New Mexico's child-welfare agency kept growing numbers of kids in its offices against a court settlement, told lawmakers it was fine, and stonewalled oversight, the state attorney general found.

An April 8, 2026 investigative report by the New Mexico Department of Justice, based on more than 20,000 pages of records and over 150 interviews, identified eight systemic failures at the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD), including premature reunification of children with abusive families and 14 child deaths from abuse or neglect in 2024 and 2025. Citing the Kevin S.