SANTA FE, NM— Earlier today, three Republican legislators sent a formal letter to the New Mexico Attorney General requesting clarification on the potential abuse of the Open Meetings Act [N. M. S. A. 1978, § 10-15-1] by the Children’s Youth and Families Department prohibiting public participation from the House Joint Memorial 10 Task Force on Foster Care Reform.

The letter asks for clarification by the New Mexico Attorney General to determine if this is a violation of the Open Meetings Act. State Representatives Kelly Fajardo (R-Los Lunas), Rebecca Dow (R-T or C), and David Gallegos (R-Eunice) all co-signed the formal letter.

“The task force was directed to make recommendations involving CYFD’s Protective Services Division’s policies and procedures,” said Rep. Rebecca Dow, a co-sponsor of the original House Joint Memorial 10, “Our intention with this task force was to reduce bureaucratic burdens, improve training, and study the benefits of placement stability. Most importantly, our goal was to improve the safety and well-being of children in the care of the child protective services system by improving the relationship between the children, CYFD and resource families.”

“Unfortunately, CYFD has decided to conduct these task force deliberations in a series of closed and private meetings where the public and other interested parties were never notified or invited,” said Rep. Fajardo, another co-sponsor of House Joint Memorial 10, “I have lost count of the number of complaints I have received from across the state relating to the way in which this task force continues to operate. I have heard concerns from sitting task force members, social workers, providers, foster parents and constituents. The message is clear: the public is upset that they are not being invited to participate in critical public policy creation.”

“We look forward to New Mexico’s Attorney General reviewing these Open Meeting Act concerns in an official manner and weighing in on this matter of open government,” Rep. David Gallegos said. “This task force is a body formed with the intent to determine public policy of a State Agency - just as the Open Meetings Act stipulates. If this task force continues to develop policy, such as policy recommendations- like the memorial requests- these meetings must be open and available to the general public.”

In the 2019 New Mexico legislative session, the legislature passed House Joint Memorial 10 which directed the Children’s Youth and Families Department to address critical issues and work together with the community to improve and reform the Child Protective Services division.

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.