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SANTA FE – The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department has stopped using a secure messaging app that raised concerns that material might not be preserved for investigations and for disclosure under the state’s public records law.
CYFD Secretary Brian Blalock said Thursday the department stopped using the Signal app in late April, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
The department started using Signal early in the pandemic after child welfare officials realized they lacked a safe and secure platform allowing employees to work remotely, Blalock said.
The agency liked the free service because it offered encryption and complied with a federal medical privacy law, he added.
By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
The state Supreme Court on Friday upheld a lower court decision allowing the no-bail pretrial release of an 18-year-old with no prior criminal history who is accused of a string of residential burglaries in Albuquerque.
The ruling rebuffs public prosecutors who say risks to the community in the case linking as many as 80 nighttime burglaries in homes where people slept can t be mitigated by electronic tracking devices and supervision.
Justice Michael Vigil announced the court s decision following oral arguments Friday and an hour of private deliberations by the high court. The state failed to argue or prove . that no conditions of release will reasonably protect the safety of any other person or the community, Vigil said. The court will affirm the decision of the district court.
The Associated Press Created: May 07, 2021 09:52 AM
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department has stopped using a secure messaging app. That s in response to concerns that material might not be preserved for investigations and for disclosure under the state’s public records law.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Cabinet Secretary Brian Blalock said Thursday the department stopped using the Signal app in late April.
Blacklock said CYFD started using Signal early in the pandemic after officials realized they lacked a safe and secure platform for working remotely.
Blaclock said the department has preserved the records as required but dropped use of Signal to avoid weakening the public s trust in the agency.
The agency liked the free service because it offered encryption and complied with a federal medical privacy law, Blalock said.
Attorney General Hector Balderas, Republican legislative leaders and others had voiced concern about use of the app, saying routine deletion of messages could hinder transparency and availability of records for investigations.
While contending the department was not deleting any records it must keep under the Inspection of Public Records Act, Blalock said he didn’t want workers to use technology that weakens the public’s trust of the child welfare agency.
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State agency drops use of messaging app that raised concerns
May 7, 2021
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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department has stopped using a secure messaging app that raised concerns that material might not be preserved for investigations and for disclosure under the state s public records law.
CYFD Cabinet Secretary Brian Blalock said Thursday the department stopped using the Signal app in late April, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
The department started using Signal early in the pandemic after child welfare officials realized they lacked a safe and secure platform allowing employees to work remotely, Blalock said.