SB 146 — SUBSIDIZED GUARDIANSHIPS

"voluntary placement agreement" means a written e u g e b l e e h agreement between either the protective services division or n d d i = = o h juvenile justice division of the department or Indian tribe l ] b ,d i a º e that has entered into a joint powers agreement and the parents ror iguardians =of ra tchild, ewhich wagreement dshall mnot exceed one hundred eighty days unless there has been a njudicial odetermination orthat guardianssuch placement is in the best interests of athe childchild, in which case the agreement may be extended for an additional one hundred eighty days, that specifies at least the following:

d(1) mwhether :the parent or guardian agrees to give legal custody of the child to the department;

b(2) ethe drights sand ºobligations oof tthe nparents =or .215938.2SAAICguardians, Februarythe 7,child 2020and (4:54pm)the sdepartment, kincluding mthat ethe -parent 4or -guardian ehas athe nright eto drevoke ror eterminate lthe uplacement [agreement Aand dgrant (1)of the legal statuscustody ofto the child;department at any time;

(2)and theSJC/SB rights146 andPage obligations3 of(3) thesuch parentsother orcriteria guardians,as set forth by rule promulgated by the childdepartment as necessary to comply with state and thefederal department;law." SECTION 3.

and (3) such other criteria as set forth by rule promulgated by the department as necessary to comply with state and federal law." SECTION 4.

HEARING--ELEMENTS OF PROOF--BURDEN OF PROOF--PROOF--JUDGMENT--CHILD JUDGMENT--CHILD SUPPORT.-- A.

In other cases, h the court may dismiss the proceedings or make any other g o t hr disposition of the matter that will serve the best interests of g e i k the minor.

h r i s B.

A guardian may be appointed pursuant to the h , t, Kinship Guardianship Act only if:

e u g e b l e e h (1) a parent of the child is living and has n d d i = = o h consented in writing to the appointment of a guardian and the l ] b ,d i a º e consent has not been withdrawn;

r(2) ia =parent rof tthe echild wis dliving mbut aall nparental orights (2)in aregard parentto of the child ishave livingbeen butterminated allor dsuspended mby :prior court order;

bor e(3) dthe schild ºhas oresided twith nthe =SJC/SB .215938.2SAAIC146 FebruaryPage 7,4 2020petitioner (4:54pm)without sthe kparent mfor ea -period 5of -ninety edays aor nmore eimmediately dpreceding rthe edate lthe upetition [is Afiled dand parentala rightsparent inhaving regardlegal tocustody of the child haveis beencurrently terminatedunwilling or suspendedunable byto priorprovide courtadequate order;care, maintenance and supervision for the child or there are extraordinary circumstances;

or (3) the child has resided with the petitioner without the parent for a period of ninety days or more immediately preceding the date the petition is filed and a parent having legal custody of the child is currently unwilling or unable to provide adequate care, maintenance and supervision for the child or there are extraordinary circumstances;

The court shall h consider the potential impact of financial payments pursuant to g o t hr this subsection on the relationship of the parent and child and g e i k on the prospects of family reunification.

The court may use h r i s the child support guidelines set forth in Section 40-4-11.1 h , t, NMSA 1978 to calculate a reasonable payment.

e u g e b l e e h E.

The court may order visitation between a parent n d d i = = o h and child to maintain or rebuild a parent-child relationship if l ] b ,d i a º e the visitation is in the best interests of the child." r i = r t e w d m a n o SECTION 5.4.

A new section of the Kinship Guardianship SJC/SB 146 Page 5 Act, dSection m40-10B-16 :NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:

b e d s º o t n = .215938.2SAAIC February 7, 2020 (4:54pm) s k m e - 6 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d Section 40-10B-16 NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:

[NEW MATERIAL ] FINANCIAL SUBSIDIES--SUBSIDIES--ELIGIBILITY.-- ELIGIBILITY.-- A.

h (2) a guardian for the child has been g o t hr appointed pursuant to the Kinship SPACºGuardianship Guardian Act»SPAC g e i k SPACºGuardianship Act andor the Children's Code»SPAC;Code;

h r i s (3) the child must be eligible for foster care h , t, maintenance payments while in the home of the prospective e u g e b l e e h kinship guardian;

n d d i = = o h (4) the child must have lived with the l ] b ,d i a º e prospective kinship guardian for at least six consecutive r i = r t e w d m a n o months pursuant to a court order or a voluntary placement dagreement; m :

bSJC/SB e146 dPage s6 º(5) othe tchild nhas = .215938.2SAAIC February 7, 2020 (4:54pm) s k m e - 7 - e a nstrong eattachment dto rthe ekinship lguardian; u [ A d agreement;

(5) the child has a strong attachment to the kinship guardian;

or (9) the child is a sibling of a child who meets the eligibility criteria set forth in Paragraphs (1) through (8) of this subsection." h SECTION 6.5.

A new section of the Kinship Guardianship Act, g o t hr Section 40-10B-17 NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:

g e i k "40-10B-17.

[NEW MATERIAL ] FINANCIAL SUBSIDIES--SUBSIDIES--NONRECURRING h r i s NONRECURRING EXPENSES.--Nonrecurring expenses incurred by a h , t, prospective kinship guardian associated with establishing a e u g e b l e e h subsidized guardianship may be reimbursed in an amount not to n d d i = = o h exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) per child for an eligible l ] b ,d i a º e child and also for any of an eligible child's siblings." r i = r t e w d m a n o SECTION 7.6.

A new section of the Kinship Guardianship Act, dSection m40-10B-18 :NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:

bSJC/SB e146 dPage s7 º"40-10B-18. o t n = .215938.2SAAIC February 7, 2020 (4:54pm) s k m e - 8 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d Section 40-10B-18 NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:

"40-10B-18.GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE AGREEMENTS.-- A.

[NEW MATERIAL ] GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE AGREEMENTS.-- A.

(4) the responsibility of the kinship guardian h to report changes in the needs of the child or the g o t hr circumstances of the kinship guardian that affect guardianship g e i k assistance payments;

h r i s (5) reasonable and verified nonrecurring h , t, expenses associated with obtaining a subsidized guardianship e u g e b l e e h pursuant to the provisions of Section 40-10B-17 NMSA 1978;

and n d d i = = o h (6) terms by which the guardianship assistance l ] b ,d i a º e agreement may be terminated and the ability of the department r i = r t e w d m a n o to recoup funds received due to improper payment.

dB. m :

bA ecopy dof sthe ºfully oexecuted tguardianship nSJC/SB =146 .215938.2SAAICPage February8 7,assistance 2020agreement (4:54pm)shall sbe kgiven mto ethe -kinship 9guardian -and eto athe ndepartment." eSECTION d7. r e l u [ A d B.

A copy of the fully executed guardianship assistance agreement shall be given to the kinship guardian and to the department." SECTION 8.

[NEW MATERIAL ] SUCCESSOR GUARDIANS.-- A.

The department shall promulgate rules setting forth requirements for a successor guardian to receive h guardianship assistance payments.

g o t hr D.

The successor guardian does not need to be a g e i k relative and does not need to be licensed as a foster parent to h r i s receive guardianship assistance payments." h , t, SECTION 9.8.

A new section of the Kinship Guardianship Act, e u g e b l e e h Section 40-10B-20 NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:

n d d i = = o h "40-10B-20.

[NEW MATERIAL ] DISCONTINUANCE OF GUARDIANSHIP l ] b ,d i a º e ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS.-- r i = r t e w d m a n o A.

The department shall immediately discontinue dguardianship massistance :payments when the department is SJC/SB 146 Page 9 advised or determines:

b e d s º o t n = .215938.2SAAIC February 7, 2020 (4:54pm) s k m e - 10 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d guardianship assistance payments when the department is advised or determines:

h C.

The discontinuance of guardianship assistance g o t hr payments does not terminate a guardianship that has been g e i k established by a court." h r i s SECTION 10.9.

A new section of the Kinship Guardianship h , t, Act, Section 40-10B-21 NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:

e u g e b l e e h "40-10B-21.

[NEWAPPEAL MATERIALOF ]DECISIONS.--A APPEALchild OFor DECISIONS.--kinship nguardian dmay dappeal ia =decision =made oby hthe A.department pursuant to the Kinship Guardianship Act related to a subsidized guardianship.

AThe department shall develop an appeal procedure whereby a child or kinship guardian may appealSJC/SB a146 lPage ]10 bcontest ,d i a º e decision made by the department pursuant to theestablish, Kinshipdeny, rreduce ior =discontinue rguardianship tassistance epayments." wSECTION d10. m a n o Guardianship Act related to a subsidized guardianship.

TheREPEAL.--Section d40-10B-2 mNMSA :1978 (being Laws 2001, Chapter 167, Section 2) is repealed.

bSJC/SB e146 dPage s º o t n = .215938.2SAAIC February 7, 2020 (4:54pm) s k m e - 11 -6 e8 a25 n e d r e l u [ A d department shall develop an appeal procedure whereby a child or kinship guardian may contest a decision by the department to establish, deny, reduce or discontinue guardianship assistance payments.

B.

An aggrieved party may appeal a decision of the district court pursuant to the Kinship Guardianship Act in the manner provided by law." - 12 - » g o » r h t i k l i g t h s , e h t l i w l b l e e , g n d l h = = b , a l º d i a r e r = , a t e d m a n o d m :

b r e t º o t n = .215938.2SAAIC February 7, 2020 (4:54pm) s k em e e a n e d r e l u [ A d