We start it off with reaction to MLG's appointment this week of Teresa Casados as the permanent cabinet secretary for the troubled Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD).
Child law attorney Deborah Gray writes:
Elvis is alive. The earth is flat. And Teresa Casados has left an indelible mark at CYFD as
Acting Secretary. Maybe she has, but not necessarily in the way that the Governor implies.
With all due respect to Ms. Casados, she is in an untenable situation. In appointing her as the
“permanent” CYFD Secretary, the Governor's words of praise instill neither confidence nor trust.
That is because Gov. Lujan Grisham’s comments are fully untethered to reality. The Governor
tells us that Ms. Casados has already delivered results, and that the momentum will continue
from here.
And what results are those? Unprecedented turnover? Court imposed financial sanctions for
failing to file statutorily required Court reports?
The only momentum I have witnessed is that CYFD -- and, in fact, the entirety of NM’s child
welfare system-- is crumbling before our very eyes.
Children’s safety, permanency and
well-being are not prioritized. CYFD has been unable to meet its most basic legal requirements
(meeting children monthly in their placements, providing court reports before hearings,
providing notices of placement changes --to name just a few). But the machine is hunkering down and the usual suspects pile on.
Said Rep. Gail Chasey: “Casados is a strong choice
to lead CYFD at this pivotal moment for New Mexico families. [Her appointment] … allows for
critical stability and continuity as the agency works to implement necessary changes to improve
the safety and well-being of our children, while increasing accountability and transparency.”
Rep. Chasey’s comments are shocking in so far as they are
detached from the reality on the ground. Repeating these falsities is insulting to the many dedicated people who work within this
dysfunctional system day in and day out: CYFD employees, foster parents, and providers -- to
name a few. Most of all it does a disservice to the families and children who come into contact
with this system.
Speaking the truth is the way to command respect and credibility; it is the way
to lead. And unless or until that happens, the forecast is grim for our children and families.
Elvis has left the building.
OLDER IS BETTER
On Election Day I was on my home from working a very long shift at one of the busier voting locations. You mentioned that the poll workers are “quite elderly” and one of those ancients at your voting site struggled with the computer. A suggestion that the County hire younger workers totally ignores the facts that lead poll workers to be older:
1. Try to find younger workers who can work thirteen 10-hour days of early voting starting on a Saturday (10 ½ hours) with Sunday off, then six 10-hr days in a row with just Sunday off, and then another 6 days in a row with 2 days off before Election Day (an almost 15-hr day. I got up at 4 a.m. and returned home close to 9 p.m.).
2. Try to find younger workers who will show up every day ready to work.
3. Try to find younger workers who are willing to give up breaks to handle the continuous flow of voters for 7 hours. That was how it was on Election Day for us. Bathroom breaks were rare (and you know how we old folk are).
4. Try to find younger workers who not only make sure that the voter gets the proper ballot but who also are able to help those many voters who have moved and need to change their voter registration status or need to register by using the Same Day Registration system and then get them a ballot based on that new information.
5. Try to find younger workers who understand the concept of teamwork. The staff I worked with are seasoned poll workers with whom I have worked a number of times. We mesh really well and know one another’s strengths.
I have been doing this work for some years and am always impressed with the changes being made each election to make the experience better for both the voters and the workers. But that also means that every time we work, we have to do something differently than the last time we worked. Flexibility is vital, and a willingness to learn new aspects of the job is a requirement.
Shocking that we “elderly” can do that. I will be 81 on Saturday.
A DESERVING PENSIONER
Joe, I took great offense to that Oct. 26 smug blog concerning our PERA pensions. During my thirty years in state government my salary was never at the same level as men doing my job with equal (or less education, experience and performance). I earned every penny of the pension and deserved more. I was over worked, under paid, frequently subjected to poor or abusive management styles, with little appreciation or acknowledgement of the quality of work I produced.
As a single mother I stayed at the job as I needed the income. I was promised a pension that would make up for the overall working conditions if I stuck it out. Now At the age of 78, my disability has become total and I have been hospitalized followed by a transfer to a rehab facility and will have to move to an assisted living facility (hopefully not a nursing home!). My PERA plus Social Security will not totally cover the expense so I will have to sell my home as it cannot be remodeled to accommodate an electric wheelchair and liquidate what other possessions I worked hard to accumulate.
The worst part is giving up all the independence I have worked to retain my entire adult life. I am not asking for sympathy. Life is whatever happens and we have to face it squarely. But I resent that anyone thinks that my retirement is cushy or made easy by PERA.
I would also point out that during my working years I was required to pay into PERA, Social Security and Medicare which took out almost a quarter of my gross salary before taxes, medical insurance and other deductions came out. It didn’t leave much to live on and raise two children.
In my family we were raised with the expectation of doing jobs that helped others. I did my part, 30 years in the Human Services Department, 12 years on the CNM Governing Board and then six years on the Public Education Commission. None of those were paid positions. I think I have provided enough service to my fellow New Mexicans to have earned an even higher pension than I receive.
THE BOTTOM LINES
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| Monahan (circa 1977) |
No matter what our political persuasion, we can all agree that we are some of the luckiest people alive because we call New Mexico home. The breathtaking beauty of this land is ours to experience each and every day. That's a gift of a lifetime and one we pause to acknowledge on Thanksgiving 2003. (And 2023.)
Happy Thanksgiving, New Mexico.
Reporting to you from Albuquerque, I'm Joe Monahan
This is the home of New Mexico politics.
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023
(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023