Bill > SB231

This bill mandates that the Office of Child Advocate conduct periodic studies to assess the costs and reimbursement rates associated with community-based foster care placements and treatments, as well as the costs of legal representation for children in the custody of the Children, Youth and Families Department due to abuse or neglect allegations. Specifically, a study on foster care costs and reimbursements will be conducted every five fiscal years, examining expenses for resource families (which include foster parents and preadoptive parents who provide care and support) and other related costs. Concurrently, a study on legal representation costs will be performed every six fiscal years, detailing expenses like hourly billing, investigations, evaluations, and trial preparation. These studies, with necessary redactions for confidentiality, will be submitted to the legislative finance committee, with the first reports due by December 1, 2026, and subsequent reports by December 1 of the study year. The bill also appropriates $200,000 from the general fund to the Office of Child Advocate for fiscal year 2027 to carry out these studies, with any unspent funds reverting to the general fund at the end of that fiscal year.

https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=S&legtype=B&legno=231&year=26