Joy Junction expresses profound sorrow about the injuries and alleged abuse which reportedly occurred to the three-month-old daughter of now former Joy Junction residents, Jacob Nichols and Ashley Gibson.

Early Jan. 2, a Joy Junction manager was alerted by Jacob Nichols that his daughter had a temperature of 102 degrees and he was going to take her to the hospital.

Reportedly, when Nichols and Gibson arrived at the hospital, the doctor felt there was an underlying cause making the child this ill. This statement reportedly made Nichols very angry, and he and his girlfriend ended up being taken into police custody.

Joy Junction Founder and CEO Dr. Jeremy Reynalds said, "We are terribly saddened by the plight of this baby and her family. We hope that she recovers fully, and that her parents get the help they need."

About two weeks ago, after concerns were bought to the attention of shelter staff, a Joy Junction case manager called the State of New Mexico for a welfare check on Nichols' and Gibson's daughter.

A worker from the State of New Mexico's Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD)
checked the child. Bruising and scratching were found, but the worker didn't feel these were issues that placed the child in immediate danger.

However, it was felt that parenting classes and other resources would be helpful due to the youthfulness and immaturity of the parents.

Since that first call, a Joy Junction case manager unsuccessfully tried to contact the CYFD investigator and her supervisor a number of times to find out the status of the case and how the family will be assisted. This Joy Junction staff member said it was her impression that CYFD was going to be actively involved with the case on an ongoing basis.

During this time, the same Joy Junction case manager was made aware that the couple had been leaving their baby unattended while they went outside to smoke. Joy Junction's case manager proactively called CYFD on Dec. 31, and was told to make a new report. She did as instructed, and at the same time attempted to find out what progress was being made by the state in assisting the family. The Joy Junction case manager was told that information was not available to her.