Judge John J. Romero, Jr. serves in the Second Judicial District Court in the Children’s Court Division. The docket includes delinquency, child welfare and adoptions. His Court is a Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Model Site. Judge Romero is actively involved in his community’s family violence prevention efforts and was recognized with the 2007 Spirit Advocacy Award.
Judge Romero is co-chair emeritus of New Mexico’s Children’s Court Improvement Commission. He remains involved with the Tribal-State Judicial Consortium. He was the first judge in the country to be recognized as a Certified Child Welfare Law Specialist by the ABA-accredited National Association of Counsel for Children. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and is a Past President of the Board. Judge Romero has served as lead faculty on the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Child Sex Trafficking and is a member of the National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Children and Youth in the United States.