A. The department may adopt and promulgate necessary rules and forms for the administration of the Adoption Act, including rules for the assessment of fees. The rules shall not conflict with the provisions of the Adoption Act.
B. The department has the authority to provide or request additional information from an investigator or an attorney representing any person involved in any action filed pursuant to the provisions of the Adoption Act.
C. The department has the authority to intervene in any action filed pursuant to the provisions of the Adoption Act. The intervention shall be effected when legal counsel for the department files a motion for an entry of appearance and an appropriate response.
D. The department shall be served by mail by the attorney for the petitioner with copies of all pleadings filed in any action pursuant to the provisions of the Adoption Act, except for copies of the petition for adoption, the request for placement and the decree of adoption, which shall be served as provided in Section 32A-5-7 NMSA 1978.
E. The department is authorized to act as an accrediting entity on behalf of the state.
F. The department may assess fees for the cost of accrediting an agency or approving a person in matters related to convention adoptions. The department shall establish the amount of the fees by rule and the fees shall be subject to approval by the United States secretary of state. The amount of the fees shall not exceed the cost of similar services provided by the department.
History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-5-6, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 133; 1995, ch. 206, § 27; 2003, ch. 294, § 3; 2003, ch. 321, § 3.
The 2003 amendment, effective July 1, 2003, rewrote Subsection A and added Subsections E and F. Laws 2003, ch. 294, § 3 and Laws 2003, ch. 321, § 3 enacted identical amendments to this section. The section was set out as amended by Laws 2003, ch. 321, § 3. See 12-1-8 NMSA 1978.
The 1995 amendment, effective July 1, 1995, added "which shall be served as provided in Section 32A-5-7 NMSA 1978" at the end of Subsection D.
Structure New Mexico Statutes
Section 32A-5-1 - Short title.
Section 32A-5-3 - Definitions.
Section 32A-5-4 - Application of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.
Section 32A-5-5 - Indian child placement preferences.
Section 32A-5-6 - Authority of the department.
Section 32A-5-7 - Clerk of the court; duties.
Section 32A-5-8 - Confidentiality of records.
Section 32A-5-11 - Who may be adopted; who may adopt.
Section 32A-5-12 - Placement for adoption; restrictions; full disclosure.
Section 32A-5-13 - Independent adoptions; request for placement; placement order; certification.
Section 32A-5-14 - Pre-placement study.
Section 32A-5-14.1 - Criminal history records check; background checks.
Section 32A-5-15 - Termination of parental rights.
Section 32A-5-16 - Termination procedures.
Section 32A-5-17 - Persons whose consents or relinquishments are required.
Section 32A-5-18 - Implied consent or relinquishment.
Section 32A-5-19 - Persons whose consents or relinquishments are not required.
Section 32A-5-20 - Putative father registry; notice; penalty.
Section 32A-5-21 - Form of consent or relinquishment.
Section 32A-5-22 - Persons required to receive counseling; content and form of counseling.
Section 32A-5-23 - Persons who may take consents or relinquishments; accounting of disbursements.
Section 32A-5-24 - Relinquishments to the department.
Section 32A-5-25 - Petition; time of filing.
Section 32A-5-26 - Petition; content.
Section 32A-5-27 - Notice of petition; form of service; waiver.
Section 32A-5-28 - Response to petition.
Section 32A-5-29 - Custody pending decree.
Section 32A-5-30 - Removal of adoptee from the county.
Section 32A-5-31 - Post-placement report.
Section 32A-5-32 - Stepparent adoptions.
Section 32A-5-33 - Appointment of guardian ad litem or attorney for the adoptee or other party.
Section 32A-5-34 - Fees and charges; damages.
Section 32A-5-35 - Open adoptions.
Section 32A-5-36 - Adjudication; disposition; decree of adoption.
Section 32A-5-37 - Status of adoptee and petitioner upon entry of decree of adoption.
Section 32A-5-38 - Birth certificates.
Section 32A-5-39 - Recognition of foreign decrees.
Section 32A-5-39.1 - Application of the federal Intercountry Adoption Act.
Section 32A-5-40 - Post-decree of adoption access to records.
Section 32A-5-41 - Appointment of confidential intermediary.
Section 32A-5-42.1 - Unauthorized adoption facilitation; penalties.
Section 32A-5-42.2 - Advertising adoption services; requirements; penalties.
Section 32A-5-43 - Purpose of subsidized adoptions.