New Mexico Youth Pay to Stay Policy
| Submitted | Dec. 21, 2022 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Elijah Salisbury
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
1) All current policies and procedures regarding medical and room & board costs or fees for which incarcerated youth (i.e. juvenile) and/or their parents or legal guardians are or may become liable. Please include all policies and procedures related to how fees are set, accrued, imposed, collected, and enforced (such as those related to per diem fees, ability to pay determinations, penalties for late or non-payment, authorization for civil or criminal action for payment enforcement, etc).
2) All reports, databases, spreadsheets, or equivalent materials regarding debts/restitution paid to or owed to this department/office or any facility/agency under its jurisdiction in FY2021. Please include all relevant data regarding medical and room & board costs, including the number of youths (i.e., juveniles) charged for medical and room & board costs or fees and the total amount of medical and room & board fees imposed in FY2021.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 15 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Elijah Salisbury
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Dec. 21, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Children, Youth, And Families Department
Good morning. I have no record of receiving a previous request.
With respect to your first request, youth committed to secure CYFD facilities do not incur any such costs as described (medical/room/board), and as such we have no responsive records.
With respect to your second request, as noted above, youth committed to secure CYFD facilities do not incur any such costs as described (medical/room/board), and as such we have no responsive records to the portion of your second request specific to youth committed to secure CYFD facilities. Our administrative services division is reviewing the portion of your second request concerning debts and restitution, and you may expect to hear from me by or before January 27, 2023.
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Kathleen Hardy
CYFD Records Custodian
PO Drawer 5160
Santa Fe, NM 87502-5160
Text : 505-660-8508
FAX: 505-827-4474
Report suspected child abuse or neglect by calling #SAFE (#7233) from a cell phone or 1-855-333-SAFE.
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~WRD0001
From: Children, Youth, And Families Department
Good morning. I have staffed your inquiry with our policy director and our juvenile justice services deputy director (administration). I am advised by them that youth committed to CYFD's secure facilities do not incur any costs for medical, room, or board, and therefore we have no policies or procedures concerning this subject; that we do not maintain data on medical, room, or board costs separately for these youth; and we do not seek reimbursements for these costs from these youth. As such, they do not believe that we have any responsive records.
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Kathleen Hardy
CYFD Records Custodian
PO Drawer 5160
Santa Fe, NM 87502-5160
Text : 505-660-8508
FAX: 505-827-4474
Report suspected child abuse or neglect by calling #SAFE (#7233) from a cell phone or 1-855-333-SAFE.
From: Elijah Salisbury
Dear Kathleen Hardy,
Thank you for taking the time to address my request for records. I noticed that you stated there are no responsive records available for room & board or medical fees imposed on youth or their parents/legal guardians while the youth are committed to the Children, Youth, and Families Department’s secure facilities. However, I've found additional statutory language regarding these fees and were hoping you would be able to help clarify the possible discrepancy. Specifically the statute language listed below:
NM Stat § 32A-1-19 “Whenever legal custody of an adjudicated child is vested in someone other than the child's parents, including an agency, institution or department of this state, if the court, after notice to the parents or other persons legally obligated to support the child and after a hearing, finds that the parents or other legally obligated persons are financially able to pay all or part of the costs and expenses of the support and treatment, the court may order the parents or other legally obligated persons to pay to the custodian in the manner the court directs a reasonable sum that will cover all or part of the expenses of the support and treatment of the child subsequent to the entry of the custody order."
Thank you in advance for taking the time to assist us in this matter
Sincerely,
Elijah Salisbury
From: Children, Youth, And Families Department
I apologize, but I’m a little confused. As stated in previous responses, adjudicated youth committed to CYFD's secure facilities do not incur any costs for medical, room, or board while in CYFD’s secure facilities. As such, the court’s authority to order payments for support and treatment does not appear to be relevant, as CYFD does not charge adjudicated youth, or their parents, guardians, or legal custodians, for medical, room, or board, while the youth are resident in our secure facilities.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kathleen Hardy
CYFD Records Custodian
PO Drawer 5160
Santa Fe, NM 87502-5160
Text : 505-660-8508
FAX: 505-827-4474
Report suspected child abuse or neglect by calling #SAFE (#7233) from a cell phone or 1-855-333-SAFE.
-
~WRD0003