A. The department shall establish a state panel whose duties shall be to immediately screen and identify delinquents sentenced to a juvenile correctional facility of the department and transferred to the legal custody of the department, except individuals who are sentenced or transferred from a judicial district that has established a local panel to exercise these duties pursuant to the provisions of this section and who meet the following criteria:

(1) the offense involved is one for which community service or reasonable restitution may be made using a payment schedule compatible with the total amount of restitution to be paid and the time the offender is to participate in a program; and

(2) the child is willing to enter into a contract that establishes objectives that shall be achieved before release from the program.

B. The department may establish criteria in addition to those established in Subsection A of this section for the screening of delinquents who would benefit from participation in a program and who would not pose a threat to the community.

C. If the state panel determines that a child is suitable for placement in a program, a recommendation to that effect and for modification of disposition shall be presented as soon as possible to the sentencing judge or the department, which may, notwithstanding any provision of law, accept, modify or reject the recommendation. The determination shall be presented to the county, municipality or private nonprofit organization, as applicable, for approval or rejection.

D. A county, municipality or private nonprofit organization, individually or jointly, may establish a local panel to exercise the duties and responsibilities of the state panel pursuant to the provisions of Subsection A of this section and, using the same criteria as the state panel, the local panel may screen and identify delinquents. The composition of a local panel shall include, to the maximum extent possible, representatives of the judiciary, the administrative office of the district attorneys, the public defender department, the children, youth and families department, the county sheriff or the municipal police department, individuals representing local programs and private citizens.

History: Laws 1988, ch. 101, § 43; 1989, ch. 219, § 12; 1992, ch. 57, § 50; 2009, ch. 239, § 68.

Cross references. — For children, youth and families department, see 9-2A-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

The 2009 amendment, effective July 1, 2009, in Subsection C, after "sentencing judge or the", deleted "juvenile parole board" and added "department".

Applicability. — Laws 2009, ch. 239, § 71, provided that the provisions of this act apply 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.

The 1992 amendment, effective July 1, 1992, substituted "that" for "which" near the end of the introductory paragraph of Subsection A and in Subsection A(2); substituted "children, youth and families department" for "community services division of the authority" in the second sentence of Subsection D and substituted "department" for "authority" several times throughout the section.

The 1989 amendment, effective July 1, 1989, deleted "adjudicated" preceding "delinquent" several times throughout the section; in Subsection A substituted "transferred to the legal custody of the authority" for "children adjudicated delinquent and transferred to the legal custody of the department", deleted former Paragraph (1), which read: "the child has not been found delinquent for an offense involving the use of a firearm", redesignated former Paragraphs (2) and (3) as present Paragraphs (1) and (2), and made minor stylistic changes throughout the subsection; and in Subsection C inserted "sentencing judge or the" in the first sentence.