The state Senate has passed legislation designed to strengthen monitoring of babies with symptoms of exposure to drugs or alcohol during pregnancy.
Under current law, passed in 2019, hospitals or birthing centers create a Plan of Care for any newborn exposed to drugs or alcohol before birth.
It is designed to help families identify and access services like mental health counseling or medication-assisted treatment to help treat addiction, or parenting groups to join. Until now, if the family didn't comply with the plan, it was optional for the Children, Youth and Families Department to conduct an assessment of the family and refer them to services.
The new law, Senate Bill 150, makes it mandatory
"In brief, this ensures that the state keeps a close eye on vulnerable newborns and the family receives the support they need to thrive," said sponsor Senator Gay Kernan (R-Hobbs)
Senate Minority Whip Republican Craig Brandt (R-Sandoval) said that he supported the legislation and that he thought that more bills should hold CYFD to account.
New Mexico has some of the country's highest rates of children suffering traumatic childhood events, according to data from the National Survey of Children's Health.
Democratic Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino (D-Bernalillo) said he supported the bill, but had reservations about the process
"I do think that we've created a very complicated system for following up with these families, one that could be a lot simpler," he said.
He pointed out the hospital or birthing center comes up with the Plan of Care, then the coordination is done by a managed care organization, with CYFD charged with stepping in if the process doesn't work. He advocated streamlining in the future, and assigning case workers.
The bill passed unanimously.
