SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 1

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

Gerald Ortiz y Pino

FOR THE LEGISLATIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER TO RECONVENE THE J. PAUL TAYLOR EARLY CHILDHOOD TASK FORCE TO CONTINUE THE TASK FORCE'S WORK IN IMPROVING COLLABORATION AMONG STAKEHOLDERS AND DEVELOPING FURTHER EARLY CHILDHOOD BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION PLANS.

     WHEREAS, in the 2013 first session of the fifty-first legislature, and in the 2014 second session of the fifty-first legislature, House Memorial 75 and Senate Memorial 5 were passed respectively, requesting the university of New Mexico health sciences center to convene the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force in honor of former legislator and tireless children's advocate J. Paul Taylor; and

     WHEREAS, during 2014 and 2015, the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force has built solidly on its first year by expanding participation to include the human services department, the four medicaid managed-care organizations, the legislative finance committee and others, including some not usually a part of New Mexico early childhood efforts; and

     WHEREAS, the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force continues to work collaboratively with a broad-based coalition of state, managed-care, medical, community and legislative stakeholders to identify funding opportunities and gaps and to develop a system to recognize and respond to risk factors in young children and their families; and

     WHEREAS, the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force has worked to develop a system to identify unserved and underserved at-risk children and families, including research on evidence- based models from within and outside of New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force has worked to identify how current service delivery systems could be used for the prevention of child abuse and neglect; and

     WHEREAS, for three years, the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force has developed public health-driven recommendations to strengthen the state's early childhood behavioral health services system to respond to risk factors in infants, children and families, including recommendations to modify medicaid funding and billing and develop needed linkages among primary and behavioral health and community systems; and

     WHEREAS, the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force has promoted evidence-based local community behavioral health programs in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the work of the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force has built upon New Mexico's existing structures by creating linkages among health, behavioral health and community systems to establish coherent, efficient and accessible infrastructure to recognize and respond to risk factors in families that place infants and young children at risk for their healthy development and safety; and

     WHEREAS, the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force has reviewed existing state and national data systems that could be used to collect critical data to support rigorous evaluation of programs and the promotion of evidence-based programming; and

     WHEREAS, the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force has recommended best practices for trauma-informed community services and a state delivery system, including recommendations for a critical work force development training plan; and

     WHEREAS, the J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force has presented its recommendations to interim legislative committees and to the legislature; and

     WHEREAS, among the recommendations of the 2015 J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force was that the task force's work be continued for another year to allow it to work collaboratively for the successful implementation of the infant and early childhood behavioral health action plan and the child abuse prevention plan;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the members of the 2015 J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force be requested in 2016 to continue improving collaboration among stakeholders to support the implementation and sustainability of the task force's recommended early childhood behavioral health action plan and child abuse prevention plan; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that by December 1, 2016, the 2016 J. Paul Taylor early childhood task force report its latest recommendations to the legislative health and human services committee and the legislative finance committee; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the university of New Mexico health sciences center be requested to convene the J. Paul Taylor task force for 2016 and assist the task force as necessary to enable the task force to meet at least quarterly and to develop a legislative report; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the chair of the legislative health and human services committee, the chair of the legislative finance committee, the secretary of children, youth and families, the secretary of health, the secretary of human services and the chancellor for health sciences of the university of New Mexico.

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