A. A judgment vesting legal custody of a child in an agency shall remain in force for an indeterminate period not exceeding two years from the date entered.
B. A judgment vesting legal custody of a child in an individual, other than the child’s parent or permanent guardian, shall remain in force for two years from the date entered, unless sooner terminated by court order.
C. A judgment vesting legal custody of a child in the child’s parent or a permanent guardian shall remain in force for an indeterminate period from the date entered until terminated by court order or until the child is emancipated or reaches the age of majority.
D. At any time prior to expiration, a judgment vesting legal custody or granting protective supervision may be modified, revoked or extended on motion by any party, including the child by and through the child’s guardian ad litem.
E. Prior to the expiration of a judgment transferring legal custody to an agency, the court may extend the judgment for additional periods of one year if it finds that the extension is necessary to safeguard the welfare of the child or the public interest.
F. When a child reaches eighteen years of age, all neglect and abuse orders affecting the child then in force automatically terminate except as provided in Section 32A-4-23.1 NMSA 1978 and Subsection D [C] of Section 32A-4-25.3 NMSA 1978. The termination of the orders shall not disqualify a child from eligibility for transitional services.
HISTORY:
1978 32A-4-24, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 118; 2009, ch. 239, § 44.
Editor’s notes.
The reference to “Subsection D of Section 32A-4-25.3 NMSA 1978” in F appears to be an incorrect reference. The reference should be to “Subsection C of Section 32A-4-25.3 NMSA 1978”. Section 32A-4-25.3 NMSA 1978 was enacted by Laws 2009, ch. 239, § 48 and did not contain a Subsection D in the original enactment of that section.
Effect of amendments.
The 2009 amendment, effective July 1, 2009, added “including the child by and through” in (D); added “except as provided in Section 32A-4-23.1 NMSA 1978 and Subsection D of Section 32A-4-25.3 NMSA 1978” in (F); and made related and stylistic changes.
Applicability.
Laws 2009, ch. 239, § 71 makes the provisions of this act applicable to all children who, on July 1, 2009, are on release or are otherwise eligible to be placed on release as if the Juvenile Public Safety Advisory Board Act had been in effect at the time they were placed on release or became eligible to be released.
Notes to Decisions
Authority of court.
Child’s argument that a children’s court’s disposition was consistent with putting child under protective supervision until the age of 18 was rejected because dispositional judgments were limited, vesting legal custody of a child in an agency to an indeterminate period not exceeding two years from the date entered. Children, Youth & Families Dep't v. Paul G., 2006-NMCA-038, 139 N.M. 258, 131 P.3d 108, 2006 N.M. App. LEXIS 9 (N.M. Ct. App. 2006).
Because the continuing jurisdiction of the New Mexico children’s court to modify a child’s disposition under 32A-4-24 NMSA 1978 coupled with the mandatory six-month periodic review hearings required in 32A-4-25 NMSA 1978 constituted an ongoing state judicial proceeding in which an adequate opportunity existed for mentally and developmentally disabled children to raise their claims alleging that state officers had violated various federal acts by failing to provide the children with services, benefits, and protections guaranteed by federal statutory and constitutional law, a federal district court properly abstained from hearing the action. A federal action would have interfered with the state’s authority by fundamentally changing the dispositions and oversight of the children by the federal court’s assumption of an oversight role. J.B. v. Valdez, 186 F.3d 1280, 44 Fed. R. Serv. 3d (Callaghan) 179, 1999 U.S. App. LEXIS 20169 (10th Cir. N.M. 1999).