A New Mexico lawyer who previously filed a lawsuit against the state for preventing him from issues within CYFD is now acknowledging that the gag order has been lifted. He desires to inform the public about the ongoing problems within CYFD.
Attorney Harold Atencio from Albuquerque recently spoke with News 13’s Alexis Keski to shed light on what he believes is continuous abuse and neglect occurring within the organization. For many years, a state statute prohibited Atencio from speaking out, but now he is free to bring attention to these matters.
Atencio mentions a specific client who was a qualified foster parent but had her foster license revoked by CYFD after she adopted one of the children under her care. CYFD used the reason that she didn’t earn enough money as an excuse, suggesting she fostered children for financial gain. Atencio asserts that this accusation is false. The separation of the two children due to CYFD’s actions was unjustifiable, but at that time, they couldn’t make the issue public.
However, with the recent decision by the 10th Circuit Court, the case can now be revealed. Atencio believes that there are numerous problems within CYFD that need to be addressed and hopes that bringing these issues to the attention of the press and the public will initiate change. News 13 attempted to seek a comment from CYFD but received no response..
