SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The number of northern New Mexico residents seeking custody of abused and neglected children born to relatives has skyrocketed in the past two years.
People who work in the state’s family courts system say opiate addiction and other substance abuse drove the more than 70 percent increase in kinship guardian cases between 2014 and 2016, reported The Santa Fe New Mexican (https://bit.ly/2hNBZOE ). The number had been steadily growing over the past decade before the recent spike.
About 90 percent of the applications for relatives seeking custody are tied to substance abuse by one or both parents, according to Stephen Stone, director of Family Court Services for the First Judicial District.
The first district, which includes Santa Fe, Rio Arriba and Los Alamos counties, has seen a similar rise in the number of children in foster care. State child welfare officials say that problem is also driven by substance abuse.
“Everyone who is working with families seems to understand this is a big problem in our district and in our state,” Stone said. “It has the potential to change the fabric of our community.”
People who take custody of grandchildren or other relatives can participate in the foster care program, but many choose guardianship instead. Those family members don’t receive assistance from the state as foster parents do, but advocates have been pushing for more services and financial help for kinship guardians in New Mexico.
Child advocacy group New Mexico Voices for Children says about 6 percent of the state’s kids are primarily cared for by their grandparents, compared to about 4 percent nationwide. In Rio Arriba County, the number is 10 percent.
“It’s directly tied to heroin,” said Roy Stephenson, a former Children’s Court attorney who came out of retirement to make recommendations to judges about the best interests of children being cared for by relatives.
“The degree of substance abuse, particularly in the Espanola Valley, just keeps escalating,” said Stephenson. “I think poverty is also a major contributor to family cases.”
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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, https://www.sfnewmexican.com
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