New Mexico foster care company shutting down following reports of safety lapses
La Familia-Namaste, one of New Mexico’s largest private foster care companies, is closing its doors at the end of the year.
The closure comes on the heels of an investigation by Searchlight New Mexico revealing that the 30-year-old nonprofit failed to properly vet foster parents for past abusive behavior, placing children in environments that in some cases have led to severe child abuse.
La Familia-Namaste is one of 10 remaining companies in New Mexico that provide treatment foster care, a specialized type of foster care for children who have severe, usually trauma-related behavioral health needs. It’s the latest in a string of behavioral health organizations to fold in recent years, meaning yet another disruption in services for traumatized children.
Parents of children currently served by La Familia-Namaste — which also provides adoption, counseling and psychiatric services — say the company failed to notify them of the upcoming closure, leaving families scrambling to find vital services for their kids.
Read more: https://nmpolitics.net/index/2018/12/nm-foster-care-company-shutting-down-following-reports-of-safety-lapses/