Informing a New Mexico Child and Family Services System Blueprint

Nearly 75% of child welfare cases in New Mexico are related to physical neglect, a caregiver’s inability to meet the basic needs of a child such as food, clothing, and shelter. These are symptoms of a greater issue, of root causes that impact New Mexican communities and their families. Our communities need a broader approach to support to prevent child maltreatment long before it begins.

Current child welfare efforts work to support families once they have already been identified as at risk for child maltreatment and while these are an essential element of child and family support, they are not the sole approach to be considered.

Across New Mexico, Town Halls and Focus Groups are being held to inform the development of a Child and Family Services System blueprint. This project was proposed by House Majority Floor Leader Gail Chasey and funded by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. Community members, service providers, and families in six New Mexico counties are invited to voice their experiences accessing or providing services in their community.

Mission

Create a blueprint for Child and Family Services based on the voices of New Mexicans that defines what comprehensive array of services and opportunities need to exist for children and youth to thrive in their communities. Upon completion, the blueprint will lay out a plan for the State of New Mexico to provide a continuum of services from prevention to intervention prior to system involvement up to restorative intervention. Services to raise the quality of life for all New Mexicans. As a result of this project, existing agencies and entities within the state will receive direction on service gaps to address by altering existing services or delivering new services.

If child welfare is the protective arm of the state, this blueprint provides an avenue for the state that could lower the number of children and families requiring child welfare intervention. A comprehensive trauma-informed child and family services system blueprint provides a review of the network of services, across providers and disciplines, required to support New Mexico’s families.

Project Summary

Fiscal year 2025 will define an ideal community that is resourced for the needs of families by conducting community focus groups and town halls where the Anna Age Eight Institute, along with their 100% New Mexico county partners, will gather and record the voices of service consumers, families in need, and community members with strong data collection and analysis. This process will reveal areas in need of improvement and development across the state. Focus groups and town halls will be conducted in Rio Arriba, Taos, Chaves, Doña Ana, Valencia, and McKinley counties.

This information will inform the formation of a task force in fiscal year 2026 with local and national expert participants. This task force will design a comprehensive trauma-informed child and family services system blueprint for presentation to the legislature by end of fiscal year.

Download our project documents for additional information.