New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 8 - SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter 8 - CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES GENERAL PROVISIONS
Part 3 - GOVERNING BACKGROUND CHECKS AND EMPLOYMENT HISTORY VERIFICATION
Section 8.8.3.7 - DEFINITIONS

A. AOC means administrative office of the courts.

B. "Administrative review" means an informal process of reviewing a decision that may include an informal conference or hearing or a review of written records.

C. "Administrator" means the adult in charge of the day-to-day operation of a facility. The administrator may be the licensee or an authorized representative of the licensee.

D. "Adult" means a person who has a chronological age of 18 years or older, except for persons under medicaid certification as set forth in Subsection K below.

E. "Appeal" means a review of a determination made by the BCU, which may include an administrative review or a hearing.

F. "Applicant" means any person who is required to obtain a background check under these rules and NMSA 1978, Section 32A-15-3.

G. "Arrest" means notice from a law enforcement agency about an alleged violation of law.

H. BCU means the CYFD background check unit.

I. "Background check" means a screen of CYFD's information databases, state and federal criminal records and any other reasonably reliable information about an applicant.

J. "Care recipient" means any person under the care of a licensee.

K. "Child" means a person who has a chronological age of less than 18 years, and persons under applicable medicaid certification up to the age of 21 years.

L. "Conditional employment" means a period of employment status for a new applicant prior to the BCU's final disposition of the applicant's background check.

M. "Criminal history" means information possessed by law enforcement agencies of arrests, indictments, or other formal charges, as well as dispositions arising from these charges.

N. "Direct, physical supervision" means continuous visual contact or live video observation by a direct provider of care who has been found eligible by a background check of an applicant during periods when the applicant is in immediate physical proximity to care recipients.

O. "Direct provider of care" means any individual who, as a result of employment or, contractual service or volunteer service has direct care responsibilities or potential unsupervised physical access to any care recipient in the settings to which these regulations apply.

P. "Eligibility" means the determination that an applicant does not pose an unreasonable risk to care recipients after a background check is conducted.

Q. "Employment history" means a written summary of the most recent three-year period of employment with names, addresses and telephone numbers of employers, including dates of employment, stated reasons for leaving employment, and dates of all periods of unemployment with stated reasons for periods of unemployment, and verifying references.

R. "Licensed" means authorized to operate by the licensing authority by issuance of an operator's license or certification certificate.

S. "Licensee" means the holder of, or applicant for, a license, certification, or registration pursuant to 7.20.11 NMAC, 7.20.12 NMAC, 8.16.2 NMAC, 7.8.3 NMAC; 8.17.2 NMAC or other program or entity within the scope of these regulations, including AOC supervised visitation and safe exchange program providers. CYFD LICENSEE means program or entity within the scope of these regulations except the AOC supervised visitation and safe exchange program providers.

T. "Licensing authority" means the CYFD division having authority over the licensee.

U. "Moral turpitude" means an intentional crime that is wanton, base, vile or depraved and contrary to the accepted rules of morality and duties of a person within society. In addition, because of the high risk of injury or death created by, and the universal condemnation of the act of driving while intoxicated, a crime of moral turpitude includes a second or subsequent conviction for driving while intoxicated or any crime involving the use of a motor vehicle, the elements of which are substantially the same as driving while intoxicated. The record name of the second conviction shall not be controlling; any conviction subsequent to an initial one may be considered a second conviction.

V. "Notice of provisional employment" means a written notice issued to a child care center or home applicant indicating the BCU reviewed the applicant's fingerprint based federal or New Mexico criminal record and made a determination that the applicant may begin employment under direct physical supervision until receiving background eligibility. A notice may also indicate the applicant must receive a complete background eligibility prior to beginning employment.

W. "Relevant conviction" means a plea, judgment or verdict of guilty, no contest, nolo contendere, conditional plea of guilty, or any other plea that would result in a conviction for a crime in a court of law in New Mexico or any other state. The term relevant conviction also includes decrees adjudicating juveniles as serious youthful offenders or youthful offenders, or convictions of children who are tried as adults for their offenses. Successful or pending completion of a conditional discharge under Section 31-20-13(1994) NMSA 1978, or Section 30-31-28(1972) NMSA 1978, or a comparable provision of another state's law, is not a relevant conviction for purposes of these regulations, unless or until such time as the conditional discharge is revoked or rescinded by the issuing court. The term relevant conviction does not include any of the foregoing if a court of competent jurisdiction has overturned the conviction or adjudicated decree and no further proceedings are pending in the case or if the applicant has received a legally effective executive pardon for the conviction. The burden is on the applicant to show that the applicant has a pending or successful completion of any conditional discharge or consent decree, or that the relevant conviction has been overturned on appeal, or has received a legally effective pardon.

X. "Unreasonable risk" means the quantum of risk that a reasonable person would be unwilling to take with the safety or welfare of care recipients.