New Mexico Child Abuse and Neglect Cases Increase More Than 50%
From New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee September 2023 Newsletter
The Children, Youth and Families Department is on track to increase child abuse and neglect case filings by more than 50 percent this year over last. As of early July, CYFD had filed a total of 339 cases statewide, compared with a total of 448 cases in 2022.
If the agency files the same number of cases in the second half of 2023, the 2023 total for new cases will be 678, 200 more than in 2022.
As of August 2023, 1,954 youth were in CYFD care, a 13 percent increase over August 2022.
Meanwhile, almost 30 percent of funded CYFD positions were vacant in mid-September, with almost 300 vacancies in the Protective Services Division.
The department held a rapid-hire event at the end of August and plans to extend offers to 110 applicants.