CYFD addresses violence in Valencia County

Posted at: 10/05/2009 10:15 PM | Updated at: 10/06/2009 7:26 AM
By: Joe Vigil, Eyewitness News 4; Matthew Kappus, KOB.com

Recent violence against children in Valencia County  is prompting the state's Children Youth and Families Department to hold a town hall meeting.

Police used the word "torture" in the case of two Valencia County parents accused of abusing their newborn son, which they deny.

A 10-year-old boy is accused of shooting and killing his father in Belen.

Police have charged a stepfather in the beating death of a 3-year-old.

In response to all the violence, one state agency is doing something unusual to try and stop it.

The Children Youth and Families Department wants to prevent more children from being hurt or killed. It plans a community meeting later this month--something it hasn't done before.

"The answer is going to come from folks that will get serious about fixing the issues in their home," said Pastor Steve Sykes of True Light Baptist Church in Los Lunas. "We know that there's a lot of hard things that young people in this area face."

Sykes likes the idea of CYFD and the community getting together to talk about the recent violence involving kids.

"It's good, it needs to be discussed. It's something that's been a problem for a while. It's not going to go away," Sykes said.

CYFD wants the violence to stop and hopes a town hall meeting with school leaders, law enforcement and especially the community will help do that.

The big town hall is set for Oct. 13 at the Tome Community Hall starting at 4:30 p.m.

   Print Story