CYFD bracing for $15M budget cut

Posted at: 10/29/2009 12:59 PM
By: Austin Reed, Eyewitness News 4, and Reed Upton, KOB.com

New Mexico’s Children Youth and Family Department is making contingency plans to deal with what it anticipates will be a $15 million cut in the department’s budget.

“We have a motto in this department,” Executive Director Dorian Dodson told staffers and media Thursday morning. “That’s called, ‘no stone unturned,’ which means that every possible grant opportunity.”

Dodson also said employee furloughs, reductions in staff and hiring freezes are all on the table. Special programs, such as CYFD’s foster parent service, could also be cut back.

Officials say the cuts are occurring during an economic downturn, which is precisely when many families need the services of the department the most.

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