Section 32A-3A-7 - Voluntary placement; time limitation.

NM Stat § 32A-3A-7 (2019) (N/A)
Copy with citation
Copy as parenthetical citation

A. No child shall remain in voluntary placement for longer than one hundred eighty consecutive days or for more than one hundred eighty days in any calendar year; provided that a child may remain in voluntary placement up to an additional one hundred eighty consecutive days upon order of the court after the filing of a petition by the department for extension of voluntary placement, a hearing and a finding that additional voluntary placement is in the best interests of the child.

B. In no event shall a child remain in voluntary placement for a period in excess of three hundred sixty-five days in any two-year period.

C. Any placement described in this section shall not be considered abandonment by a parent, guardian or custodian or other family member.

History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-3A-7, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 69; 2005, ch. 82, § 1.

The 2005 amendment, effective April 4, 2005, extended the time for temporary placements of children.