Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 11, June 11, 2024
Section 8.26.3.45 - INTERSTATE COMPACT ON THE PLACEMENT OF CHILDRENA. See NMSA 1978, Sections 32A-11-1 et seq. NMSA 1978.B. Compliance mandatory: The interstate compact on the placement of children (hereafter ICPC) has been enacted by the state of New Mexico and therefore compliance with the ICPC is required in all interstate adoptive placements from or to New Mexico.C. Enforcement: The ICPC is a binding reciprocal agreement among all of the states and territories of the United States and has the force and effect of statutory law in each party state or territory. Failure to comply may result in intervention by the department or in an interstate adoption being denied or found invalid.D. Who must comply with the ICPC: Any person placing, or causing to be placed, a child for adoption in New Mexico, or placing, or causing to be placed, a child for adoption from New Mexico to another state or territory, shall comply with the ICPC. The person sending the child is designated as the "sending agency" and the person receiving the child is designated as the "receiving agency."(1) Independent adoptions: The parent placing the adoptee is the sending agency in all independent adoption regardless of the manner of termination of parental rights or the creation of a guardianship, or other legal custody proceeding, in the sending state. The prospective adoptive parents are the receiving agency.(2) Department adoptions: If the sending agency is the state child welfare agency for the sending state, the receiving agency shall be the state child welfare agency or a private agency licensed to place a child for adoption in the receiving state.(3) Agency adoptions: If the sending agency is a private agency licensed to place a child for adoption in the sending state, the receiving agency shall be the state child welfare agency or a private agency licensed to place a child for adoption in the receiving state. Any and all agency services provided in an ICPC adoption proceeding shall be conducted by employees of the agency. ICPC adoptive services shall not be provided by an investigator or a counselor as defined in Sections 7.3 and 7.15 [see compiler's note].E. ICPC process: (1) Prior to placement: Prior to the placement of an adoptee in another state, the sending agency shall submit the ICPC form with the proposed placement to the ICPC administrator in the state from which the child is to be sent.(2) ICPC approval: ICPC approval for placement into the receiving state shall be obtained from the receiving state's ICPC administrator prior to the placement of the adoptee into the receiving state.(3) Placement into New Mexico: In cases where the adoptee is being placed for the purpose of adoption into New Mexico, the persons involved in the adoption shall comply with the provisions of the act and the regulations governing such matters as placement, counseling narratives, consents or relinquishments, pre-placement study and full disclosure.(4) Placement from New Mexico: In cases where a child is being placed for the purpose of adoption from New Mexico, in addition to complying with the receiving state's requirements, the persons involved in the adoption shall comply with the applicable provisions of the act and the regulations governing such matters as counseling narratives, consents or relinquishments, and full disclosure.(5) Compliance time limitation: All of the forms and information required by the New Mexico ICPC administrator shall be completed and submitted to the administrator within four months from the date of initiation of the request for an interstate placement unless the request is made prior to the adoptee's birth, in which event the four-month period shall commence at birth. The person requesting the ICPC placement may provide the administrator with good cause for an extension of time. In no event shall the extension of time exceed two additional months. Failure to comply with these time limits shall result in the denial of the placement.01/01/98; Recompiled 11/30/01 Compiler's note: Paragraph (3) of Subsection D, above, contains a reference to Sections 7.3 and 7.15; however, given the context of the reference, it would appear that the correct citations are more likely Sections 7.5 and 7.16, which are now Subsections E and P of 8.26.3.7 NMAC.