Child welfare in New Mexico

Esteban Candelaria

Esteban Candelaria

Esteban Candelaria covers child welfare and the state Children, Youth, and Families Department for The Santa Fe New Mexican. He is based in Albuquerque. Prior to joining The New Mexican, he covered education at the Albuquerque Journal. There, he tackled accountability stories about the state education department's administration of services for students to stories about the proliferation of guns in Albuquerque schools. Before the Journal, he covered criminal justice and the local courts at The Colorado Springs Gazette. Esteban graduated with a bachelor's degree from Colorado College, where he also won an award for his time and contributions to student journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Santa Fe New Mexican

The Santa Fe New Mexican is one of the oldest newspapers in the West; an aggressive outfit that covers Santa Fe and much of Northern New Mexico. We work to report the news deeply and compellingly, understanding that we are a community resource in a place where past, present and future collide every day. We look for immediacy and depth and impact every day, and we demand much of ourselves because our community expects first-rate journalism.