Data on child abuse in New Mexico called into question

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Data on child abuse in New Mexico has been called into question after lawmakers raised concerns that the former director of the state’s child welfare agency provided inaccurate statistics.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports legislative committee staff has since found child abuse deaths in the state have more than doubled in fiscal year 2020 from the previous year and the state has the second-highest rate of repeated child maltreatment in the nation.

The legislative review came after committee members raised concerns that Brian Blalock, the former director of the Children, Youth and Families Department, provided inaccurate statistics at a July hearing.