New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 8 - SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter 26 - FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION
Part 2 - PLACEMENT SERVICES
Section 8.26.2.12 - ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF RESOURCE PARENTS

A. Resource parents are considered integral members of a professional team dedicated to the critical responsibility of providing safety, permanency and well-being for children who have been abused or neglected. As such, resource parents shall be active participants in case planning for children in foster care. The resource parent shall work closely with PSD staff to implement the service plan for each child in foster care including visitation for each child in foster care.

B. Resource families support the preservation of connections for children in foster care in their care. Preserving connections may include the development of a long-term supportive relationship with children in foster care and their resource families even after the child has been discharged from care.

C. Resource families shall adhere to applicable PSD policy and procedure, including the reasonable and prudent parent standard.

D. Resource parents shall not use words, language, gestures, either directed at the child in foster care or made within their sight or hearing, which disparage the child's parents, relatives or the child's cultural heritage. Resource parents shall encourage the child to recognize and accept such strengths and achievements of their family as honestly identified.

E. Prohibited forms of discipline, for all children residing in the home, shall include, but are not limited to the following: corporal punishment such as shaking, spanking, hitting, whipping, or hair or ear pulling; isolation; forced to exercise; denial of food, sleep or approved visits or contact with parent; verbal assaults which subject the child to ridicule or which belittle the child or the child's family based on: race; ethnicity; creed; color; age; religion; sex or gender; gender identity; gender expression; sexual orientation; marital status or partnership; familial or parental status; pregnancy and breastfeeding or nursing; disability; genetic information; intersex traits; medical condition, including HIV/AIDS; citizenship or immigration status; national origin; tribal affiliation; ancestry; language; political affiliation; military or veteran status; status as a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking; and housing status, including homelessness; or any other factor. The child shall not be excluded from the resource family and shall not be threatened with exclusion from the resource home as punishment. The child shall not be locked in a room or closet.

F. The resource parent may serve as the child's educational decision maker to protect the their educational rights and act as the student's advocate in the educational decision making process if appointed by the court.

G. When appointed by the New Mexico department of health family, infant and toddler program director, the resource parent may serve as a the child's decision maker to represent the special needs of a child in all matters related to the early intervention and evaluation assessment and treatment for the child in the event the parent is unable or unwilling to act in that capacity.

H. Resource parents shall return all of a child's belongings when the child moves to another placement, including the return home.

I. Resource parents shall not release a child in foster care to anyone without the authorization of PSD, except when pursuant to the reasonable and prudent parent standard defined at 8.26.2.7 NMAC. Children in foster care may also be surrendered to the custody of a law enforcement officer.

J. Resource parents shall adhere to all statutes and regulations applicable to the provision of foster care, including but not limited to child labor laws, public health laws, mandatory school attendance, and motor vehicle laws.

K. Resource parents shall provide PSD with any documents they obtain with respect to the child's legal status, health needs or care, service planning, school progress or other relevant documents.

L. Resource parents shall maintain copies of all educational and medical documents related to the child in a traveling medical and educational file that shall remain with the child if the child is moved.

M. Resource parents, in cooperation with PSD staff, shall create or maintain a life book for each child in their care that shall remain with the child if the child is moved.

N. The resource parent shall maintain the confidentiality of all information regarding the child and the child's family pursuant to the New Mexico Children's Code 32A-4-33 NMSA 1978. The unlawful public disclosure of such confidential information is a misdemeanor under New Mexico criminal law.

O. Resource parents shall immediately report any signs, symptoms, indications or risk of abuse or neglect to any child to PSD statewide central intake (SCI) or law enforcement.

P. Pursuant to the reasonable and prudent parent standard, resource parents may consent to the use of their own personal vehicle by a child, and shall assume all civil and financial liabilities applicable to the child's operation of a motor vehicle. Resource parents shall provide to PSD written documentation that all requirements have been met, including insurance coverage for any vehicle driven by the child in foster care.

Q. Resource parents shall complete the resource parent report form provided by PSD regarding the child's well-being and progress and submit it to their PSD worker monthly.