Kinship program will begin after rulemaking this summer

Kinship caregivers in approximately half a dozen counties will be part of a new pilot program expected to start this summer designed to help support older New Mexicans and other relatives who take over raising children when parents are unable to do so.

That program is a result of House Bill 252, which establishes the Kinship Caregiver Support Pilot program, signed last week by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Joey Long, a spokesperson for the Aging and Long-Term Services Department, told Source NM that the department does not anticipate services starting before the beginning of the next fiscal year, which begins in July. The process will also include a 30-day public comment period.

According to the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation, about 36,000 New Mexico children were raised by grandparents or other next of kin in 2023 – an increase from about 30,000 in 2017.

The bill states that the pilot program will be established in five to seven counties in the state with 50 participants chosen in each county. A previous version of the bill identified Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, Taos, McKinley and Doña Ana counties as communities participating in the program, but the specific counties were struck from the final version of the bill.

Long told Source in a written statement that the department is “assessing geographic areas based on data, stakeholder consultations, and availability of private funding to support participant stipends, as well as other considerations” before choosing communities to participate.

Program participants will eventually be connected to case management assistance, legal assistance, mental health support and respite care.

“Too often kinship caregivers—especially grandparents—are left to navigate complex systems alone while providing childcare,” Kaltenbach said in a statement. “This pilot program will help us establish more resources to help keep families together and ensure caregivers have the support they need to provide the best care possible.”

The program is a three-year pilot, meaning the state will evaluate the outcomes of all participants to help create a possible statewide program in future years. An annual report with outcomes and recommendations is due each December to the Legislative Finance Committee.