In our newest episode, we take a deep dive into what is a child welfare ombuds office, and why might it provide relief to New Mexico's child welfare, child protection, and foster care system.

Learn more about what a Child Welfare Ombuds and download our white paper on our website now at: https://www.nmchildfirst.org/news-press/2025/2/4/new-mexico-needs-an-ombuds

All show links are included there. #nmleg #CYFDcrisis #SolutionsExist

Dee focuses on the importance of a healthy workforce and why a professional workforce is the key to a successful child welfare system. Dee talks about what he has seen over the last 50 years, and how that's impacting children impacted by these systems today. This episode is especially important for policy makers, child welfare advocates, child welfare attorneys, child welfare practitioners, and all those hoping to make long-term, sustainable, positive impacts on the child welfare systems.

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Dee Wilson sits down with New Mexico Child First Network to offer solutions -- and hope -- for the crisis facing child welfare systems in New Mexico.

Dee offers historical examples, evidence-based solutions, and provides context for many of the issues impacting the public health crisis facing CYFD and New Mexico's Child Welfare systems.

Dee is the monthly author of "The Sounding Board" on child welfare. Dee worked for the public child welfare agency in Washington State from 1978 – 2004 in a variety of positions including CPS social worker, supervisor, area administrator, training director and regional administrator. After leaving the Children’s Administration in 2004, Wilson was Director of the Northwest Institute for Children and Families at the University of Washington School of Social Work from 2005-08 and then was director of child welfare training in the UW – SSW through 2009. Wilson is currently Director of Child Welfare Services in the Knowledge Management section of Casey Family Programs.

Dee Wilson speaks and writes on a wide range of child welfare issues including neglect, risk and safety, substance abuse and reunification, foster care outcomes, critical thinking and child welfare management.

For more information, to contact Dee, or sign-up for his newsletter, please email: deewilson13 @ aol . com

On this episode of "Better Futures Ahead," our host Maralyn Beck sits down for a heartwrenching conversation with Sara K, a foster and adoptive parent involved in New Mexico's Foster Care system. Sara says it best that when she was applying to become a foster parent, she knew it would be a "lot of great love, and a lot of great love." Sara shares her stories, her advice, and her hopes as how we can improve this complex system of child welfare.

Resources:

https://www.nmchildfirst.org

https://fosteringchamps.org/

https://kevinssettlement.com/

After years of stalled progress on improving support for children and youth in foster care, compounded by the harm young people experienced during the pandemic, New Mexico simply can’t wait any longer to make foster youth a priority. Solutions exist to fix our broken child welfare system, and each new episode of "Brighter Futures Ahead" will feature ideas, solutions, best practices, and evidence-based research. We will feature stories and important news updates along the way.