o Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
§ “Purpose: To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to connect and support relative caregivers, improve outcomes for children in foster care, provide for tribal foster care and adoption access, improve incentives for adoption, and for other purposes.” http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/federal/index.cfm?event=federalLegislation.viewLegis&id=121
o Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
§ Purpose: To establish standards for the placement of Indian children in foster and adoptive homes and to prevent the breakup of Indian families http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/federal/index.cfm?event=federalLegislation.viewLegis&id=3
o Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act
§ Purpose: To establish a program of adoption assistance, strengthen the program of foster care assistance for needy and dependent children, and improve the child welfare, social services, and aid to families with dependent children programs
This act amended titles IV-B and XX of the Social Security Act. http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/federal/index.cfm?event=federalLegislation.viewLegis&id=22
This act amended titles IV-B and XX of the Social Security Act. http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/federal/index.cfm?event=federalLegislation.viewLegis&id=22
o Multi Ethnic Placement Act 1994
§ These provisions were enacted as title V, part E, subpart 1, of the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994.
This title amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act.
This title amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act.
· Prohibited State agencies and other entities that receive Federal funding and were involved in foster care or adoption placements from delaying, denying, or otherwise discriminating when making a foster care or adoption placement decision on the basis of the parent or child's race, color, or national origin
· Prohibited State agencies and other entities that received Federal funds and were involved in foster care or adoption placements from categorically denying any person the opportunity to become a foster or adoptive parent solely on the basis of race, color, or national origin of the parent or the child
· Required States to develop plans for the recruitment of foster and adoptive families that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children in the State for whom families are needed
· Allowed an agency or entity to consider the cultural, ethnic, or racial background of a child and the capacity of an adoptive or foster parent to meet the needs of a child with that background when making a placement
· Had no effect on the provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
· Made failure to comply with MEPA a violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/federal/index.cfm?event=federalLegislation.viewLegis&id=46
o Personal Work and Responsibility Act and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
§ The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 authorized certain relatives - grandparents, siblings, step-siblings, aunts and uncles - to receive Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) for the care of dependent children. The TANF child-only grant provides benefits solely for the children in the family, and adults in the family are not counted as part of the assistance unit. The availability of TANF funds for kinship providers varies by state, but generally the TANF child-only benefit is significantly lower than the payment that a caregiver would receive from foster care benefits and, often, it is regarded inadequate.50 In order to obtain the larger foster care payment, kin must meet a host of foster care licensing requirements. (Freundlich, Morris, & Hernandez, 2003)
o Adoption and Safe Families Act
§ Purpose: To promote the adoption of children in foster care
This act amended title IV-E of the Social Security Act. http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/federal/index.cfm?event=federalLegislation.viewLegis&id=4
This act amended title IV-E of the Social Security Act. http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/federal/index.cfm?event=federalLegislation.viewLegis&id=4
o Social Security Act
§ aid for dependent mothers and children
o New Mexico Policies
§ Guardianship
There are multiple ways in which a person can be appointed as the legal guardian of a child in New Mexico. The Children’s Code governs appointment of guardians for children who have been abused and neglected or have been determined delinquent or unsupervised. Before a person can be appointed as a guardian under the Children’s Code, the child must be in the legal custody of the State and the State must consent to appointment of the guardian. Thus, attaining guardianship through the Children’s Code is only possible in select situations.
A person seeking guardianship over a child who is not in the State’s custody may file a petition under the Kinship-Guardianship Act, which allows a person to be appointed as the guardian of a child when that child has lived in that person’s home, without the child’s parent, for a period of ninety days immediately preceding the filing of the petition.
Under both the Children’s Code and the Kinship-Guardianship Act, the person seeking appointment as guardian does not necessarily have to be a relative of the child, but they will have to show a relationship with the child and that their appointment is in the child’s best interest.
Once a person is appointed as guardian, the rights and responsibilities of the child’s parents are transferred to the guardian. Under the Kinship-Guardianship Act, a guardian may also ask the court to order the child’s parent to pay child support to the guardian.
Appointment of a guardian can be a fairly simple process when both parents consent to the appointment of a guardian for their child. However, when a guardianship is contested by one or both parents, or the State is heavily involved in a child’s case, guardianship cases can get very complicated. Further, there are additional rules that apply when the child is the member of an Indian tribe or pueblo, or when the child has a disability. http://www.collinsattorneys.com/lawyer-attorney-1538643.html
A person seeking guardianship over a child who is not in the State’s custody may file a petition under the Kinship-Guardianship Act, which allows a person to be appointed as the guardian of a child when that child has lived in that person’s home, without the child’s parent, for a period of ninety days immediately preceding the filing of the petition.
Under both the Children’s Code and the Kinship-Guardianship Act, the person seeking appointment as guardian does not necessarily have to be a relative of the child, but they will have to show a relationship with the child and that their appointment is in the child’s best interest.
Once a person is appointed as guardian, the rights and responsibilities of the child’s parents are transferred to the guardian. Under the Kinship-Guardianship Act, a guardian may also ask the court to order the child’s parent to pay child support to the guardian.
Appointment of a guardian can be a fairly simple process when both parents consent to the appointment of a guardian for their child. However, when a guardianship is contested by one or both parents, or the State is heavily involved in a child’s case, guardianship cases can get very complicated. Further, there are additional rules that apply when the child is the member of an Indian tribe or pueblo, or when the child has a disability. http://www.collinsattorneys.com/lawyer-attorney-1538643.html
§ New Mexico Administrative Code
8.26.4.16 RELATIVE FOSTER CARE:
A. Relatives who provide foster care to children in PSD custody must be licensed.
B. A child in PSD custody may be placed on a provisional basis with a relative provided that the PSD worker:
(1) completes the initial relative assessment by collecting and assessing the following information:
(a) the child’s attitude toward the prospective caregiver;
(b) the prospective caregiver’s attitude toward the child and parents;
(c) the prospective caregiver’s motivation to foster the child;
(d) the prospective caregiver’s ability to safely parent the child;
(e) local background records check that does not contain a disqualifying conviction;
(f) a check of nmcourts.com for a disqualifying conviction;
(g) check of CYFD management information system for a referral history with PSD; and
(h) completion of the physical standards checklist;
(2) obtains supervisory approval.
C. The safety of the child is the primary consideration. If this is ever in conflict with the placement of the child with a relative, PSD makes the placement decision in favor of the child’s safety.
D. A provisional license is limited to sixty (60) days with one possible thirty (30) day extension at the discretion of the PSD deputy director. When a child is placed in the home under a provisional license, the relative foster parents are expected to complete all requirements of foster home licensing within sixty (60) days of placement. Failure to meet these requirements within the sixty (60) day time frame shall result in the removal of the child.
[8.26.4.16 NMAC - Rp, 8.27.2.24 NMAC, 5/29/09] (Children, Youth and Families Department, & Protective Services Division, 2009)
