Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Chávez, E.
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2/3/25
SHORT TITLE CYFD Commission
BILL
NUMBER
House Joint
Resolution 5
ANALYST Garcia/Greenham
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
SOS
No fiscal
impact
$35.0 to $50.0
No fiscal
impact
$35.0 to $50.0 Nonrecurring General Fund
CYFD
No fiscal
impact
No fiscal
impact
Up to $125.0 Up to $125.0 Nonrecurring General Fund
Total
No fiscal
impact
$35.0 to $50.0 Up to $125.0
$160.0 to
$175.0
Nonrecurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Conflicts with House Bill 205
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Child Welfare Information Gateway
National Conference of State Legislatures
Agency Analysis Received From
Office of Family Representation and Advocacy (OFRA) Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) New Mexico Attorney General (NMAG) Health Care Authority (HCA)
Agency Analysis was Solicited but Not Received From
Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) Secretary of State (SOS)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Joint Resolution 5
House Joint Resolution 5 (HJR5) seeks to amend the New Mexico Constitution to restructure the
governance of the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) by removing it from the
Governor’s Cabinet and establishing an independent Children, Youth and Families Commission.
The commission would consist of five members, each appointed for six-year terms by the
governor, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives,
the minority floor leader of the Senate, and the minority floor leader of the House of
Representatives. The appointment terms of the commission would be staggered with the House Joint Resolution 5 – Page 2
governor’s appointee filling a two-year position and other appointees serving four-year terms.
The commission would be responsible for hiring an executive director no later than July 1, 2027,
to assume CYFD management and operations and to enforce laws under the jurisdiction of
CYFD. HJR5 empowers the Legislature to establish the professional qualifications required for
Commission members and the executive director.
As a constitutional amendment, adoption is subject to voter approval at the next general election
or special election that may be called for this purpose.
The joint resolution provides the amendment be put before the voters at the next general election
(November 2026) or a special election called for the purpose of considering the amendment. The
amendment would only be effective if approved by voters.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
Under Section 1-16-4 NMSA 1978 and the New Mexico Constitution, the Secretary of State
(SOS) is required to print samples of the text of each constitutional amendment in both Spanish
and English in an amount equal to 10 percent of the registered voters in the state. SOS is required
to publish the samples once a week for four weeks preceding the election in newspapers in every
county in the state. Further, the number of constitutional amendments on the ballot may impact
the ballot page size or cause the ballot to be more than one page, also increasing costs. The
estimated cost per constitutional amendment is $35 thousand to $50 thousand, depending on the
size and number of ballots and if additional ballot stations are needed.
Agency analysis notes the implementation of HJR5 may have fiscal and administrative
implications from transitioning CYFD’s governance to an independent agency, including:
Administrative restructuring and personnel realignments;
Legal and regulatory updates;
Facility and branding modifications;
Development and approval of a revised Title IV-E state plan to ensure continued federal
funding; and
Potential increases in operational costs if existing administrative supports provided by the
executive branch must be separately contracted or recreated.
HJR5 could also result in costs associated with rebranding CYFD’s website, media presence, and
printed materials, but these are likely minimal. This analysis assumes $50 thousand in one-time
costs in FY27. HJR5 does not expressly note whether members of the commission are eligible
for mileage or per diem under the state Per Diem and Mileage Act. The operating budget of the
commission would likely include mileage and per diem. Costs would depend on how often the
commission meets. This analysis assumes $75 thousand for these costs in FY27. This analysis
does not assume a cost increase to the state associated with hiring an executive director, given
CYFD’s budget already includes salary costs for a cabinet secretary. Operating costs at CYFD
are unlikely to change with a change in governance.
Both the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) and Office of Family Representation and
Advocacy (OFRA) note potential fiscal impacts related to enforcing the new law and impacts to
caseloads, though the direct fiscal impact of the change in CYFD governance for these agencies
is likely minimal.
House Joint Resolution 5 – Page 3
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
HJR5 would provide a new governance model and method for selecting leadership for CYFD,
which faces significant leadership instability and performance challenges including chronic staff
shortages, case backlogs, and an increasing number of abused and neglected children in New
Mexico. Notably, CYFD had three different secretaries from 2019 to 2023, and the department
will likely have a new secretary appointed by the newly elected governor after the 2026 election.
The governance model proposed in HJR5 could stabilize CYFD leadership and lead to
performance improvements by insulating the agency from cyclical executive branch leadership
changes. Other state agencies, such as OFRA which provides legal representation for children
and respondents involved in children’s court cases, have governance structures similar to those
proposed in HJR5. AOC notes that the “constitutional amendments proposed by HJR5 would not
change New Mexico from a state-administered child welfare system, but it would allow it to be
an independent state agency, similar to the Law Offices of the Public Defender.”
Research indicates that turnover among child welfare staff negatively impacts service delivery
and child outcomes. The proposed Commission’s authority could mitigate the frequent turnover
that has characterized CYFD in recent years. However, OFRA’s raises concerns about whether a
small, politically appointed commission could introduce new administrative challenges,
including potential deadlock in hiring decisions or ideological conflicts among commissioners.
OFRA suggests that a larger Commission that includes ex officio members with lived experience
in the child welfare system might be more effective. OFRA and the Health Care Authority
(HCA) also note that the bill does not define the role of the commission in agency operations,
nor does it specify a term length for the executive director; ambiguity in these areas could lead to
operational inefficiencies or leadership gaps, particularly if the commission experiences delays in
selecting an executive director.
Moving CYFD outside of the executive branch could impede collaboration with other state
agencies that perform critical child welfare-related functions, including the Early Childhood
Education and Care Department (ECECD) and the Health Care Authority (HCA), which are part
of the governor’s cabinet. Inter-agency coordination could become more complicated, leading to
difficulties in aligning broader child welfare, education, and healthcare initiatives across the
state; however, none of the agencies that provided analyses cited specific examples of problems
that could arise due to complicated inter-agency coordination.
Both OFRA and the New Mexico Attorney General (NMAG) note that the restructuring may
affect New Mexico’s eligibility for federal funding, particularly under Title IV-E of the Social
Security Act. Title IV-E provides funding for foster care, adoption assistance, and kinship care
programs and requires states to maintain an approved plan with the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. Changes to CYFD’s governance structure could require revisions to New
Mexico’s Title IV-E plan and necessitate federal approval to avoid funding disruptions.
Additionally, NMAG notes the potential impact of the proposed structural governance changes
on New Mexico’s compliance with the federal Indian Child Welfare Act and the state Indian
Family Protection Act. These laws govern child welfare proceedings involving Native American
children and prioritize tribal involvement in decisions affecting their placement. The potential
impact of CYFD’s governance change on compliance with these laws should be carefully
examined to ensure that the transition to a commission-led structure does not disrupt existing
protections for Indigenous children and families.
House Joint Resolution 5 – Page 4
According to LFC analysis of the oversight functions in other states, child welfare commissions
are typically long-term bodies with appointed members who work to address broad child welfare
issues while providing stability and leadership across changing executive administrations.
Alternatively, some states have created child welfare commissions for short-term oversight and
governance functions with identified sunset dates. Child welfare commissions may be tasked
with permanent and direct oversight of the state child welfare agency’s leadership, such as
Oklahoma’s model, or they may have limited functions, such as a focused investigation into a
specific issue of concern. Additionally, commissions can include representation from the child
protective agency while maintaining an external oversight status (e.g., New York’s 2021 Blue
Ribbon Commission on Forensic Custody Evaluations) while other commission models provide
direct governance of the state child welfare agency.
While research about child welfare outcomes associated with different governance models is
limited, studies of child welfare workforce retention emphasize that professional qualifications,
supervisory support, and manageable caseloads are key factors in improving child welfare
outcomes. According to a systematic literature review conducted by the Institute for the
Advancement of Social Work and Research at the University of Maryland, professional
commitment and the level of education are the most consistent personal factors, and supervisory
support and workload are the most consistent retention factors related to child welfare workers.
1
In addition, child welfare workers who possess social work degrees are linked to improved
outcomes for children and families, and to the retention of child welfare staff. Leadership criteria
established by the proposed Commission could result in the hiring of a CYFD executive director
with child welfare expertise, which could translate to a strengthened child welfare workforce.
The Attorney General indicates that implementing HJR5 would likely necessitate updates to New
Mexico’s Children’s Code (NMSA 1978, Chapter 32A), the CYFD Act (NMSA 1978, Chapter
9, Article 2A), and related provisions of the New Mexico Administrative Code.
HJR5 does not mention whether the commission would be subject to the Per Diem and Mileage
Act, the Governmental Conduct Act, the Inspection of Public Records Act, the Financial
Disclosure Act, or the Open Meetings Act.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
HJR5 could have performance implications for other agencies, including OFRA and the Courts,
as both agencies measure outputs which include case filings and time to certain proceeding in
abuse and neglect cases.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
Conflicts with House Bill 205, which would create a nominating committee to provide a list of
potential CYFD cabinet secretary candidates to the Governor but would not change governance
of CYFD.
RMG/MG/rl/SL2
1
DePanfilis, D., & Zlotnik, J. L. (2008). Retention of front-line staff in child welfare: A systematic review of
research. Children and Youth Services Review, 30(9), 995-1008.