Three Years After Horrific Abuse of Mary Melero, New Mexico Ignores Improving Workforce Serving Most Vulnerable

Almost three years after the horrendous and needless death of a young woman under the care of the state, New Mexico’s Governor and Legislators have refused to match their words of outrage with meaningful action – continuing to under-fund quality and safe care.

Part One – Looking Back

Just about three years ago, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham held a press conference about the abuse suffered by Mary Melero, a 38 year old woman who was autistic and developmentally disabled, and a client in the care of the New Mexico Developmental Disabilities Supports Division (DDSD).

The horrific abuse Mary suffered is alleged to have contributed to her death, about two weeks after the Governor’s press conference.

In rambling remarks prefacing the extended press conference, Lujan Grisham nervously and dramatically exclaimed, “this is a state that will not tolerate abuse, neglect, and exploitation of any vulnerable populations in any context, in any way, any shape or fashion.”

“…That means anyone who is involved in Medicaid, anyone who is in long term care program, anyone who is in a DD waiver program, developmentally disabled, it means the gamut; also means as you’ve heard us unravel and really look very thoroughly and carefully at CYFD, means looking at systems that we inherit from a federal funding source that don’t quite make any sense and that’s not going to happen in New Mexico anymore…” [Emphasis added.]

Was Lujan Grisham attempting to deflect responsibility for the abuse on others, despite her administration having been in control for more than four years of the agencies that were supposed to be protecting Mary?

The Governor announced she was putting her Aging and Long Term Services Department Secretary, Katrina Hotrum-Lopez in charge of reviewing what went wrong and had created a ‘tiger team’ across state agencies to essentially get to the bottom of what went wrong.

Lujan Grisham did not mention that Hotrum-Lopez’s agency has a division named Adult Protective Services (APS), that is mandated by state law to investigate alleged abuse, neglect, and exploitation for adults aged 18 and older who are unable to safeguard themselves – the very population of which Mary Melero was a member.

It is one of at least two state agencies with a role to play in keeping people like Mary Melero safe.

The Governor and Hotrum-Lopez have history as a team, having worked closely together back when Lujan Grisham was Hotrum-Lopez’s boss during the Richardson Administration.

In an upcoming additional report, The Candle will lay out what seems to be a carefully choreographed series of events Lujan Grisham, Hotrum-Lopez, and others crafted wasting time and resources to avoid political damage instead of addressing the administration’s failures to fix a broken system – and, in what appears to be an effort to exclude from the public, information about the administration’s failure to address abuse allegations that had been reported to state agencies previous to the events that are alleged to have contributed to Mary Melero’s death.

Lujan Grisham rambled on in the press conference with statements like the following,

“…But with all of the sophisticated aspects and the incredible funding now intended to create equality and purpose and opportunity for everyone, it is still incredibly painful to know that it doesn’t work the way that it’s supposed to.

“But there are bad people in this world and there are bad actors in this state and the message should be incredibly clear.

“I don’t care where that bad actor is, we are coming for you; and the message to families, we will do everything and then some to protect, to safeguard and to make sure that these issues COVID be damned ever happened anywhere in this state…”

But What if the Bad Actor is Actually the State Government’s Indifference?

The Candle has spent the last three years researching how New Mexico’s political class has responded to the tragic end of Mary Melero’s life.

What we have found is that once the news cycle shifted, after the public officials expressed for the media their outrage that something so inhuman could have occurred, things just shifted back to old habits and excuses.

As The Candle will present in the next report, it is clear from independent assessments that compensation for those who provide the day to day care of developmentally disabled and elderly persons, is insufficient – that measure of insufficiency is something that both the Governor and the legislatures budget makers refuse to reconcile.

That leads to inadequate staffing and overworked personnel – and ultimately negatively impacts the quality of care and safety for vulnerable clients.

It is apparent, that despite the words of the politicians, people like Mary Melero just are not that important to those in control of the money and resources of the state’s government … until there is another tragedy.

Tomorrow, The Candle will report on the failure of New Mexico’s political leadership to address root causes of insufficient services and protections for developmentally disabled New Mexicans and the growing population of vulnerable elderly persons in the state.

We connect the dots over the past three years of failed action and excuses of the Governor, her team, and legislators:

• The fact that elimination of the “wait list” is a false claim;
• The failure to deal with a legitimate compensation study in 2023;
• Policy makers ignoring a Capacity Study conclusion that compensation impacts the development of a sufficient workforce;
• Failing to distribute appropriations intended to improve workforce;
• The failure of the legislative leadership in both parties to appoint members to the Disabilities Concerns Subcommittee for several years.

The list continues … as does the indifference of those in power.