ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico (ACLU-NM) filed a second lawsuit against the New Mexico Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD) for failing to implement key reforms in the juvenile justice system. In 2006, CYFD entered into a contract with ACLU-NM, agreeing to improve safety and mental health services for youth in its juvenile justice facilities. In 2007, ACLU-NM filed suit for breach of contract and reached a settlement agreement in late 2009. Now, one year later, conditions in CYFD facilities are still out of compliance with juvenile detention best practices and basic standards of safety.
“CYFD hasn’t lived up to the 2009 Agreement,” said ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson. “CYFD agreed to implement the Missouri model of juvenile detention and to change its policies and procedures before the end of 2010 to correct the biggest problems. Although there have been important improvements regarding mental health treatment, CYFD has not yet accomplished either of those promises.”
Under the terms of the 2009 settlement agreement, CYFD agreed to work with three neutral experts to ensure that reforms were implemented. The three experts all reported during November 2010 that many of the requirements of the agreement have not yet been achieved. Their reports show:

• CYFD has not yet implemented the Missouri model “Cambiar New Mexico” at all of its facilities;
• Twice, CYFD intentionally deceived the neutral medical monitor to give the false impression that CYFD had a quality improvement program that was effectively identifying and correcting problems with medical care;
• The Office of Quality Assurance (the system CYFD agreed to establish to ensure oversight and accountability) has not yet been fully established. Since 2009, the office conducted only two inspections, half its employee positions are vacant and it is not yet performing effectively;
• In violation of the agreed procedures, detention facility staff still lock youth in their rooms, including youth with mental disabilities;
• The administrators of the juvenile justice system are not effectively managing juvenile justice services.

The 2009 agreement is set to expire on December 31, 2010, but the ACLU of New Mexico is asking the court to extend the agreement so that youth in CYFD custody may actually reap the full benefits of the reforms.
“The ACLU would have sued earlier,” said Simonson, “But CYFD concealed from the neutral experts and from the ACLU a number of the deficiencies which were identified in the last month and a half. CYFD must be held accountable for the implementation of the agreed reforms; the well-being and safety of the youth in their custody depends on it.”
ACLU-NM Co-legal Director Phil Davis, ACLU-NM cooperating attorney Peter Cubra, and Alice Bussiere and Maria Ramiu of the Youth Law Center in San Francisco represent the plaintiff in this case.
2010 Complaint with Exhibit
Motion for Temporary Restraining Order
PRESS CONTACT: Micah McCoy, (505) 266-5915 Ext. 1003, or [email protected]

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"I just wanted to take a moment to ask the folks who work for the American Civil Liberties Union if they are glad they live in America."
That was the opening sentence to "God Bless Us Every One, Like It or Not," the Opinion-Editorial that April Simpson of Glencoe, N.M., wrote to The Santa Fe New Mexican,  accusing the ACLU of wanting to "take God away from everything"; to take away her right to believe as she pleases.
She can rest assured that we have no desire to take away her religious freedom. ... And the answer to her question is, yes! We are very glad to live in America, just as she is.
One of the reasons we're so proud to be American is because we live in a country that enshrined in its Constitution the right for every person to practice any religion, or no religion at all, without interference from the government.
Ms. Simpson, like many people, makes the classic error of assuming that, because the ACLU doesn't think the government should tell citizens which god to worship, and when and how to worship, that the ACLU opposes religion in general. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, we fight tirelessly for the constitutional right of all Americans to worship, preach and practice their religion — both publicly and privately — however they best see fit.
Just in the past few years, the ACLU of New Mexico has defended a Christian preacher who was arrested in Portales for preaching in public, forced jails in Albuquerque to accommodate the religious diets of Jewish inmates, and represented Muslim athletes who were driven off the New Mexico State University's football team by the coach's refusal to accommodate their religious beliefs. The national ACLU and its state affiliates across the country weigh in on dozens of cases every year to protect the right of Americans to practice the faith of their choosing without being told by the government which religious beliefs are most legitimate or important.
So you see, although our individual religious beliefs may differ, our values are the same as Ms. Simpson's. She wants the freedom to practice her religion. We want the same thing for her and every other American too, whether they be Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists or any of the many other groups that make up the American tapestry of religion and belief.
And if Ms. Simpson or anyone else ever feels that the government is violating their religious freedom, they should drop us a line. We might be able to help.
Ms. Simpson ends her letter kindly by saying, "My family and I would like to wish each of them (ACLU employees) a very Merry Christmas ... God bless each of them and their families this Christmas season."
We thank her, and we wholeheartedly wish the same for her and her family.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or whatever anyone chooses to celebrate this holiday season!
- Micah McCoy, on behalf of the ACLU-NM staff
This Op-Ed was originally published in the Santa Fe New Mexican on December 6, 2010.

Albuquerque four months delinquent in providing information regarding program to screen arrestees for immigration status
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico (ACLU-NM) filed a lawsuit Friday, December 3^rd against the City of Albuquerque for its refusal to provide information regarding the implementation of ‘Secure Communities,’ a federal program to screen arrestees for immigration status in Albuquerque jails. The lawsuit alleges that the City has effectively denied information to the ACLU that it is required to share under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA).
“As New Mexicans, we have a right to access documents and other information that are a matter of public record,” said ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson. “Our state IPRA exists to keep government open and accountable; it’s the law and the City of Albuquerque must comply with it.”
Upon receiving an IPRA request, a New Mexico governmental agency is required by law to provide the requested public information within 15 days. Should they fail to do so, they are deemed to have denied the request. ACLU-NM filed the original IPRA request on July, 16 2010 and has sent multiple follow-up inquiries in an attempt to obtain the requested documents. As of the date of this release, ACLU-NM has not received any of the requested information concerning the implementation of Secure Communities in Albuquerque’s Prisoner Transport Center.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security created the Secure Communities program for the alleged purpose of helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to identify serious criminal offenders who are unlawfully present in the United States. Studies show, however, that Secure Communities has largely targeted minor offenders and, in some jurisdictions, has led to higher levels of arrests of people who appear and sound “foreign.”
“Not only is the City of Albuquerque unlawfully withholding important public information from the people of New Mexico, but they’re needlessly wasting taxpayers’ money,” said ACLU-NM Managing Attorney Laura Schauer Ives. “Under state law, ACLU-NM is entitled to $100 in damages for every day the city is delinquent in responding to our public information request. Because of their noncompliance in this simple matter, the city owes ACLU-NM in excess of $18,000.”
In addition to seeking damages, the lawsuit also demands that the City of Albuquerque release the information regarding Secure Communities that ACLU-NM originally requested under IPRA in July, 2010.
ACLU-NM Managing Attorney Laura Schauer Ives represents the plaintiff in this case.

A copy of the complaint can be found here.
PRESS CONTACT: Micah McCoy, (505) 266-5915 Ext. 1003, or [email protected]

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