SENATE BILL 214

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2005

INTRODUCED BY

Leonard Tsosie

AN ACT

RELATING TO INDIAN CHILDREN; REQUIRING CONSIDERATION OF CULTURAL NEEDS IN INDIAN CHILD PLACEMENT; ENACTING A NEW SECTION OF THE NMSA 1978.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. A new section of Chapter 32A, Article 18 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE PLACEMENTS.--When a court removes an Indian child from the child's family and places the child outside the family home, the department shall consider the child's cultural needs. Upon determining that a placement out of the home is medically necessary for an Indian child, the department shall make reasonable efforts to place the child in a licensed facility that provides culturally competent care and access to appropriate cultural practices, including traditional treatment, as determined in consultation with the child's tribe."

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