Funding for New Mexico in Focus is provided by viewers like you.

>> Nash: This week on New Mexico in Focus, new state laws take effect, including a slate of reforms to the long-trouble children, youth, and families department.

>> Williams: You can't take a child who's gone through trauma, been taken away from their family, and just retraumatize them over and over and over again, without ever giving them a stable home.

>>Nash: and New Mexico is the third state to allow the medical use of psychedelic mushrooms.

New Mexico in Focus starts now.

Thanks for joining us.

I'm Nash Jones.

This month marks the start of a new fiscal year for our state government.

And with it comes the rollout of about 40 of the new laws passed during this year's legislative session.

This week we're going to break down a handful of them so you know what's changed in higher education.

Treatment options for those suffering from PTSD, substance use disorder and more, plus two full segments on shifts in foster care.

The state will start forgiving student loans for professionals in certain fields and lowering expenses for some graduate students.

So I'll sit down with officials from the state's Higher Education Department, including Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez, to learn about those offers and how they could help more Mexicans feel wide gaps New Mexico is also now the third state to legalize the use of so-called "magic mushrooms" for medical treatment.

A state run medical psilocybin program is expected to be established by the end of 2027.

Later in the show, reporter Cailley Chela speaks to a doctor and a pair of advocates about the way psychedelics can help patients with severe depression and PTSD.

But we begin with the numerous changes made to the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, or CYFD.

Many of the reforms now in effect came out of an omnibus bill, basically several proposals packaged into one big measure.

That was passed earlier this year.

Two local reporters who have spent years documenting shortcomings and failures at the department help us break down the new laws along with the context behind why lawmakers thought they were needed.

Here's part one of my conversation with Ed Williams of Searchlight New Mexico and with Ed Williams of Searchlight New Mexico and Taylor Velazquez of KUNM News.

Taylor Velazquez of KUNM News.

>> Nash: Taylor Velazquez, Ed Williams thanks so much for joining us.

>>Williams and Velazquez: Thank you.

>> Taylor, a key provision of the CYFD reform package, the big package that passed earlier this year, was transferring the comprehensive addiction and recovery act or CARA out from under CYFD's oversight.

What is CARA?

>>Velazquez: Yeah, so CARA basically with this bill, which, like you said, was huge.

It's basically transferring all this responsibility to the health care authority or HCA, but it's basically about building a plan.

So alongside with CYFD, managed care organizations, private insurers, they're all going to create a plan for hospitals, birthing centers, private medical providers just to give them an idea of like okay if an infant is showing signs of substance disorders, withdrawals, addiction, this is what you need to follow.

So, you're creating that plan and you're making sure that providers are giving the families that plan and making sure they're aware as they're getting discharged.

So, everyone should be on that plan and once they're discharged and going home with that kid, you will have a care navigator.

So that's home visiting, that's getting connected with substance disorder programs, infant mental health services.

But if they're not following that plan, then that care navigator is responsible for letting CYFD know, like, hey, this is not happening.

We need to have more basically interventions.

So it's all about that early intervention.

>> Nash: And Ed, you've been covering abuses and shortcomings in the state's foster care system for years at Searchlight and through ProPublica.

Some of that revolved around a lack of available Some of that revolved around a lack of available caregivers and that has resulted in foster kids staying caregivers and that has resulted in foster kids staying in the department's offices.

in the department's offices.

Can you describe some of the experiences that children Can you describe some of the experiences that children have had in these office stays?

have had in these office stays?

>> Williams: Sure, some of them have been really harrowing >> Williams: Sure, some of them have been really harrowing we have seen kids that were most recently being abused by security guards that were staying at the office I mean kids with bruises sometimes being sent to the hospital.

You know in response to violent outbursts or hospital.

You know in response to violent outbursts or something often that they would have because they were something often that they would have because they were so traumatized by this constant instability and sleeping in places that even CYFD itself has said is an inappropriate placement.

Kids aren't supposed to be sleeping in offices, but there's so few foster homes that are able to take especially teenagers who are often have heavier traumas and more complex traumas and are more difficult for some foster families to take.

So they're going often to offices to sleep while a case worker will try to find them a bed.

to sleep while a case worker will try to find them a bed.

And a lot of times they're shuffling in and out of youth And a lot of times they're shuffling in and out of youth homeless shelters throughout the state at the same time.

None of these places have the mental health services that the state is supposed to be providing and that the kids need and so not surprisingly, you're seeing a sharp decline in mental health as these placements occur >> Nash: Some of the kids staying in these offices have also experienced sexual abuse, am I right?

>> Ed: That's right, we know of one case for sure I've heard of a second case that I have an outstanding IPRA request going back six months now.

There was a really infamous case that occurred of a 10 year old I think that was sexually assaulted by an older kid that was in the office.

At the time there were understaffing issues.

There were multiple kids being watched by a single employee, which isn't supposed to happen.

So it's just kind of a constant churn of one tragedy after another.

>>Nash: And what kind of accountability has CYFD faced for these incidents?

>> Williams: They've certainly gotten a lot of heat in the legislature and by youth attorneys, the Kevin S., the landmark legal settlement case, the plaintiffs on that case, as well as the independent monitors, the co-neutrals have consistently been pointing out these failures.

I'm not sure what accountability would actually look like.

A lot of that goes back to the secrecy that the agency hides behind saying these are children's records we can't describe what happened.

>>Nash: Yeah and we'll dig into some of the transparency reforms here in a little bit.

reforms here in a little bit.

One of the other reforms signed into law by the governor One of the other reforms signed into law by the governor this year enacted the Federal Families First Act.

What is that?

And how does it respond to that shortage of caregivers?

And how does it respond to that shortage of caregivers?

>> Williams: Families First is it's been in the works for >> Williams: Families First is it's been in the works for quite a while and a lot of the thrust of it is moving you know kids away from congregate care settings, places like RTCs, shelters, offices, those are all congregate care into more family centered settings.

Foster homes are ideally also like an actual family.

So part of that kind of coincides with an effort that Governor Lujan Grisham had started at the start of her term in back in 2018, to shut down a lot of the RTC’s, residential treatment centers in the state, and replace them with family based settings and a network of community based health services that all kids in New Mexico are supposed to be able to access.

supposed to be able to access.

>> Nash: When Governer Lujan Grisham signed these reforms >> Nash: When Governer Lujan Grisham signed these reforms and the others that we’re set to discuss she chastised lawmakers she said quote the legislature seems to be of the opinion that adding ever increasing administrative burdens on an agency that they refuse to fund at required levels will make children safer.

Taylor what does the department's new budget look like and what were lawmaker’s goals in drafting it as they did?

>> Velazquez: That was a big thing this session I think a lot of lawmakers are all frustrated with the state of CYFD.

So they're trying to kind of come at it from all angles.

But for House Bill 2, which was the budget bill, I think we saw a lot of debate among lawmakers.

They're asking to do a three-year pilot program where CYFD basically has to prove progress which has never really been done for CYFD before.

Now under this pilot program CYFD has to start hitting the marks before anything really happens for future funding.

But also their budgets are pretty flat still.

So not a decrease in funding, not a defunding at all.

But they also have these non-recurring funding.

So that's going to go to treatment centers or facilities where they can train social workers so training academies so training academies So basically hitting those marks that Ed was talking about So basically hitting those marks that Ed was talking about earlier about getting more case workers and doing case studies about how do we fund foster families, things like that.

>> Nash: So in some ways the budget in and of itself is a reform effort for CYFD and potentially a means of accountability for some of the shortcomings.

a means of accountability for some of the shortcomings.

We'll return to some of the legislative reforms that we're We'll return to some of the legislative reforms that we're talking about, but they aren't the only demands on CYFD to make changes.

You mentioned the Kevin S. lawsuit.

That's a settlement agreement that stemmed from a 2018 class action lawsuit from 14 foster kids into advocacy organizations filed against CYFD, we talked about the offices stays.

The agreement requires that the department do away with that practice.

Taylor, you attended the most recent arbitration hearing for the settlement last week, I believe.

Has that practice ended?

>> Velazquez: No.

They claim that there's not as many kids in the office, but they haven't do away with office days completely yet.

>>Nash: Okay, and what's the hold up?

>>Nash: Okay, and what's the hold up?

>> Velazquez: I think it's again, lack of case workers >> Velazquez: I think it's again, lack of case workers lack of placements.

That's something that I think the arbitrator in that meeting was this is the priority for us.

It's getting enough case workers.

So case workers right now, I think their tenure and CYFD is six months.

So every time they're leaving, kids are being pushed back into offices because no one really knows what their case is.

They're restarting.

So maybe that case worker was close to getting that kit of placements.

getting that kit of placements.

Now they're out of the CYFD employment, so now new person Now they're out of the CYFD employment, so now new person comes in, has to start that process all over again.

So I think again it's getting more resource families as well.

>> Williams: Taylor said is absolutely true but you know going back to the beginning just for perspective when Lujan Grisham came into office, a lot of these kids were warehouse and residential treatment centers which you know there was all kinds of problems with and you know good reason for reforming or closing them.

But at least they were equipped to give you know psychiatric care and adequate mental health care in many cases.

We got rid of those without anything to replace them.

What you have now is a population of especially teenagers whose case is, whose mental health is declined to the point where that's a big part of the picture as to why the case workers aren't able to find these kids home because they have really high needs and the state has not done what it's required high needs and the state has not done what it's required to do under this settlement in order to provide to do under this settlement in order to provide those kids with adequate mental health care and adequate stability.

You can't take a child who's gone through trauma, been taken away from their family and just retraumatize them over and over and over again without ever giving them a stable home and expect that kid to be an easy placement.

I mean they have needs that have never been met and a lot of times they feel abandoned because >> Nash: And you've covered some of the tragedies that >> Nash: And you've covered some of the tragedies that have stemmed out of that situation including youth suicides.

I believe that you have a story just this week that uncovered yet another.

uncovered yet another.

>> Williams: Yeah, I mean, it is just so heartbreaking.

>> Williams: Yeah, I mean, it is just so heartbreaking.

There's been a long history that we documented several years ago of these kids just going through cycles of suicide attempts, runaways, violent outbursts while they're in shelters and offices.

And then in the last few months we've seen two youth tragically take their own lives.

One was Jaydun Garcia, a 16-year-old who everybody loved, really popular with his friends.

He was kind of the guy that his friends said just held everybody else up.

He was being housed in a congregate care setting in Albuquerque, the very kind of thing that we're not supposed to be having.

And then, you know, scarcely a month later, a girl named Makamy Anderson was pregnant, moved from an office to an area that was far away from her home community and took her own life as well.

So, you know, this has been, I think, things have reached a real crisis point when we have kids that feel this is the only way out.

I'm really hoping that something can be done to stop this.

>> Nash: Are there reforms that could address that?

>> Williams: Well I get this question a lot and I think the frustration that a lot of the people especially on the Kevin S. team feel is that a lot of thought and effort has already gone into mapping out exactly what reforms would need to happen and that was done in 2020 under the Kevin S. settlement.

Everything's there, everything's on paper.

The state signed on the dot-in line and committed to those reforms, but they just haven't been met year after year.

They fall woefully short and what they say they're going to do.

And, you know, now we're seeing kids get very hurt.

Ed, Taylor Thank you so much.

I grew up around ceremony in a Native American church Mexican healers, but I didn't really need it until I was a soldier.

I ended up doing a psilocybin ceremony in Mexico with my family.

There was three generations of us and it was really profound in a lot of ways.

One was I was able to release a lot of the trauma, a lot of the PTSD.

It was really overwhelming experience, but I felt just raw, like emotionally I released a lot.

That story from reporter Cailley Chella is coming up in less than 15 minutes.

in less than 15 minutes.

New Mexico faces a workforce shortage that the U.S. New Mexico faces a workforce shortage that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce considers severe with 87 workers available for every 100 jobs.

The State Higher Education Department The State Higher Education Department is working to change that.

is working to change that.

Student loan forgiveness programs for veterinarians and certain college faculty have joined a list of established efforts to help prepare more New Mexicans to take a growing number of high-paying, high-skilled jobs.

I'm joined now by three officials jobs.

I'm joined now by three officials from the New Mexico Higher Education Department, Secretary from the New Mexico Higher Education Department, Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez, Director of Financial Aid, Heather Romero and Director of Adult Education Amber Gallup to learn more about the new laws.

>> Thank you all for being here on New Mexico in Focus.

I do want to acknowledge before we get started that New Mexico PBS we get our state funding through your department, but we cover your department just as we would any other state agency.

With that Secretary Rodriguez Some may think of, say, workforce solutions or economic development as the state departments that are working to create economic opportunity for folks and prepare New Mexicans to take those high paying, high-skilled jobs.

But your department, higher education, actually has a pretty significant role in that work too.

Can you talk about higher education's role in preparing New Mexico's workforce?

>> Rodriguez: So, as a state, we really look at cradle to workforce.

So how are we really ensuring that New Mexicans are progressing from education to careers in the state of New Mexico?

And Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is incredibly adamant that, you know, before you get into the workforce, you may have to do a stop in higher education or adult education to upskill, and re-skill, and really set yourself up for success.

So that's that's where the New Mexico Higher Education Department comes in.

We have scholarship programs so people can get their foot in the door because there's no wrong door to higher education in New Mexico with tuition-free college programs through the opportunity and lottery scholarships.

And if you're not ready for that yet or you may not have that high school diploma, we also have adult education programs.

On top of that, our department is partnering every Every single day with the Department of Workforce Solutions through the Rio Programming, Apprenticeship Programming, and then also Economic Development Department.

We're really excited about our film academy that we're doing in Albuquerque in Los Cruz's New Mexico.

We're really focused on what does New Mexico need, where are the jobs?

We are in epicenter for film.

And so we're talking every single day with the Office of the Governor, our State Departments, to figure out how do we help New Mexicans go from high school to college if they need to make a stop there or adult education.

And how can they get family sustainable careers in New Mexico with fair wages so that they can thrive here?

>> Nash: And we're going to dig into several of the new programs that you all have rolled out but before we do I want folks to understand with your loan forgiveness programs, how does loan forgiveness plug into workforce development, how do those connect before we get into the details of specific loan forgiveness programs.

loan forgiveness programs.

>> Rodriguez: Very easily.

>> Rodriguez: Very easily.

So, loan forgiveness is fantastic because it puts more money in our people's pockets.

Meaning they don't have to put their hard earned wages into their loan repayments.

The state of New Mexico will cover it for you.

If you're a teacher, health professional, you're a social worker at CYFD and we're really excited about our new program for veterinarians here in New Mexico.

>> Nash: Yeah, and let's talk about that.

Director Romero, one of the new loan forgiveness programs is for veterinarians, can you talk about what that programs is for veterinarians, can you talk about what that offers?

>> Romero: Sure, absolutely.

offers?

>> Romero: Sure, absolutely.

So this was actually a really exciting program that was rolled out this particular legislative session.

So it's really focused on the lack of adequate veterinary care for food animal here within the state of New Mexico.

And so really the drive was that our veterinarians within the state of New Mexico are coming out with about 103 of educational loan debt.

And so in order to kind of fill our rural areas in lack of veterinary care for our livestock, this program will go ahead and help fill those particular positions program will go ahead and help fill those particular positions and get the veterinary to our livestock throughout the state.

and get the veterinary to our livestock throughout the state.

>> Nash: So in some ways this is almost a recruitment tool >> Nash: So in some ways this is almost a recruitment tool and maybe plugs into workforce development in that way and maybe plugs into workforce development in that way or filling those gaps.

>> Romero: Yes, absolutely.

Absolutely.

We want to bring veterinarians to the state of New Mexico in these critical areas throughout the state.

So, we now, this is just broadening our loan repayment focus into veterinarians, health care, teacher loan repayment, social work so this fantastic.

>> Nash: This is brand new it just went into effect, do you have any projections about the potential impact it could have?

>> Romero: At this point, we don't necessarily have the impact.

However, we will be watching this particular program.

We will be adding 10 participants to this program for the first year.

So it is a four year commitment through the state of New Mexico.

And so we will be adding at least 40 participants to the program by the end of year four paying around 83, about 80,000 towards their student loan debt.

>> Nash: And this new program adds to existing loan repayment programs, including for teachers.

And that application for that particular program is open right now through the end of the month.

Can you talk about who qualifies and what that offers?

>> Romero: Yes, absolutely.

So the teacher loan repayment program is available till August 1st.

And it's available to our New Mexico teachers working in a high need area districts here within the state of New Mexico, which is all New Mexico public schools.

So we are really excited about the growth of this particular program, which added about 5 million to our program.

So we have about a total about 2,500 applicants that have gone through our system with the increase of of appropriations through this program.

>> Nash: And Secretary Rodriguez the teacher loan forgiveness program has been in effect since I believe 2013.

So we've been able to see it in it's impact more so than some of these newer programs.

I know that New Mexico does still struggle with teacher shortages, so what has the impact of that program been on filling some of these class rooms?

>> Rodriguez: I am so glad you asked, when we started in 2019, I asked the team how many teachers are actually receiving loan repayment?

The number was 44 in 2019.

We're now well over 1,000 teachers in the state of New Mexico are receiving loan repayment assistance, which is fantastic.

On top of that, you talked about there is a shortage.

What I'm really proud about in this administration is we've increased teacher salaries.

As far as entry-level teachers we're number seven in the nation, as far as salary is concerned, we went from $45,000 a year.

We're starting at $55,000, $65,000, $75,000 for our hardworking teachers, but we want that money to stay in their pocket.

So that's why the New Mexico Higher Education Department is coming forward in providing that loan repayment assistance.

And I'm also really proud of the fact that Senator Lujan in the United States Congress is also looking to do a federal teacher loan repayment program in the future.

But guess what?

New Mexico is the model for that federal model if it becomes a success and it passes through Congress.

>> Nash: And Director Gallup, your division adult education also plays a significant role in preparing New Mexico's workforce.

Can you talk about some of the programs that you all offer?

>> Gallup: Yeah absolutely, I think you know when Secretary Rodriguez said there's no wrong door to higher education.

I really take that to heart in adult education.

I think that we are a system that helps some of the most vulnerable adults in the state, some of the adults facing barriers to employment, and just adults who's paths have taken a different route than the traditional route, for whatever reason.

We help them access these systems that we're talking about.

So, a lot of people think that we only do high school equivalency so the GED, we often talk about the GED.

Or there's another test called the Highset, but we do a lot more than that.

We do literacy.

We do English as a second language for those wishing to improve their proficiency.

We do academic skills for people at all different levels.

We do digital literacy and numeracy.

And one of the most important things is that we also do workforce development programs.

So we have a system called Integrated Education and Training and we help people earn their high school equivalency, or improve their English language proficiency while they're receiving an industry recognized credential at one of our colleges or universities.

So, yeah we're a really crucial part of the workforce development system.

I think that's something people don't realize.

>> Nash: You also have a program called Career Pathways.

Can you talk about what that offers?

>> Gallup: Yeah, our Career Pathways are in essence the integrated education and programs that I just spoke about.

So we try to get folks, whatever level they are, we meet them where they are.

And we help them get the skills that they need That are geared toward that particular industry.

That are geared toward that particular industry.

So for example, if they are So for example, if they are wanting to be a certified nursing assistant, a CNA, we gear their academic work towards the healthcare industry, for example.

>> Nash: So in that way it's responding to New Mexico specific workforce and economic needs.

>> Gallup: Absolutely, yes.

In fact all of our integrated education and training programs which I call IETs are in in-demand industries.

>> Nash: And Career Pathways is part of the Federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act if I understand correctly.

Where have President Trump's big bill and his administration's federal cuts impacted or not impacted that program or other workforce development programs?

>> Gallup: Yeah, so we are titled two of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or WIOA nationally.

And we have received notice that our funding is under review.

So currently $5 million that had been funding the adult education system in New Mexico is impounded.

But you know while we wait for that review to take place you know we've really built some strong infrastructure in New Mexico in the last four years through state funding and state investment and so even as we wait for this review you know we have that basically that foundation to stand on.

>> Nash: And so you're able to continue your work despite the impoundment.

>> Gallup: We can.

It is a challenge, but we are able to continue our work and continue serving all the people that we have been serving.

>> Nash: Any sense of a likeness that this impoundment will end or a timeline at all?

>> Gallup: I could not guess.

>> Rodriguez: We don't know at this time, but what's really fantastic about the state of New Mexico as Dr. Gallup had mentioned, there's been so much momentum and support for adult education.

So any way we can come together as a state to ensure that that continues for our 26 adult education programs we are committed to that.

>> Nash: I do want to touch on one more loan forgiveness program that is the Multiplier Act.

Director Romero, who does that support and what exactly is being multiplied?

>> Rodriguez:Would you like me to show that director?

Yeah, the Multiplier Act is an interesting bill.

So it was supported by the Teachers' Union.

So you're really excited about this because there are so many part-time faculty in the state of New Mexico, especially at our company.

We're a part of our community colleges.

A lot of our rural community colleges rely on part-time faculty.

But in order to qualify for federal loan forgiveness programs, you have to be considered a full-time employee.

The multiplier act allows our part-time employees to get this multiplier formula figure so that they could qualify for federal loan repayment programs in the future.

That just went into effect right now.

We're really excited that our adjunct faculty can start to benefit from that loan repayment from the United States.

>> Nash: Thank you all so much for joining us.

I'm going to ask you to stick around and we're going to jump into more around affordability and some scholarship programs okay?

>> Rodriguez: Sounds good!

>> Williams: Advocates have been trying for years to get you know, some sort of external accountability when something does go horribly wrong.

Which is more frequent than we hear about.

And you know I think the hope is that this might offer that.

You know with an agency that can issue oversight that wasn't there before, it seems like that might be a good idea.

Maybe some of the kids might feel that they're complaints are being heard more if actions are being taken.

>> Nash: The second part of my conversation on CYFD reform is coming up in about 20 minutes.

Although the clinical use of psychedelic mushrooms has been banned and stigmatized for years in our country, the medical and spiritual histories of psilocybin in our state date back centuries, as indigenous communities and folk healers used mushrooms long before New Mexico joined the union.

Last month, the Medical psilocybin act went into effect.

As New Mexico in Focus' Cailley Chella reports, with a deadline of 2027, state officials are working to establish a practice that can meet the needs of patients dealing with trauma, all while meeting the health department's rules and guidelines.

>> Cailley: Psilocybin.

Or what you might know as Magic Mushrooms are now legal in New Mexico.

At least in therapeutic settings.

We became just the third state in the nation to legalize it.

And now, that law is officially in effect.

Paving the way for regulated supervised use of psilocybin to help treat certain health conditions.

>> Orozco: I grew up around ceremony you know, Native American church, Mexican healers.

But I didn't really need it until I was a soldier.

>> Cailley: Joaquin Orozco has long understood the power of psilocybin, but it wasn't until after he developed PTSD while serving in the army that he found his way back to it.

>> Orozco: I ended up doing a psilocybin ceremony in Mexico with my family.

There was three generations of us and it was really profound in a lot of ways.

One was I was able to release a lot of the trauma, a lot of the PTSD, but just relationally, like close relationships with my brothers, especially.

It was really overwhelming experience, but I felt just raw, like emotionally I released a lot.

Psilocybin has a long history of use among indigenous peoples, especially in Mesoamerica.

>> Feinberg: There's archaeological evidence that people in Mexico had been using various kinds of blue-cinogenic and psychedelic substances for a really long time.

The Spanish disapproved, and so it was repressed by the church.

>> Orozco: Mexican mushroom healers were hindering their ability to get converts, And so they basically went after all of the mushroom healers.

>> Cailley: And now, after hundreds of years of it being oppressed, Orozco is hoping to help smooth the transfer of indigenous knowledge to Western medicine.

>> Leeman: There's numerous ways that we're all interested in, you know, working with the indigenous population.

>> Cailley: Psilocybin's history in the U.S. is also complex.

President Richard Nixon made it illegal here as part of his war on drugs in the early 1970s, effectively keeping it from being used or even studied in the States.

And he didn't stop there.

>> Feinberg: He encouraged the Mexican authorities to crack down and harass particularly American kind of hippie countercultural travelers in Mexico.

>> Cailley: And though it's still illegal federally and federal agents could technically intervene, they haven't.

And so, renewed or maybe just sustained interest is reviving psilocybin's medical potential.

>> Leeman: We haven't used this for any additional group therapy room, but we have a study plan that would be for a group, a group psychedelic therapy.

>> Cailley: Dr. Leeman has been studying psilocybin for two years and says it has a unique ability to heal.

>> Leeman: Psilocybin on a chemical level, it works on a one of the serotonin receptors in the brain.

It increases synapses.

What that does as far as psychologically, our brain is more receptive to change.

And so there's a time period that may occur after psychedelic therapies that we have the potential to change our behaviors, change the ways that we're relating to the world.

>> Cailley: The treatment is giving hope to those who have tried other therapies with little to no success.

>> Holland: People with treatment resistant depression, trauma, hopefully substance use disorder.

>> Cailley: Arosco is on the board of the New Mexico Psychedelic Science Society.

Both he and Holland are hoping to be on the soon to be created Medical Psilocybin Advisory Board, which will help guide the program's roll out and make sure it meets New Mexico's unique needs.

>> Holland: Affordable and accessible are very important.

And so when we're talking about underserved communities, we're talking about, you know, people in rural areas, obviously including our large Native American population that have dealt with generational trauma and all kinds of issues over the decades.

>> Cailley: The New Mexico Department of Health is developing the rules and safety guidelines for the program, things like clinician training, treatment protocols, and approved settings for the therapy sessions.

It's a thoughtful and specific process.

>> Leeman: We're interested in the studies we're proposing here to use peer facilitators.

The peer facilitators have been found enormously helpful in addiction and healthcare.

>> Cailley: And as for how it feels to take Psilocybin there isn't a one size fits all answer.

>> Orozco: It can be an emotional release, it can be acceptance of something.

It can be a flood of sensations, images, a remembering of you know your childhood.

Of how you felt before something affected you.

>> Holland: It's a very intuitive medicine, so it may not give you what you think you want, but it usually ends up giving you what you need.

>> Cailley: Unfortunately for those looking for more immediate treatment, the program isn't expected to be up and running until December of 2027.

For New Mexico in Focus, I'm Cailley Chella reporting.

>> Nash: Thanks to New Mexico's lottery scholarship and more recently the opportunity scholarship, many residents have been able to get an undergraduate education tuition free.

This year, we have a lot of money to give you.

The legislature took on affordability for some graduate students and those who never finished high school.

As my conversation with officials from the Higher Education Department continues, we dig into new and expanded scholarships and waivers now on the books.

Thank you all so much for coming back to the table to have this conversation.

Secretary Rodriguez, while we're going to be talking about some of the new scholarships that have just gone into effect for higher education.

I do want to back up a little bit to 2022 when the opportunity scholarship was passed.

And understand where that scholarship stands and the impact that it's made on enrollment.

>> Rodriguez: You know, the opportunity scholarship came about because I was sitting in the governor's office and we were talking about really big ideas for New Mexico, right?

Bold ideas.

And she looked me straight in the eyes and she was like, "Free college."

I laughed.

And I was like, "There's no way."

And she goes, "No.

We're making free college happen for everyone in the state of New Mexico."

And I was like, "Okay."

So I started doing some research.

We became the first state in the whole entire country in 1996 to have a free college program called the Lottery Scholarship.

But it targeted a very traditional student base, so a recent high school graduate.

When you look at the data and the numbers, the average age of a college student isn't 18 years old, it's actually 26 years old.

And on top of that, how many times have we heard from our friends or family members, I lost my lottery scholarship, I didn't go back to school.

Well, the Opportunity Scholarship allows people to go back to college if you stopped out.

It also allows you to go part-time or full-time.

And it's just a very flexible program and it's the most expansive tuition-free college program in the nation as a matter of fact, many time people call it the Gold Star Standard.

Now let's fast-forward to now.

I'm really excited that this bipartisan bill is now serving 41,000 New Mexicans throughout the state of New Mexico.

That's Urban New Mexico.

That's rural New Mexico, Frontier New Mexico, Tribal Colleges in New Mexico.

And on top of that, we've had over 20,000 students already graduate with a credential and they're working here in New Mexico because this is where they grew up, this is where they want to stay, this is where they want to raise their families, and where they want to work.

And so this scholarship became this really big idea and has transformed into the way of life for New Mexicans in the Land of Free College.

And we're really proud of it.

>> Nash: Thanks for that update.

And the opportunity in the lottery scholarship, that's for undergraduate education.

You also have expanded now just this year opportunities and scholarships for graduate students.

So Director Romero, what is the Graduate Scholarship Act and what recent changes are now in effect?

>> Romero: Sure absolutely, so the graduate scholarship we had basically amended a lot of the criteria whereas graduate programs, they vary in terms of full-time enrollment.

So that was pulled off the GPA requirements.

We removed any type of internship that was going to be a requirement for the program.

So really we've expanded the program hoping to actually allow for additional individuals who are actually focusing on any type of a graduate program.

>> Nash: And its any type of graduate program not any particular advanced degree.

>> It's all graduate programs.

That's correct.

>> Nash: And the scholarship seeks to prioritize students who are underrepresented in grad school.

With President Trump's Administration targeting DEI programs, maybe particularly in higher education, is there any risk to that provision in our state law?

>> Rodriguez: If I can, you know, I was actually lucky when we passed this bill, that became a very common question.

And if you look up the definition of underrepresented student at the federal level, that hasn't changed.

So it could be a female student, oftentimes females are underrepresented in STEM fields.

It could also be a person of color.

So making sure that we prioritize that.

And then there are the whole other categories.

That definition at the federal level has not changed at that point in time.

So it's not impacting how we're going to administer the program here in New Mexico.

>> Nash: So is that not considered equity and inclusion according to the federal government?

>> Rodriguez: Once again, we're following that federal definition that is still published and still standing at this point in time.

>> Nash: Thank you for that.

Another new law that supports New Mexicans who are wanting to further their education are for folks who never finish their high school diploma.

What changed about accessing the high school equivalency test?

>> Gallup: Yes, this is very exciting.

One thing I wanted to just add really quickly when we were talking about the Opportunity Scholarship, adult education is really like the on ramp for a lot of New Mexicans to some of these opportunities.

So we're able to help people get their high school equivalency and they don't have to stop there anymore.

We provide through the opportunity scholarship we can provide them access to an industry recognized credential, an associate's degree, or a four year degree in a way that's respectful of their families and their schedule.

So that's really exciting for us in adult education as well.

I think it's a real innovation with the Opportunities Scholarship.

Now, about HB67, which was passed in the last legislative session, it provides free high school equivalency tests for all New Mexico residents.

So before, you know, one thing, the test itself costs in total the battery costs about $145 or sometimes more.

Which is a big barrier for a lot of New Mexico residents.

It's not insignificant at all.

We were providing a partial voucher program that helped those folks who were able to contact us and who did contact us.

We were able to pay for their tests using these vouchers.

But that system also has some barriers.

because there are a few steps to it.

This legislation, which we're working on implementing now, it'll be a few months.

That legislation is going to provide free tests.

So once people are deemed eligible.

They can sign up for a testing slot and walk in and take their test free of charge.

>> Nash: Just that simple.

What is the eligibility criteria for that?

>> Gallup: You simply need to be, well number one, you need to be a resident of New Mexico and demonstrate that.

And that is checked by the publishers of the tests.

And then in addition to that, you have to show that you are ready to take the test so we know that you are a good investment for the test.

So we also provide through this law free practice tests that people can take and demonstrate that they are We're able to take the test and then we allow them to take it.

So it's it's quite open and will be a huge improvement to the system.

You know we're only the fifth state in the nation to provide completely free high school equivalency tests and the only one west of West Virginia.

>> Nash: And what can somebody do with their high school equivalency credential once they've gotten it.

What does that-- What kind of doors does that open for somebody?

>> Gallup: Well it opens all the doors really.

Most you know, jobs in this country require, and in the state, require at least a high school diploma or its equivalent.

and I should say that the high school equivalency is equivalent to the high school diploma.

I think sometimes there is a stigma associated with the high school equivalency or the G.E.D we use that term sometimes more colloquially but its the high school equivalency and I think some people think that it's You know, it's less rigorous, but in fact, it's a very rigorous test that's normed against national standards.

And once you receive that application, once you receive that credential, which can be challenging, but once you receive it, you can access our public colleges and universities, you can access the Opportunity Scholarship, and you can access some of the short term or long term credential programs that we have in New Mexico and help build the New Mexico work force.

>> Rodriguez: approximately 1200 of our adult education learners who complete their high school equivalency persist into our colleges and universities in New Mexico.

And then another point that's really critical, once you get that high school equivalency, your wages can increase on average by $6,000.

That's a big significant increase for our community members.

>> Nash: And employers who require, say, a high school diploma, do they need to honor the GED as well?

>> Gallup: Oh, yes.

It is in every way like a high school diploma.

Okay.

Yeah.

>> Nash: Thanks for that.

Director Romero, something called the Community Governance Attorney and Conditional Tuition Waiver Program, a huge mouth full.

also went into effect this month lets start with what is a community governance attorney?

>> Romero: Sure, absolutely.

So really this particular is really a focus in law.

So really focuses on the challenges with political subdivisions.

So like with the state of New Mexico in instance would be the Acequias.

So it's a really focus into a particular study of law for a last final year student who was at the University of New Mexico who was in their final year of law school, could actually apply for this particular program It is a partnership between University of New Mexico and the higher education department.

>> Nash: What would they -- if they are part of that program, what -- you mentioned the acequia's What kind of law are they practicing, what kind of work are they are doing across the state?

>> Romero: Sure, It's basically any type of political promulgated about regarding land and water, and so they have to have again this interest focus and then the University of New Mexico will help find these individuals employment in these specific focus areas so that they can hope to gain these last final year law students into that particular area which New Mexico needs.

>> Nash: Yeah, I was going to say, is that because we're lacking attorneys working in those fields?

>> Romero: That is correct, yes so this particular program really aims to help try to gain some interest in these last final year of law students.

last final year of law students.

>> Nash: Okay, and so what is the waiver program provide?

>> Nash: Okay, and so what is the waiver program provide?

>> Romero: So basically it covers their tuition for this particular the final year of law school and also covers a portion of their employment salary.

So the University of New Mexico it's like a 50/50 with this particular funding so it does cover allowing those individuals to do some type of internship with these particular employers.

>> Nash: It's brand new, is there a plan for how it will sustain itself through the years.

>> Romero: We do receive an appropriation, it is a general fund, so we will be able to support either one to two students, again depending on interest.

so this is a general fund appropriation, so we have no concern about lack of funding >> Nash: Okay great, Secretary Rodriguez What would you like to tell New Mexicans who are considering higher education, maybe they are not sure if that is the right fit for them or if they are seeing these higher paying jobs pop up across New Mexico recently, and considering a career change, what message would you like to leave them with?

>> Rodriguez: You know New Mexico is really the land of opportunity, hence why we have the opportunity scholarship, and we really do live by the slogan, which is there is no wrong door to higher education, because we believe in our neighbors, we believe in our community, and we believe in the opportunity for us to thrive together as a state.

It does not matter if you want to go part time or full time.

It does not matter if you want a short term non-credit credential, a credit credential, any associate degree or any bachelor's degree, we meet you where you are at and what your goals are in this state so that you can be successful and you can stay in New Mexico.

We really just want New Mexicans to know that we believe in them.

We're here to support them.

We have a financial aid hotline.

We have 52 employees ready to help any individual who comes to our door and says I want to go to college or I want to get my high school equivalency.

Like I said, there's no wrong door.

We don't turn anyone away and we're willing to walk through that.

>> Nash: Secretary Rodriguez, Directors Gallup and Romero, thank you so much for your time.

>> Thank you >> Nash: Thanks again to Heather Romero, Amber Gallup, and Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez for stopping by the studio.

We end this week's show as a began.

Learning about the troubles at the beleaguered Children Youth and Families Department and about a new set of laws meant to reform the agency and hold it accountable.

One of the few bipartisan bills Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed this year was the creation of the Office of the Child Advocate.

Reporters Taylor Velasquez of KUNM and Ed Williams of Search Light New Mexico return now to tell us about that new office.

Along with a long list of demands for CYFD to step up its transparency.

Taylor, Ed, welcome back.

>>Thanks, Nash.

>> Nash: And you've continued to be in touch with a number of foster kids through your reporting at Searchlight.

What are you hearing from them about their experience of any changes or lack of changes at CYFD?

>> Williams: Well, you know, I don't think a lot of these kids are necessarily plugged into the legislative hearings or updates, or the new things that have come out in this past session, their lives can be really complicated and a lot cases trying to survive I think that maybe a feeling that I pick up a lot is that the system is abandoned them and so they're kind of giving up on the system.

And that's not to discount, you know, a lot of these kids have had like great foster parents here and there, you know, great youth attorney or GAL or a case worker that has really kind of been there for them.

but you know overall, the kids that I am in touch with, who are mostly teenagers, are you know, are really in a mostly teenagers, are you know, are really in a not a great situation, one kid comes to mind not a great situation, one kid comes to mind I should not say his name, but he has been on the run since October.

and says nobody has ever looked for him.

Nobody has called him.

He is sleeping in parks.

On friends' couches and under bridges.

so that gives you an idea of the disconnect right, between these kids lives on the ground and whats happening >> Nash: What would it mean for somebody to regain a kid's trust who's gone through that kind of trauma, that kind of abandonment, is now feeling like nobody's looking for them?

>> Williams: Well, I think they're experts who have given this a lot more thought and more qualified position than me to answer that.

But what I will say is, I don't think you're ever going to get that trust when you're having kids sleep on the floor of an office building.

I don't see how you build trust in that situation.

I mean, it's a really major overhaul that needs to take place.

>> Nash: Well, speaking of overholes, we're talking about the reforms that were passed earlier this year and are now in effect, Taylor one of them was establishing the office of the child advocate, What is that?

>> Velazquez: So basically this is new for so many different reasons but the office of the child advocate will live in the in the AD's office.

Essentially right now CYFD can go into houses make those really tough decisions and they're not really checked.

So now with this office they're going to be checked a little bit more.

They can go in, investigate, resolve those complaints, kind of touch base a lot more with resource families.

What policies are going on right now at CYFD?

They're just not working well.

>> Nash: There was significant political tension around this proposal.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham even characterized it as a quote, "thinly disguised vendeda against her."

Why?

>> Velazquez: That is right.

So I think this, again, I think we talked earlier before about just the overall frustrations within the legislature about reverted funding when CYFD is saying we can't make the progress without money.

They're also saying, well, we've given you and you haven't made that progress.

But I also think it's about just political things even outside of CYFD.

I think this has still a lot to do with the governor's plans for criminal justice reform.

But I think she said, yeah, this is a vendetta.

And I think the AG came back at her and said, you know, this is disappointing considering this is a system that needs to be reformed.

And unfortunately, this is a great step forward.

But right now, we're still trying to figure things out and kids are sitting in the system getting harmed.

>> Nash: And despite the tension She did sign it into law, though she vetoed its starter funding.

How is it going to get off the ground without that?

>> Velazquez: So they originally started out with $2.3 million dollars to get the office started.

After her line item vetos, it came out to be $650,000.

Raul Torres, the AG basically said, you know, this is something that I'm passionate about, that a lot of people were passionate about the session.

So I am going to commit my office to supplementing all the rest of the funding just to make sure this office is not another start and stop >> Nash: So in addition to starting it out with some funding, there was a lot of back and forth, some amendments around the authority that Attorney General Torres and his office would have.

Where did that end up?

>> Velazquez: So, right now he had a lot of authority under his office.

That's another contention that the governor had but right now he can remove the advocate.

So if there's an abusive office that's something that he can do.

Again, he under the committee and the legislature he oversees, he can basically see if they're going to approve the advocate.

So there's a lot of checking with the executive right now >> Nash: How would an office like this be able to support the youth that you've been in touch with?

>> Williams: I think a lot of it goes back to that question of accountability.

I mean, advocates have been trying for years to get some sort of external accountability when something does go horribly wrong, which is more frequent than we hear about.

And I think the hope is that this might offer that with an agency that can issue oversight that wasn't there before it seems like that might be a good idea I think that for a lot of the kids that are on the ground it's going to take some really like ground up, actually, you know, boots on the ground, kind of support for them in addition to this oversight.

But I think the hope is maybe some of the kids might feel that their complaints are being heard more, and if actions are being taken when things go wrong, that could only be a good thing >> Nash: You mentioned some of these kids maybe they had, a case worker, a foster parent that was that person for them, that helped sustain them or helped keep them afloat >> Williams: You have to keep in mind, that a lot of these kids have had dozens, thirty, forty, fifty, foster placements.

Right, so if you have one or two good experiences within that, your whole overall experience is still going to be pretty traumatizing >> Nash: Of course.

Taylor, several of the new laws that were part of the big omnibus package of reforms had to do with transparency from record keeping to disclosing information.

Can you walk us through what some of those changes look like?

>> Velazquez: Definitely.

So a lot of this is stemming from electronic record keeping and then how long we do keep those records.

So it kind of reminds me of a 2021 signal message.

You're scandal that the agency had they basically had an app that automatically encrypted and deleted messages.

So right now under this new law, CYFD employees who are given CYFD electronics will not be able to erase anything app software that's on the device will not be able to be anything that the agency mandates.

It's all under federal laws.

>> Nash: They can't be using their own device either.

>> Velazquez: No, no, they can't do that.

So everything is under This one device that's issued from the agency and for the employees who are there, they need to back up daily, monthly, annually their records and then after their employment, if they leave, after that termination, it's seven years after.

So all that data is still going to be there.

So that's text messaging, emails, photos, documents, voicemails, anything like that >> Nash: Taylor mentions the signal scandal Ed, What is some of the historical context behind these transparency reforms?

What have you as a reporter and Taylor feel free to jump in as well Faced in terms of these transparency concerns at the department?

>> Williams: I can think of one story out of I think the eight years I've been covering the department where I didn't have some significant foot dragging to put it, you know, lightly, when it comes to records.

The signal thing was kind of in a league of its own because it wasn't even operating within the state's public record system.

But we regularly get stone walled with records requests and usually that's hiding behind the confidentiality rules.

In some cases they're for good reason.

Like we wouldn't want intimate or damaging details about a child's abuse for example to make it on to the evening news without some sort of protection.

But the agency usually refers to that in order to block any sort of record from coming out.

This is something we've run into over and over again.

There's one instance that comes to mind where I had requested, de-identified statistical data from CYFD's juvenile justice division, just to get an idea of, you know, kind of the overall landscape of where kids were being sent and all of this.

And they said So that data, even though it doesn't have any names or addresses or anything anyone you could use to identify a kid, because it comes from the children's records, because it's extracted from there, therefore we can't give it to you.

In that case, we had the Attorney General actually issue an opinion in our favor to release the records and they released out of how many dozens or hundreds of column spreadsheet, everything redacted except for one kind of nonsensical column.

So, you know, the lack of transparency, AG Torres was decrying it in a press conference recently after the death of Jaden Garcia that we talked about earlier.

There's been some moves in the right direction it seems like.

I'm not sure that they go far enough, but hey, anything is a good start.

>>Nash: Well, problems have persisted at CYFD basically since its inception.

This was the first year that lawmakers have made strides this bold.

I guess you might say.

How big of a role did public outcry?

And I will say that any public outcry may be rooted in the very work that you all are doing, fighting for that data and lifting these stories up out of the department.

How much of these reforms are driven by that public outcry?

>> Velazquez: I would gander to say a lot of it, right?

I think a lot of people know that one case they've seen and they're asking how, how did it get this far, go so far?

So I think a lot of it stems from that, but I also think people are seeing things like the Kevin S. Settelman agreement just not implemented and then we're more having these conversations with an arbitration hearing, we're just hearing from the state, well, we don't have funding and then it's like this whole sicklical conversation "well you do have the funding, but why isn't it implemented?"

It goes to like all this bureaucratic issue so I think people are just frustrated that there's no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

>> Williams: I think this is a rare bipartisan issue where no progress to be had.

people of both political parties have been angry for a long no progress to be had.

time at the lack of progress.

no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

I mean keep in mind, this session we had some stuff no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

get through.

Previous session, there were also quite a few no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

bills that were all vetoed before they could no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

bipartisan bills that were vetoed by the governor no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

before they could go into effect.

no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

It's not a new thing that there's outrage.

no progress to be had.

It does seem that it's a little bit more, no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

a little stronger this time.

no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

>> Nash: Reporters Ed Williams and Taylor Velazquez no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

thank you so much for breaking this all down for us.

no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

>> Velazquez: Thanks Nash.

no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

>> Nash: Thanks to Ed Williams and Taylor Velazquez and thanks no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

to everyone who contributed to the show.

no progress to be had.

Join us next week for a look at that big bill, whether no progress to be had.

you consider it beautiful or not.

And what it could mean no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

for New Mexico.

no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

For New Mexico PBS, I'm Nash Jones.

no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

Until next week, stay focused.

no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

>> Funding for New Mexico in Focus is provided no progress to be had.

no progress to be had.

by viewers like you.