugs, hospitals were supposed to create a plan of care – a way to get parents help while keeping families safe together – but that’s not how things always play out.
“CYFD was involved when the baby was born. But then after a while they dropped the case,” the grandmother said. “And that was it. Which, I think they’re doing a shi–y job because they should have followed through.”
Over the last several years, 4 Investigates discovered dozens of babies have died from a drug overdose or with drugs in their system. Their parents are either in prison or facing years behind bars.
“There’s no reporting. There’s no follow up. The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing and it’s really no one’s fault but CYFD,” Armstrong said.
While families like Jeramay Martinez’s are stuck in a cycle of addiction.
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“How do you expect someone to follow a plan when there is no plan? There is no resource. There is no actual treatment. That’s what I saw,” Martinez said.
Democratic state Sen. Michael Padilla said the New Mexico Legislature will finally overhaul CARA this year.
“There’s a lot of people with their eyes on this now so we don’t drop the ball on this ever again,” Padilla said.
Senate Bill 42, which Armstrong signed on to, moves the CARA to the Healthcare Authority. That would allow care coordinators to use an evidence-based model to get that family what they need. It would no be longer voluntary. If a family doesn’t engage, there will be a family assessment and a call to CYFD.
Padilla said lawmakers set aside more than $20 million for the program.
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“There’s just no horsing around anymore. We are going to focus like a laser beam on that baby,” Padilla said.
There is hope – but also skepticism. Family members told KOB 4, even with a plan, if services aren’t available the moment someone is willing to go, they won’t get the help they need.
“This administration has had six years to fix this and they kept saying give us time, give us time, give us time. Well, time is up.”
Police in New Mexico say two suspects have been charged with three open counts of murder following a mass shooting at a park that left three dead and 15 injured.
Tomas Rivas, 20, and a 17-year-old boy were arrested on Saturday evening, Las Cruces Police said on Facebook. The victims who died in Friday evening’s shooting at Young Park have been identified as 16-year-old Andrew Madrid, 18-year-old Jason Gomez and 19-year-old Dominick Estrada.
Police say Madrid and Gomez died on the scene, while Estrada died after being taken to a hospital.
Fifteen victims, whose ages range between 16 and 36, were injured. Nine are male and six are female, police said, adding that they will not release their names to “protect their privacy.” Medical conditions of the surviving victims have not been released.
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3 DEAD, 15 INJURED IN NEW MEXICO SHOOTING, POLICE SAY
Tomas Rivas, 20, next to the crime scene at Young Park in Las Cruces, New Mexico.(Doña Ana County Detention Center)
“This tragedy reminds us that it’s going to take all of us to continue to come together to address these senseless acts of violence,” Democratic House Speaker Javier Martinez of Albuquerque said Saturday at the conclusion of an annual legislative session, The Associated Press reported.
The shooting took place around 10 p.m. during an unsanctioned car show.
NM LAWMAKER WHOSE SON WAS MURDERED RIPS DEMS FOR ‘HOMICIDE SCHOLARSHIPS’ AFTER HER CRIME BILL WAS TANKED
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Crime scene technicians investigate the parking lot at Young Park after Friday night’s fatal shooting in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Saturday, March 22, 2025.(Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal)
“The investigation so far reveals that there was an altercation between two groups of people and that altercation escalated to gunfire between both groups,” Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story told reporters during a press briefing.
Rivas was booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center, where he is currently being held without bond. The juvenile suspect was taken to the juvenile detention facility. Additional charges are pending against the two, police say.
Crime scene tape and evidence markers can be seen in a parking lot while crime scene technicians look over the Young Park parking lot after a mass shooting.(Justin Garcia/The Albuquerque Journal)
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Federal and state agencies are assisting the Las Cruces Police Department in the continued investigation of the shooting.
A fundraiser has been set up to help victims and their families. It can be found here.
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Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Who does Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal like in this NCAA Tournament game between the Spartans and Lobos?
Will Michigan State basketball move on to the Sweet 16 on Sunday night? Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal has some thoughts on that and how this second round NCAA Tournament matchup between the Spartans and Lobos will play out.
Michigan State will battle No. 10 seed New Mexico in a second round NCAA Tournament matchup from Cleveland on Sunday night. The game is scheduled to tip off around 8:40 p.m. ET, with the winner moving on to the Sweet 16.
The Spartans relatively handled No. 15 seed Bryant in their first round matchup on Friday, winning the game by more than 20 points in the end. New Mexico used a dominant second half effort to upset No. 7 seed Marquette in their first round matchup.
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As far as New Mexico goes, Couch believes the Lobos possess arguably the best player on the floor in this matchup. New Mexico star guard Donovan Dent is a game-changer and is who Couch focused his Lobos analysis on — see a bit of that below:
“Dent makes the Lobos go. The ball is in his hands a lot — he has one of the higher usage rates in college basketball — but it’s for good reason. He’s a multi-level scorer and shot-maker, and 40% 3-point shooter who only takes about two per game. He does a lot of his work getting to his spots inside the arc and getting downhill and to the rim. He operates one of the most uptempo offenses in college basketball, though it didn’t look like it against Marquette.”
As far as the game goes and how Michigan State can handle Dent, here’s what Couch had to say:
“The Spartans’ were overly amped for their first-round game and it showed with some wild missed shots and missed assignments early on. That should be out of their system. I like this matchup for MSU. Dent is a terrific guard, but MSU has a lot to throw at him.”
How does Couch ultimately see this game playing out in the end? Does he like Michigan State to move on to the Sweet 16 or their season come to a close on Sunday? See his full analysis and prediction on the Lansing State Journal.
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Three people were killed and 14 were injured during a shooting in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Friday night, according to local police.
Two 19-year-olds and one 16-year-old were killed in the shooting, which unfolded at a park around 10 p.m. local time, according to a Facebook post from Las Cruces Police. The victims haven’t been named.
The people injured range in age from 16 to 36 years old, according to police.
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No one has been arrested yet in connection with the shooting, but police are “actively following multiple leads,” reads the post.
In a Saturday Instagram post, Las Cruces City Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Johana Bencomo described the shooting as “a heinous act of violence that will leave our city mourning.”
“My heart is broken for the victims and families impacted,” she wrote.
Las Cruces is located on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, around 41 miles north of the US-Mexico border.
