SM 20 — STATEWIDE YOUTH VIOLENCE SUMMIT

57THA LEGISLATUREMEMORIAL -REQUESTING STATETHE DEPARTMENT OF NEWMEXICOHEALTH -TO SECONDCONVENE SESSIONA ,STATEWIDE 2026YOUTH VIOLENCE SUMMIT AND DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE STATEWIDE APPROACH TO MITIGATE YOUTH VIOLENCE AND ESTABLISH COMMUNITY-BASED VIOLENCE INTERVENTION STRATEGIES.

7 WHEREAS, youth violence is a significant concern for New Mexico policymakers, communities, youth, families and the general public, but New Mexico lacks a unified statewide vision to address the root causes and risk factors of these issues;

and WHEREAS, few, if any, targeted resources are allocated for research-based youth violence prevention or intervention services across the state, such as credible messengers, peer supports, restorative justice or violence interrupters, and these services do not exist at the scale needed;

and WHEREAS, current funding programs for youth who are involved or at risk of being involved in the juvenile justice system in New Mexico are not prioritized for the highest-risk youth or youth engaged in violence;

and WHEREAS, data collection, tracking and reporting around youth violence is limited and could be strengthened to better understand the scope and scale of these challenges and the needs of communities;

and WHEREAS, there is misalignment across state and local SM 20 Page 1 stakeholders around how to best address youth violence challenges in the state;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the department of health be requested to convene a statewide youth violence summit to develop a comprehensive statewide approach to mitigate youth violence, strengthen public safety and improve youth and community outcomes and to develop a strategy to expand research-based community violence prevention and intervention services;

and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of health be requested to create a planning group consisting of the following members to advise the department on the agenda and other details of the youth violence summit:

A.

representatives of the department of health, the children, youth and families department, the health care authority, the public education department, the administrative office of the district attorneys and the chief public defender;

B.

members appointed by the secretary of health to represent state and local law enforcement agencies, the children's court, community-based organizations that focus on helping troubled youth and youth and families who have lived experience with the juvenile justice system;

C.

New Mexico youth and families who have lived SM 20 Page 2 experience with the juvenile justice system and victims of youth violence;

and D.

two senators and two representatives appointed by the New Mexico legislative council on recommendation by the president pro tempore of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives;

and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of health and the planning group be requested to develop the agenda to include speakers and facilitators from New Mexico, other states that have successful youth violence mitigation strategies and national experts;

educational and problem-solving panels;

and plenary sessions and to advertise the youth violence summit as a public event;

and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the goals of the youth violence summit include:

A.

disseminating research and best practices on youth violence prevention and intervention;

B.

disseminating state and local as well as other states' examples of successful programs;

C.

understanding current data trends in youth violence across New Mexico and the needs of communities;

D.

identifying promising approaches and gaps in youth violence prevention and intervention strategies in New Mexico;

E.

developing recommendations for a statewide SM 20 Page 3 vision for youth violence prevention and intervention that centers the voices of youth, families and communities, including recommendations related to needed investments in research-based community violence programs;

F.

developing strategies for scaling promising approaches in the state;

G.

strengthening data collection and reporting;

H.

providing technical assistance and training and additional support to localities and community stakeholders;

and I.

developing a vision and plan for a statewide office to oversee and support efforts to mitigate youth violence;

and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of health be requested to write a final report detailing the findings and recommendations of the youth violence summit, including recommendations for investments and proposed legislation to implement a comprehensive statewide approach to mitigate youth violence that includes tested and innovative community-based violence intervention strategies;

and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of health be requested to present findings and recommendations from the summit to the appropriate legislative interim committees by November 1, 2026;