SB 83 CYFD PLAN OF CARE FAILURE ASSESSMENTS

Sen Crystal Diamond Brantley

Actions: [1] SCC/SHPAC/SJC-SCC

Scheduled: Not Scheduled

 Senate Bill 83 (SB 83) requires the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) to conduct assessments and provide services upon a failure to comply with a plan of care. 

 Senate Bill 83 (SB 83) amends Section 32A-3A-14 NMSA 1978 to mandate that CYFD provide referrals for counseling, training or other services aimed at addressing the underlying causative factors that may jeopardize the safety or well-being of a child, and is empowered to proceed with an investigation, conduct assessments, and provide services upon a failure to comply with a plan of care. The section stating that the child's parents, relatives, guardians or caretakers may choose to accept or decline any service or program offered is deleted. 

 The current law says that the CYFD may provide referrals (not mandated), and that a “child's parents, relatives, guardians or caretakers may choose to accept or decline any service or program offered subsequent to the family assessment”. If the bill does not pass, the language will remain the same (i.e., the mandates regarding assessments and services will not be in place, and a child’s parents, relatives, guardians or caretakers will still have an option to decline services or programs. 

 House Bill 121 (HB 121) - CYFD assessments