As used in Chapter 32A, Article 3B NMSA 1978, "family in need of court-ordered services" means the child or the family has refused family services or the department has exhausted appropriate and available family services and court intervention is necessary to provide family services to the child or family and it is a family:

A. whose child, subject to compulsory school attendance, is absent from school without an authorized excuse more than ten days during a school year;

B. whose child is absent from the child's place of residence for a time period of twelve hours or more without consent of the child's parent, guardian or custodian;

C. whose child refuses to return home and there is good cause to believe that the child will run away from home if forced to return to the parent, guardian or custodian;

D. in which the child's parent, guardian or custodian refuses to allow the child to return home and a petition alleging neglect of the child is not in the child's best interests; or

E. whose child is:

(1) alleged to be engaged in an act that would be designated as prostitution if committed by an adult; or

(2) a victim of human trafficking as defined in Section 30-52-1 NMSA 1978.

History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-3B-2, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 74; 2007, ch. 185, § 1; 2009, ch. 193, § 5; 2019, ch. 101, § 2.

Cross references. — For assistance of law enforcement in locating a runaway, see 32A-1-21 NMSA 1978.

The 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, revised the definition of "family in need of court-ordered services" to include a family whose child is alleged to be engaged in prostitution or is a victim of human trafficking; and added Subsection E.

The 2009 amendment, effective June 19, 2009, in Subsection A, after "during a school", changed "semester" to "year".

The 2007 amendment, effective June 15, 2007, reduced the time period in Subsection B from 24 to 12 hours.