More than 100 children in New Mexico’s foster system are in homes and treatment facilities in other states, according to numbers provided by the state Children, Youth and Families Department this week.

The numbers mark the latest uptick in a practice the agency was directed to curb years ago through the landmark Kevin S. child welfare lawsuit. Critics argue sending children out of New Mexico limits the amount of check-ins they receive, restricts watchdogs’ ability to provide oversight to the facilities kids end up in and leads to them not receiving the services they need.

Although CYFD had been able to reduce the number of children it was sending to other states to a small fraction of its pre-pandemic numbers in 2022, New Mexico has increasingly relied on the practice, and is on pace to

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