SENATE MEMORIAL 6

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025

INTRODUCED BY

Linda M. López

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO STUDY A PROPOSED REVISION TO THE CHILDREN'S CODE TO GIVE BOTH PARENTS AND THEIR MINOR CHILDREN THE RIGHT TO CONSENT TO MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT.

 

     WHEREAS, the Children's Code states that a minor child can refuse mental health treatment if the minor child is fourteen years of age or older; and

     WHEREAS, if the minor child fourteen years of age or older does not consent to mental heath treatment, the minor child's parents cannot make the decision for their child and cannot take advantage of needed therapy; and

     WHEREAS, a primary reason for the Children's Code provision allowing minor children fourteen years of age and older to consent to mental health treatment was a concern on the part of children's advocates that parents were abusing the use of mental health treatment, especially residential treatment, when minor children became difficult for parents to handle; and

     WHEREAS, mental health treatment now has a system of checks and balances, coupled with medical necessity, that prevents mental health treatment from being used inappropriately; and

     WHEREAS, refusal of mental health treatment can have dire consequences for minor children and their families, and can lead to a later need for higher levels of care such as residential treatment, juvenile detention or protective custody; and

     WHEREAS, when the current law was enacted, it was also intended to give children the right to seek treatment that their parents were unwilling to provide; and

     WHEREAS, it is warranted to investigate if the age of consent should be reconsidered based on the developmental stages of minors and the impact that refusal of treatment may have on families; and

     WHEREAS, community-based mental health therapies can keep youth stable and better able to cope with adolescence, and to maintain mental and behavioral health wellness; and

     WHEREAS, parents are legally and morally responsible for their minor children, but the current Children's Code prohibits parents from making the decision to obtain mental health treatment for a minor child even when the parents fear for their child's life or witness their child exhibiting dangerous behaviors that could have life-long consequences; and

     WHEREAS, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas have joint consent laws;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the department of health be requested to undertake a study to analyze and compare state data for New Mexico youth outcomes related to mental health treatment modalities to state data from the states with joint consent laws, in order to determine if the data shows differences in mental health outcomes between those states and New Mexico in urban and rural areas for youth fourteen through seventeen years of age; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study look for comparative data across the states with joint consent laws to determine if joint consent laws affected youth mental health indicators and outcomes; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study review available state data from the states with joint consent laws to New Mexico state data to determine how many children by age, including those in foster care, end up in residential treatment or juvenile justice systems, including detention facilities or on probation; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study draw conclusions from the state data sets to determine whether the current Children's Code provision allowing a minor child fourteen years of age or older to refuse mental health treatment contributes to the risk of mental health emergencies; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of health be requested to report those findings and recommendations to the legislative health and human services committee by November 1, 2025; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of health; the chair and vice chair of the legislative health and human services committee; the president of the national alliance of mental illness of southern New Mexico; the president of disability rights New Mexico; the director of the New Mexico behavioral health planning council; the chair of the New Mexico behavioral health planning council children and adolescents subcommittee; and the director of Families First.

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