Chapter 32A — Chapter 32A

compensation; deductions. A. A delinquent child may be ordered by the court to pay restitution to the victim of the child's delinquent act. B. The department may provide compensation to a delinquent child engaged in a rehabilitative work program and shall promulgate necessary rul…

A. All records pertaining to the child, including all related social records, behavioral health screenings, diagnostic evaluations, psychiatric reports, medical reports, social studies reports, records from local detention facilities, client-identifying records from facilities fo…

site. A state agency or a political subdivision of the state, including a school district, county, municipality or home-rule municipality, shall not disclose on a public access web site maintained by it any information concerning the following: A. an arrest or detention of a chil…

detention; hearing. A. If a public school administrator or employee has reasonable cause to believe that a child is in possession of or has been in possession of a firearm on school premises in violation of Section 30-7-2.1 NMSA 1978, the administrator or employee shall immediate…

A. The department shall promulgate updated standards for all detention facilities, including standards for site, design, construction, equipment, care, program, personnel and clinical services. The department shall certify as approved all detention facilities in the state meeting…

facilities; reports. A. A child arrested and detained for an alleged delinquent act may be temporarily held in an adult jail or lockup for no longer than six hours. A child who is detained in an adult jail or lockup shall be placed in a setting that is physically segregated by si…

juvenile probation and parole officers; powers and duties. A. Juvenile probation and parole services shall be provided by the department. B. To carry out the objectives and provisions of the Delinquency Act, but subject to its limitations, the department has the power and duty to…

court. A. If it appears to a tribunal in a criminal matter that the defendant was under the age of eighteen years at the time the offense charged was alleged to have been committed and the offense charged is a delinquent act pursuant to the provisions of the Delinquency Act, the …

waiver. A. Complaints alleging delinquency shall be referred to probation services, which shall conduct a preliminary inquiry to determine the best interests of the child and of the public with regard to any action to be taken. B. During the preliminary inquiry on a delinquency c…

A petition alleging delinquency shall not be filed in delinquency proceedings unless the children's court attorney, after consulting with probation services, has determined and endorsed upon the petition that the filing of the petition is in the best interest of the public and th…

A child may be taken into custody: A. pursuant to the order of the court issued because a parent, guardian or custodian fails when requested to bring the child before the court after having promised to do so when the child was delivered upon release from custody; B. pursuant to t…

History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-3-1, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 62; repealed by Laws 2005, ch. 189, § 77.

Chapter 32A, Article 3A NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Voluntary Placement and Family Services Act". History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-3A-1, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 63; 2005, ch. 189, § 25; 2023, ch. 90, § 4.

A. have visitation with the child; B. be informed of changes in the child's school or of changes in the child's placement by the department; C. authorize decisions regarding medical and dental care and behavioral health services, including decisions that affect the daily care, su…

A. In an emergency placement situation, when a child must be placed in a home due to the absence of parents or custodians, the department or a criminal justice agency shall perform a federal name-based criminal history record check of each adult residing in the home. The results …

parks; camping passes; fishing licenses. A. As provided in Subsection B of this section, foster parents and children in the custody of foster parents, young adults enrolled in the fostering connections program and children who are in the custody of the children, youth and familie…

training. A. By July 1, 2026, the health care authority, in consultation with medicaid managed care organizations, private insurers, the office of superintendent of insurance, the children, youth and families department and the department of health, shall develop rules to guide h…

plan of safe care. A. If the parents, relatives, guardians, custodians or caretakers of a child released from a hospital or freestanding birthing center pursuant to a plan of safe care fail to comply with that plan, the health care authority, a medicaid managed care organization …

History: Laws 2019, ch. 247, § 14; 1978 Comp., § 32A-3A-15, recompiled and amended as § 32A-1-22 by Laws 2023, ch. 90, § 3.

A. All records or information, whether on file with the court, an agency, the department, an attorney or other provider of professional services, concerning a party to a voluntary placement proceeding shall be confidential and closed to the public. B. The disclosure of all mental…

A. All hearings held pursuant to the Voluntary Placement and Family Services Act shall be closed to the general public. B. Only the parties to a proceeding, their counsel and other persons approved by the court may be present at a closed hearing. Other persons the court finds to …

A. If the department accepts legal custody of a child, the child shall be placed in the least restrictive setting that most closely approximates a family in which the child's special needs, if any, may be met. The child shall be placed within reasonable proximity to the child's h…

A. Prior to a guardianship being granted pursuant to the Kinship Guardianship Act [Chapter 40, Article 10B NMSA 1978] or the Abuse and Neglect Act [Chapter 32A, Article 4 NMSA 1978] and in order to be eligible for guardianship assistance payments, the following conditions shall b…

As used in the Voluntary Placement and Family Services Act: A. "child or family in need of family services" means a family: (1) whose child's behavior endangers the child's health, safety, education or well-being; (2) whose child is excessively absent from public school as define…

Nonrecurring expenses incurred by a prospective guardian associated with establishing a subsidized guardianship may be reimbursed for each eligible child, up to an amount established by the department, and also for any of an eligible child's siblings. History: Laws 2023, ch. 90, …

agreement. A. In order for a prospective guardian to receive guardianship assistance payments, the department shall negotiate and enter into a written guardianship assistance agreement before the guardianship is finalized with the prospective guardian of an eligible child. The ag…

A. In order for a successor guardian to be eligible for guardianship assistance payments if the successor guardian serves as guardian in the event the guardian dies or is incapacitated, the successor guardian shall be named in the guardianship assistance agreement and any amendme…

assistance payments. A. The department shall immediately discontinue guardianship assistance payments when the department is advised or determines a child or guardian no longer meets the criteria to be eligible for guardianship assistance payments. B. The department shall notify …

A child or prospective guardian may appeal a decision by the department to establish, deny, reduce or discontinue guardianship assistance payments within thirty days of the department's decision. History: Laws 2023, ch. 90, § 18.

The department shall promulgate rules as necessary to implement the provisions of the Voluntary Placement and Family Services Act. History: Laws 2023, ch. 90, § 19.

presumption of good faith. A. Any child or family member who has a reasonable belief that the child or family is in need of family services may request family services from the department. B. Any person, including a public or private school principal, who has a reasonable belief …

A. The department shall, subject to the availability of resources, design and implement a referral process to assist a child or family in accessing appropriate services. B. When the child involved in the referral process is an Indian child, the assessment and referral process sha…

History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-3A-5, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 67; repealed by Laws 2005, ch. 189, § 77.

agreement. A. The department may accept legal custody of a minor child from a parent or guardian for temporary voluntary placement outside the home through a voluntary placement agreement. B. When a parent is considering a voluntary placement agreement, the department shall notif…

A. A child may remain in voluntary placement for up to one hundred eighty consecutive days. B. Prior to the expiration of the voluntary placement agreement, if the parent or guardian agrees in writing that the child is to remain in voluntary placement for up to an additional one …

department duty upon parent refusal to regain custody. A. At any time, a parent or guardian may demand and obtain the return of a child voluntarily placed outside the home without seeking or obtaining court approval. The child shall be returned within forty-eight hours of when th…

History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-3A-9, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 71; repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 90, § 29.

A. Chapter 32A, Article 3B NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Family in Need of Court-Ordered Services Act". B. The Family in Need of Court-Ordered Services Act shall be interpreted and construed to effectuate the following expressed legislative purposes: (1) through court interventi…

A petition regarding an alleged family in need of court-ordered services shall not be filed unless the children's court attorney, after consultation with the department, determines and endorses upon the petition that filing is in the best interests of the child and family. Histor…

A. A petition to initiate a proceeding regarding an alleged family in need of court- ordered services shall include the following allegations: (1) that the child or the family are in need of court-ordered family services; (2) that the child and the family participated in or refus…

A. An adjudicatory hearing for an alleged family in need of court-ordered services shall be commenced within sixty days after the date of service on the respondent. B. The children's court attorney shall represent the state at the adjudicatory hearing. C. If the adjudicatory hear…

A. All hearings shall be recorded by stenographic notes or by electronic, mechanical or other appropriate means. B. All hearings regarding a family in need of court-ordered services shall be closed to the general public, subject to the following exceptions: (1) the parties, the p…

A. The court shall determine if the allegations of the petition are admitted or denied by the parent or child. If the allegations are denied, the court shall proceed to hear evidence on the petition. The court, after hearing all of the evidence regarding an alleged family in need…

A. Prior to holding a dispositional hearing, the court shall direct the department to prepare a written family services plan for submission to the court. B. The plan for family services shall contain the following information: (1) a statement of the problem; (2) the needs of the …

A. At the conclusion of the dispositional hearing, the court shall set forth its findings on the following issues in the dispositional judgment: (1) the ability of the parent and child to share a residence; (2) the interaction and interrelationship of the child with the child's p…

mental disorder; proceedings. A. If during any stage of a proceeding regarding a family in need of court-ordered services petition the evidence indicates that the child has or may have a developmental disability or a mental disorder, the court may order the department to: (1) sec…

termination or extension of court order. A. A judgment vesting legal custody of a child in an agency shall remain in force for an indeterminate period not exceeding two years from the date entered. B. A judgment vesting legal custody of a child in an individual, other than the ch…

A. Within six months of any original dispositional order and within six months of any subsequent continuation of the order, the department shall petition the court for a review of the disposition of the family in need of court-ordered services order. The review may be carried out…

As used in Chapter 32A, Article 3B NMSA 1978, "family in need of court-ordered services" means the child or the family has refused family services or the department has exhausted appropriate and available family services and court intervention is necessary to provide family servi…

A. The court shall order the parent to pay the reasonable costs of support and maintenance of the child that the parent is financially able to pay if a child is adjudicated to be a child of a family in need of court-ordered services and the court orders the child placed with an a…