1. As used in the Voluntary Placement and Family Services Act:

2. A. "child or family in need of family services" means a family:

   1. (1) whose child's behavior endangers the child's health, safety, education or well-being;
   2. (2) whose child is excessively absent from public school as defined in the Attendance for Success Act [22-12A-1 to 22-12A-14 NMSA 1978];
   3. (3) whose child is absent from the child's place of residence for twenty-four hours or more without the consent of the parent, guardian or custodian;
   4. (4) in which the parent, guardian or custodian of a child refuses to permit the child to live with the parent, guardian or custodian; or
   5. (5) in which the child refuses to live with the child's parent, guardian or custodian;
3. B. "family services" means services that address specific needs of the child or family;
4. C. "guardian" means a person appointed as a guardian by a court or Indian tribal authority or a person authorized to care for a child by a parental power of attorney as permitted by law;
5. D. "guardianship assistance agreement" means a written agreement entered into by the prospective guardian and the department or Indian tribe prior to the establishment of the guardianship by a court;
6. E. "guardianship assistance payments" means payments made by the department to a kinship guardian or successor guardian on behalf of a child pursuant to the terms of a guardianship assistance agreement;
7. F. "guardianship assistance program" means the financial subsidy program provided for in the Voluntary Placement and Family Services Act;
8. G. "kinship" means the relationship that exists between a child and a relative of the child, a godparent, a member of the child's tribe or clan or an adult with whom the child has a significant bond;
9. H. "managed care organization" means a person or entity eligible to enter into risk-based capitation agreements with the health care authority to provide health care and related services;
10. I. "subsidized guardianship" means a guardianship that meets subsidy eligibility criteria pursuant to the Voluntary Placement and Family Services Act; and
11. J. "voluntary placement agreement" means a written agreement between the department and the parent or guardian of a child.

History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-3A-2, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 64; 2005, ch. 189, § 26; 2019, ch. 223, § 15; 2023, ch. 90, § 5; 2025, ch. 156, § 4.

ANNOTATIONS

The 2025 amendment, effective June 20, 2025, defined the term "managed care organization" and revised the definition of "guardian" as used in the Voluntary Placement and Family Services Act; in Subsection C, after "Indian tribal authority" added "or a person authorized to care for a child by a parental power of attorney as permitted by law"; added new Subsection H and redesignated former Subsections H and I as Subsections I and J, respectively.

The 2023 amendment, effective July 1, 2023, changed the name of the Family Services Act to the Voluntary Placement and Family Services Act, and defined "guardian," "guardianship assistance agreement," "guardianship assistance payments," "guardianship assistance program," "kinship," "subsidized guardianship," and "voluntary placement agreement"; after "As used in", added "Voluntary Placement and"; and added Subsections C through I.

The 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, revised the definition of "child or family in need of services" to include a family whose child is excessively absent from public school; and in Subsection A, added a new Paragraph A(2) and redesignated former Paragraphs A(2) through A(4) as Paragraphs A(3) through A(5).

The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, in Subsection A(1), defined "child or family in need of family services" to mean a family whose child's behavior endangers the child's health, safety, education or well-being; deleted former Subsection B, which defined "family needs assessment"; in Subsection B, defined "family services" to mean services that address needs of the child or family; deleted former Subsection C(1) through (10), which listed service that where included in the former definition of "family services" and deleted former Subsection D, which defined "plan for family services" as an intervention plan based on the needs of the child and family.