ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) set up, what they call, a temporary fix for keeping foster teens from sleeping in office buildings. However, now they’re facing the reality of the situation; they won’t be able to use federal funding to help pay for the group home.
CYFD said the federal government believes group homes put foster teens at a greater risk of ending up homeless, in jail, or addicted to drugs. Meanwhile, CYFD’s Cabinet Secretary Teresa Casados said the home, for now, is better than the alternative.
“We did our best to make it seem like a home,” expressed Secretary Casados, “. . . We’re still really working towards finding appropriate placement for them.”
Since opening the all-male group home in Albuquerque, CYFD said they’ve had about nine teens stay at the facility. Some of them have found foster homes while others have returned back to overnight office stays because they said they’re putting others at risk.
CYFD has set aside $17 million to pay for the “multi-service” foster home. As of now, about six children live at the facility with an average stay of three to four weeks before being placed in a home.
“It’s not [that we] just get 10 new homes. It’s really [about] finding homes that are appropriate for these individuals,” Sec. Casados stated. “So, we’ve kind of taken a step back from just this push to meet a number, as opposed to, let’s really figure out what those needs are, so that we can try to secure the appropriate types of placements.”
CYFD said some of the group-home teens were able to get jobs over the summer, and with school starting, they have an on-site tutor. Additionally, they partnered with a charter school and a local community college to complete online classes.
As for funding, state budget leaders told lawmakers last week that CYFD has used less than half of the $17 million on hand for the group home.
_1729a08b06.jpg)
