The State of New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, 1031 Lamberton Place NE in Albuquerque, photographed in 2015. (Dean Hanson/Albuquerque Journal)
New Mexico’s youth repeatedly return to juvenile jails in large part because of a lack of prevention programs and gaps in behavioral health services, according to a new Legislative Finance Committee report.
The committee presented its findings to state lawmakers Tuesday afternoon and warned that secure facilities operated by the state Children, Youth and Families Department have seen increases in detained kids since hitting a low-point in fiscal year 2021. Staffing challenges have compounded those increases and led some county juvenile jails to turn away children who face charges, while portions of CYFD facilities with beds and cells sit empty due to inadequate staffing…