The New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department Sued After Returning Children to Abusive Parents

The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department is facing a second lawsuit over its handling of a case involving four children who became the subject of a nationwide search after the state returned them to their allegedly abusive parents.

A former and current employee filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the agency in state District Court in November, and their attorney, Benjamin Gubernick, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the children — via their court-appointed guardians — Dec. 23 in U.S. District Court.

The federal lawsuit accuses Patricia Garza — a supervisor at the state agency’s Hobbs office — and various unnamed “John and Jane Doe Defendants [who] are CYFD employees or agents, of violating the children’s civil rights by failing to protect them from their parents.”