SENATE MEMORIAL 5

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2014

INTRODUCED BY

Gerald Ortiz y Pino

FOR THE LEGISLATIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER TO RECONVENE THE J. PAUL TAYLOR EARLY CHILDHOOD TASK FORCE TO CONTINUE ITS WORK IN IMPROVING COLLABORATION AMONG EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT STAKEHOLDERS AND DEVELOPING AN INFANT AND EARLY CHILDHOOD MENTAL HEALTH ACTION PLAN; REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO DIRECT APPROPRIATE INTERIM COMMITTEES TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF THE J. PAUL TAYLOR EARLY CHILDHOOD TASK FORCE'S PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS.

     WHEREAS, in the 2013 first session of the fifty-first legislature, the legislature passed House Memorial 75, which requested the university of New Mexico health sciences center to appoint the "J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force" in honor of former legislator and tireless children's advocate, J. Paul Taylor; and

     WHEREAS, during the 2013 interim, the university of New Mexico convened the task force, which was chaired by the chair of the children's trust fund board of trustees and included a wide range of stakeholders for and experts in infant and early childhood mental health services; and

     WHEREAS, the task force was requested to develop and recommend means and methods to:

          A. improve collaboration among early childhood development stakeholders;

          B. develop a system to identify invisible, unserved and underserved at-risk infants and young children;

          C. develop an early childhood mental health plan for infants and children through age eight, ranging from prevention through early intervention and treatment, and review state and local funding streams throughout the early childhood system;

          D. identify how the early childhood system can be used for child abuse prevention; and

          E. promote evidence-based, community early childhood programs in New Mexico by establishing a link to state data for early childhood research; and

     WHEREAS, during the first year of service, the task force made significant strides in building a coherent outcomes-based infant and early childhood mental health and child abuse prevention action plan; and

     WHEREAS, the task force reviewed health screening models that prioritize reaching at early ages at-risk children and families, i.e., those individuals living in the most vulnerable of circumstances; and

     WHEREAS, the task force has identified significant gaps in funding and service provision that require coordinated attention to address children's social and emotional development across a broad set of policies affecting health, mental health, early childhood and social services and family support; and

     WHEREAS, the task force has identified needed linkages among health and behavioral health practitioners and practitioners in other child-serving settings to improve the ability to recognize and respond to risks or early signs of compromised social and emotional development and health disorders; and

     WHEREAS, the task force has created a broad-based coalition of stakeholders that, with expanded membership, can develop a road map for an infant and early childhood mental health action plan; and

     WHEREAS, an infant and early childhood mental health action plan could result in a comprehensive, strength-based, child- and family-focused early childhood mental health and child abuse prevention system to achieve better outcomes for at-risk children and families; and

     WHEREAS, members of the task force presented preliminary findings and recommendations to the interim legislative health and human services committee in November 2013; and

     WHEREAS, members of the task force have informed the committee that the first year action plan developed by the task force does not contain all of the details for achieving the goals, but it provides a "best practice strategy" for building a better system and a better future for New Mexico's at-risk children and families; and

     WHEREAS, among the preliminary recommendations of the task force was the recommendation that the task force's work be continued for another year in order to allow it to review funding streams for an infant and early childhood mental health action plan as well as to recommend a state policy for early childhood mental health and child abuse prevention;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force be requested to continue for another year its work in improving collaboration among stakeholders to develop a road map to execute an infant and early childhood mental health action plan; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force be requested to develop in its infant and early childhood mental health action plan a comprehensive, strength-based child- and family-focused early childhood mental health and child abuse prevention system to achieve better outcomes for at-risk children and families; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force be requested to develop recommendations regarding the policy and funding details required to successfully implement an infant and early childhood mental health action plan; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force be requested to expand its membership to include legislative finance committee staff and additional stakeholders, including managed health care organizations, representatives from the medical assistance division of the human services department and the New Mexico association of health councils; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico legislative council be requested to charge the co-chairs of the legislative finance committee and the chair and vice chair of the legislative health and human services committee with a review of the feasibility of the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force's preliminary recommendations with respect to the budgeting, oversight, data collection and reporting requirements that those recommendations may entail; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force be requested to make recommendations to the interim legislative health and human services committee and the legislative finance committee by October 1, 2014; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the chair of the interim legislative health and human services committee, the chair of the legislative finance committee, the secretary of children, youth and families and the chancellor of health sciences of the university of New Mexico.

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