$4.9 Million Settlement After CYFD Failed to Protect 4-Year-Old Despite Documented Abuse

In October 2019, a four-year-old Albuquerque boy was brought to urgent care with a dislocated shoulder, bruises on his face, and other visible injuries. New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department investigators were called. Body camera footage recorded at the clinic showed the child speaking with CYFD workers. Despite the injuries, a CYFD supervisor overruled a caseworker who had requested legal custody, telling her to 'calm down.' The child was sent home that day.

CYFD had been involved with the family before that visit. The agency had received prior referrals about neglect and abuse and had responded to them without removing the child. After the urgent care episode, supervisors eventually authorized initiation of custody proceedings, but the child was not taken into protective care. The caseworker was told she would need to locate him. Fifty-two days passed. On December 10, 2019, the boy was beaten to death by a man living in the home. That man, Zerrick Marquez, later pleaded guilty to intentional child abuse resulting in death and received a life sentence. Another adult in the home was sentenced to 13 years.

The estate's attorneys alleged that CYFD's failures went beyond case-by-case errors. Court filings contended that the agency relied on a flawed safety and risk assessment tool that systematically underweighted danger signals. Attorneys also alleged that a caseworker was directed to change and delete portions of her notes before the records were entered into CYFD's permanent database, and that an investigator's work phone was wiped. The firm argued the agency engaged in destruction of evidence to conceal its decision-making.

Alexander Crecca, Sara Crecca, and Rachel Berenson of The Crecca Law Firm represented the child's estate in lawsuits filed in both federal and state court. The case was set for trial in February when the state agreed to settle. New Mexico's Risk Management Division reached the $4.9 million agreement in late 2023, with the settlement publicly announced in January 2024. The case was one of seven CYFD-related wrongful death settlements reached in the same period, with the combined total reaching $16.9 million across all seven matters.