Lori Padilla/Photo by Brooke Davis

BY BROOKE DAVIS
Kiwanis Club

At their June 3 meeting, Kiwanis heard an enlightening presentation from Lori Padilla, a Mental Health Therapist about the issues, challenges, and support in the county for grandparents and kin raising children. She cited a 2024 report by the LANL Foundation that described how, between 2021 and 2023, New Mexico had the highest rate of children in kinship care in the nation (8%), more that double the national average (3%) and the rate has been increasing statewide while the nation experienced a slight decline.

Kinship care includes grandparents, relatives or non-related persons raising and supporting children. Many kinship caregivers are unexpectedly raising children due to difficult circumstances such as parental alcohol and drug abuse. They find themselves navigating challenges they had not anticipated.

Padilla explained that these caregivers can be overwhelmed. In a region that historically and culturally “takes care of its own”, they are often looked down upon for not always having the ability to help themselves. In her job, she contracts with the Family Strengths Network and currently works with 44 families to give support where they most need it. She helps with legal assistance to navigate interaction with the courts; providing food, supplies, and financial assistance; mental health care to ensure children in their care can thrive; working to provide child care for respite; and kinship navigators to help grandparents and kin interact with a complicated system of state agency support.

The New Mexico state legislature this year passed HB252 which provides for a three-year kinship caregiver pilot program in 5 to 7 counties improve the lives of children through a monthly economic support program and providing access to services and referrals needed. Padilla expressed gratitude to the legislature for their forward-looking stance on this issue and thanked all the grandparents and kin who traveled to the Capitol to advocate for this bill. Her goals for the future include raising awareness of caregiver needs, build up working relationships across county lines, expand resources of food and funds to address short-term needs, and a solid long-term assistance program for the families.