CYFD needs more legal teeth to keep kids safe

There is a laundry list of tragic child abuse cases in New Mexico, and after each one a public outcry of “how could this happen?”

Two items hit the news recently that call for action. The first came to light after a horrific beating of a 1-year-old: it was a reminder that safety plans put in place by the state Children, Youth and Families Department are completely voluntary, with no repercussions if adults don’t follow them. The other surfaced after a legislative hearing revealed CYFD staff are hampered by an outdated computer system the agency relies on to keep children safe.

Police say a 1-year-old Albuquerque boy was almost beaten and kicked to death by his mother, Dahn Leidy, last week. The beating occurred six months after CYFD approved a safety plan for Leidy’s 3-year-old son that placed him with his paternal grandparents due to concerns about drug use and that he was being abused by another adult. A safety plan was also approved for the 1-year-old, who has a different father, that kept the child in the home with Leidy. The beating occurred two weeks after CYFD had opened a new investigation into the care of the 1-yearold based on a neighbor’s report that the boy was walking around the apartment complex where he lived with his mother unattended and without shoes, pants or a shirt.

We get that sometimes kids can walk away from even the most responsible and attentive parent. And according to the Albuquerque Police Department report, Leidy came looking for the child, her apartment seemed in order and there were no signs of bruises or abuse on the child.

And the bar is high to remove a child. Cabinet Secretary Monique Jacobson says staff must find a child is in imminent danger and make every reasonable effort to keep a family intact before it can happen.

And while CYFD did not find anything in that apartment to conclude imminent danger, it did open that new investigation based on the neighbor’s report to police, and the family’s history with the agency and law enforcement. But that still didn’t protect the boy. On July 23, Leidy’s boyfriend, Florencio Mendoza, 35, called police saying Leidy was going to “hurt the baby, watch him die and commit suicide.” Police arrived to find him severely injured. The child was placed in a medically induced coma with head and internal injuries.

Jacobson says her agency is continuing its investigation into Leidy and her 1-year-old child. CYFD’s new supervisory management team in the Bernalillo County office is also checking to ensure all procedures have been followed. That’s important — especially in light of the results of a recent investigation that resulted in 11 employees being disciplined, including terminations.

But the fact remains the child’s safety plan, the mechanism to ensure he was in a safe environment with a responsible adult, was voluntary. There is nothing that allows CYFD to remove a child if a parent fails to follow the plan — which can include drug counseling, anger management, or an agreement that another adult is involved in the child’s safekeeping.

Jacobson says CYFD lobbied in 2014 and in 2015 to make safety plans mandatory by court order, but legislation never made it out of either chamber. Making safety plans mandatory would give CYFD some teeth to ensure they are being followed. Four years and too many tragic child abuse cases later, lawmakers should give CYFD the authority it needs to help keep kids it investigates safe.

Which brings us to the 20-plus-year-old computer system at CYFD. While this antique certainly doesn’t cause tragic cases, it hasn’t helped employees track kids quickly and efficiently through the system. The Family Automated Client Tracking System is hard to access from outside the office, so staff members sometimes carry printouts to court or on family visits. It breaks down and forces employees to re-enter information.

But with advocates clamoring to expand early childhood services, it is essential to have a system in place that tracks those children. An upgraded computer system that lets employees serve the public is one of the nuts and bolts of what government is supposed to provide.

Especially when it comes to keeping our youngest, most vulnerable residents safe.