2006 New Mexico Statutes - Section 32A-6-6 — Personal rights of residential children.

32A-6-6. Personal rights of residential children.

A child who receives residential treatment or habilitation services shall have the following rights:   

A.     subject to restrictions imposed in the best interests of the child by the child's clinician for good cause, each resident child has the right to receive visitors of the child's own choosing daily.  Hours during which visitors may be received shall be limited only in the interest of effective treatment and the reasonable efficiency of the supervised residential facility and shall be sufficiently flexible to accommodate the individual needs of the resident child and his visitors. Notwithstanding the above, each resident child has the right to receive visits from his attorney, physician, psychologist, clergyman, guardian ad litem, representative from the state's protection and advocacy system or social worker in private at any reasonable time, irrespective of visiting hours, provided the visitor shows reasonable cause for visiting at times other than normal visiting hours;   

B.     writing material and postage stamps shall be reasonably available for the resident child's use in writing letters and other communications. Reasonable assistance shall be provided for writing, addressing and posting letters and other documents upon request.  The resident child has the right to send and receive sealed and uncensored mail.  The resident child has the right to reasonable private access to telephones and, in cases of personal emergencies when other means of communication are not satisfactory, the child shall be afforded reasonable use of long distance calls; provided that for other than mail or telephone calls to a court, an attorney, a physician, a psychologist, a clergyman, a guardian ad litem, a representative from the state's protection and advocacy system or a social worker, mailing or telephone privileges may be restricted by the child's clinician for good cause shown.  A resident child who is indigent shall be furnished writing, postage and telephone facilities without charge;   

C.     each resident child has the right to follow or abstain from the practice of religion.  The residential treatment or habilitation program shall provide appropriate assistance in this connection, including reasonable accommodations for religious worship and transportation to nearby religious services. Children who do not wish to participate in religious practice shall be free from pressure to do so or to accept religious beliefs;   

D.     each resident child has the right to a humane psychological and physical environment.  The child shall be provided a comfortable bed and adequate changes of linen and reasonable storage space for his personal possessions.  Except when curtailed for reasons of safety or therapy as documented in the child's record by the child's physician, the child shall be afforded reasonable privacy in his sleeping and personal hygiene practices;   

E.     each resident child shall have reasonable daily opportunities for physical exercise and outdoor exercise and shall have reasonable access to recreational areas and equipment, including equipment adapted to the child's developmental and physical needs;   

F.     each resident child has the right to a nourishing, well-balanced, varied and appetizing diet;   

G.     each resident child has the right to prompt and adequate medical attention for any physical ailments and shall receive a complete physical examination upon admission and at least once every twelve months thereafter; provided that children who have received a complete physical examination within two days prior to the current admission or provide documentation of having had a complete physical examination within the last six months shall not receive a complete physical examination unless the physician deems it necessary;   

H.     each resident child has the right to a clean, safe and comfortable environment in a structure that complies with generally applicable fire and safety requirements;   

I.     each resident child has the right to be free from unnecessary or excessive medication.  No medication shall be administered unless at the written order of a licensed physician or by a verbal order noted promptly in the patient's medical record and signed by the physician within twenty-four hours. Medication shall be administered only by a licensed physician or person authorized by a licensed physician pursuant to state law or regulation.  The attending physician shall be responsible for all medication given or administered to a resident child.  Notation of each individual's medication shall be kept in the child's medical records and shall include a notation by the physician of the behavioral or symptomatic baseline data upon which the medication order was made.  The attending physician shall review on a regular basis the drug regimen of each resident child under the physician's care. All prescriptions for psychotropic medications shall be written with a termination date that shall not exceed thirty days. Medication shall not be used as a punishment, as a substitute for programs, for the convenience of staff or in quantities that interfere with the child's treatment or habilitation program;   

J.     each resident child has the right to be free from programs involving aversive stimuli or substantial deprivations; and   

K.     each resident child has the right to be free from the use of physical, chemical or mechanical restraint used for the convenience of a caregiver or as a substitute for a planned program for behavior support. However, nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the use of:   

(1)     protective apparatus needed to protect an individual from imminent harm, consistent with the least drastic means principle;   

(2)     a medical restraint prescribed by a physician or dentist as a health-related protective measure during the conduct of a specific medical, surgical or dental procedure; or   

(3)     appropriate mechanical supports used to achieve proper body position and balance.