New Mexico
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Pre-Service Training

Prospective foster and adoptive parents receive 32 hours of pre-service training using the state’s “Resource Engagement Adaptability Diversity Initiative New Mexico” (READI NM) trainings. The training is comprised of 15 modules, with Modules 1 to 11 being instructor led and Modules 12 through 15 provided via the Cornerstone e-learning platform.  

Relative caregivers who provide care to children in foster care must be licensed, but provisional approval may be given to expedite placement of a child with a relative. In such cases, some sections of the training may be waived for a specified period as indicated on the waiver documentation. However, completion of the training is required in order to continue providing care. 

While there is no specific training required for families transitioning to adoption or guardianship, New Mexico creates an individual training plan for each resource parent so caseworkers may recommend a particular training for a family moving to permanency. 

 

Services Offered Through the State’s Post-Permanency Support Program

The New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) contracts with All Faiths Children’s Advocacy Center to provide post-permanency services statewide. CYFD staff also provide support services to adoptive and guardianship families. CYFD’s regional adoption and retention specialists support families going through the adoption and guardianship process and are also available to help families who need support after placement and finalization. The support includes determining each family’s needs and providing information and referral or clinical case management to connect families with longer-term services. One of the CYFD specialists is a Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) practitioner and can offer ongoing TBRI® coaching to families.  

The All Faiths post-adoption/guardianship contract includes the following services: 

Families can access All Faiths services before finalization when needed to address challenges. The CYFD adoption and retention team—along with the licensing and support specialists—also support families through finalization during weekly or month check-ins they have with these families. 

All Faiths intake and assessment process includes conducting a family interview and gathering family history and other collateral information. The assessment determines the specific services the individual family will receive. 

All Faiths can provide case management to help caregivers learn new skills and access adoption-competent community resources to enhance the parent-child relationship. Specific services vary based on each individual family’s needs and may include in-home services.  

Therapy is available to provide short-term adoption- or guardianship-related support for families. This specialized support will assist families in developing and maintaining healthy dynamics while addressing the impact of trauma. In addition, group therapy is offered to provide parenting education coupled with therapeutic processes.    

Through its New Mexico Fiesta Project, which also serves foster parents, All Faiths operates support groups for parents. Support groups for children and youth can be offered under the CYFD contract if there is sufficient demand. 

All Faiths operates a warm line for foster, adoptive, and guardianship families, staffed by foster or adoptive parents with at least two years of experience. Calls are returned within 24 hours. In addition, the agency has a lending library of books and videos available to parents, children, and professionals who work with families.

Monthly in-person training events are available throughout the state on topics such as TBRI®, attachment, parenting, cultural identity, sensory integration, the impact of trauma, secondary trauma, grief and loss, and self-care. Statewide virtual trainings are also available. If CYFD sees many families experiencing a particular issue in a region, they can ask All Faiths to offer a training in that region designed to respond to that need. 
 
All Faiths also provides training support to help CYFD staff better support adoption and guardianship families, both before or after finalization. Training is provided to new staff and to help existing staff respond to specific challenges.  

Social and recreational events are held throughout the year to provide families with the opportunity to gather. Some events are for the whole family while others are for children only, so parents have an opportunity for respite. 

In fiscal year 2024, 338 families received individualized post-permanency supports from All Faiths.  

For more information, visit https://www.allfaiths.org/placement-services/. 

Geographic Area Covered

All services are offered statewide, with staff who live in each of the five CYFD regions. Services are provided virtually for families in more remote areas of the state.  

Eligible Population for the Overall Post-Permanency Program

  • All families who adopted from the state’s foster care system

  • All families who have guardianship of a child from foster care 

  • Other (listed below) 

    New Mexico families who adopted from another state through the interstate compact on the placement of children (beginning in fiscal year 2026) 

Variations in Eligibility for the Post-Permanency Program

None

Outreach and Engagement

CYFD shares information about post-permanency supports with prospective adopters through informational meetings about adoption and by having its recruiters or navigators share information with families who are interested in adoption and foster care. During their work with families moving toward finalization, the adoption and retention team and the licensing and support specialists share information about post-permanency services. 

 Other strategies for sharing information about adoption and guardianship support services include community and training events, social media, the CYFD web site, and emails to all licensed families and those going through the licensing process.  

 In its contract, All Faiths is required to conduct outreach through events and social media.  

How the Post-Permanency Program Is Operated

  • Through a contract or grant with one private agency 

  • By other state staff

Notes About Who Provides Which Service(s)

Post-permanency services are provided by All Faiths Children’s Advocacy Center and by CYFD adoption and retention specialists as outlined above.  

Adoption/Guardianship Assistance/Subsidy Review and Changes

Each year, CYFD’s Protective Services Division (PSD) sends adoptive families a form to complete and return confirming that the family continues to have financial and legal responsibility for the child; that the adoptive child is a full-time elementary or secondary student (or has completed secondary school); and whether the child is covered by private medical insurance.    

A family may request a change in the adoption subsidy at any time based on the child’s needs, the family’s ability to meet those needs, and whether the child’s subsidy has reached the maximum amount allowed for their age and level of care. The family must submit a request for changes in the subsidy in writing to the subsidy specialist and provide written documentation of the justification for the change in subsidy. The subsidy specialist reviews the request for subsidy and the documentation and decides whether to approve the increase in subsidy. A maintenance subsidy cannot be increased beyond the maximum amount payable for foster care maintenance or the maximum paid for substitute care to the treatment foster care agency.  

CYFD also sends families receiving guardianship assistance an annual letter about their assistance. Families do not need to respond to continue receiving assistance. If a family wants to request a change in their guardianship assistance, they must send documentation of the change in the child’s needs. The assistance cannot be higher than the level one foster care rate for the child’s current age. If the child has moved to live with a named successor guardian and the family wants to transfer the guardianship assistance, the guardian must send a copy of the court order granting guardianship and must complete a fingerprint background check.  

Tracking Adoption/Guardianship Discontinuity

CYFD staff manually track when children return to care from adoption or guardianship. The child welfare database also captures the information, although the state is currently updating its information system to make this and other data easier to access.  

State staff can request reports on re-entry cases and conduct analysis of individual cases as well as trends.  

Post-Permanency Program Spending (FY 2024)

  • $500,000 – $999,999

Funding Sources for the Post-Permanency Program (FY 2024)

  1. State funds 
  2. Federal funds  

 

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