The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department has rejected claims that it misuses confidentiality rules to avoid responsibility and punish detractors, as stated in a filing submitted last week.

In its response to a lawsuit from the state Department of Justice, the agency also denies blocking Attorney General Raúl Torrez from probing the child welfare system and other charges.

Filed on Thursday in First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, CYFD's answer requests that Torrez's lawsuit be dismissed with prejudice, preventing any refiling.

CYFD spokesperson Jake Thompson offered no further details on the denials but noted in an email that the department anticipates addressing the matters in court.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not reply to a request for comment. The subsequent actions in the case, overseen by state District Court Judge Kathleen McGarry Ellenwood, remain unclear at this time.

Torrez initiated the lawsuit in April alongside the release of a report exceeding 200 pages from a year-long investigation. This report highlights multiple systemic problems within New Mexico's child welfare system. The suit claims CYFD hindered the Justice Department's inquiry by resisting or denying requests for information.

Additionally, the Justice Department charged CYFD with improperly invoking state confidentiality laws to withhold details, particularly regarding cases where children suffer harm or death, and employing them to silence or retaliate against critics.

The Justice Department described this misuse in its April complaint as creating a shroud of secrecy over government indifference.

The complaint states: The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) shields itself from scrutiny and accountability by hiding its work behind a cloak of confidentiality. With its darkest secrets hidden, CYFD uses confidentiality to cover up systemic failures that result in preventable harm to children and to avoid correcting those failures.

At the time, Thompson stated that acting CYFD Cabinet Secretary Valerie Sandoval has repeatedly emphasized that CYFD maintains zero tolerance for retribution or retaliation.