The Kevin S., et al. v. Blalock and Scrase (“Kevin S.”) lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for New Mexico on September 22, 2018, on behalf of a class of children in the custody of New Mexico’s child welfare system (“Plaintiffs”) by Disability Rights New Mexico, the Native American Disability Law Center, Public Counsel, Pegasus Legal Services for Children, and associated counsel. The Defendants in the lawsuit include State officials responsible for administering and supervising New Mexico’s child welfare system – Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) – and the system responsible for delivery of Medicaid services for eligible children as well as other behavioral health services for adults, children, and their families – Health Care Authority (HCA). Following months of negotiations among the Kevin S. parties, on March 17, 2020, the parties executed a Final Settlement Agreement (“FSA,” also referred to herein as “Agreement”), and on March 26, 2020, filed a Joint Stipulation of Dismissal of the lawsuit. In reaching this Agreement, the parties acknowledged their mutual commitment to the development of a trauma-informed system of care that meets the needs of New Mexico’s diverse children and youth and their families.
This is the fourth Kevin S. report produced by the Co-Neutrals on the State’s efforts to achieve the commitments of the FSA. The report summarizes the State’s performance on agreements in each FSA Appendix.
