BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. – Uncertainty inside Bernalillo County’s Juvenile Detention Center has mothers on the outside speaking up again.

“These things are crucial. They need to be dealt with,” said Vanessa Hulliger, founder of Stronger Together, Never Alone.  

Hulliger founded a support group for parents of incarcerated children. Her son spent two and a half years at the center, and got his high school diploma before he left in May.

Hulliger says things have changed drastically since then. 

“Most of these children are so far behind, and that’s one of our main concerns,” said Hulliger. 

Hulliger spoke at a news conference last month, asking the county to address conditions inside the center.

They asked — and are still asking — for more visitation and schooling, an end to strip searches, and other rights like on-time meals and more bathroom access.

“All of these things that we demanded were things that should have been done in the first place, like feeding them on time, clean laundry, going to the bathroom,” Hulliger said. 

Representatives from SWOP, or the Southwest Organizing Project, have teamed up with the parents to keep the pressure on.

“These children are being treated inhumanely, their basic constitutional rights are not met,” said Darla Chavez, a SWOP Juvenile Justice organizer. 

Bernalillo County leaders released an improvement plan this week. It includes hiring a new director by April 1, more training for staff, and more rapid hire events.

Leaders say they’re also working on privacy in bathrooms, and more educational opportunities.

“We’ve gone back and taken YDC, kind of peeled it down to the foundation, and they’re starting to build it back up to where it needs to be,” said Greg Perez, a Bernalillo County deputy manager for Public Safety. 

Perez says there are 28 new employees in a six-week academy right now. If they all make it through, it will make a dent in the center’s staffing shortage.

“Staffing is the key to everything for us right now. And if we can get those numbers back to where they, they once were, you know, pre-COVID, we can start to resume the programming to the level that we were doing,” Perez said. 

Hulliger hesitates to count on progress.

“It looks good on paper. It really does. But until I see actual change in action, I think that’s where I will be more encouraged,” said Hulliger. 

Parents and advocates are also asking for independent community oversight to make sure progress continues.