2013 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 32A - Children's Code
Article 1 - General Provisions
Section 32A-1-4 - Definitions. (2009)

A.   "adult" means a person who is eighteen years of age or older;

B.   "child" means a person who is less than eighteen years old;

C.   "court", when used without further qualification, means the children's court division of the district court and includes the judge, special master or commissioner appointed pursuant to the provisions of the Children's Code or supreme court rule;

D.   "court-appointed special advocate" or "CASA" means a person appointed as a CASA, pursuant to the provisions of the Children's Court Rules [10-101 NMRA], who assists the court in determining the best interests of the child by investigating the case and submitting a report to the court;

E.   "custodian" means an adult with whom the child lives who is not a parent or guardian of the child;

F.   "department" means the children, youth and families department, unless otherwise specified;

G.   "disproportionate minority contact" means the involvement of a racial or ethnic group with the criminal or juvenile justice system at a proportion either higher or lower than that group's proportion in the general population;

H.   "foster parent" means a person, including a relative of the child, licensed or certified by the department or a child placement agency to provide care for children in the custody of the department or agency;

I.   "guardian" means a person appointed as a guardian by a court or Indian tribal authority or a person authorized to care for the child by a parental power of attorney as permitted by law;

J.   "guardian ad litem" means an attorney appointed by the children's court to represent and protect the best interests of the child in a court proceeding; provided that no party or employee or representative of a party to the proceeding shall be appointed to serve as a guardian ad litem; 

K.   "Indian child" means an unmarried person who is: 

(1)   less than eighteen years old;

(2)   a member of an Indian tribe or is eligible for membership in an Indian tribe; and 

(3)   the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe;

L.   "Indian child's tribe" means:

(1)   the Indian tribe in which an Indian child is a member or eligible for membership; or

(2)   in the case of an Indian child who is a member or eligible for membership in more than one tribe, the Indian tribe with which the Indian child has more significant contacts;

M.   "Indian tribe" means a federally recognized Indian tribe, community or group pursuant to 25 U.S.C. Section 1903(1);

N.   "judge", when used without further qualification, means the judge of the court; 

O.   "legal custody" means a legal status created by order of the court or other court of competent jurisdiction or by operation of statute that vests in a person, department or agency the right to determine where and with whom a child shall live; the right and duty to protect, train and discipline the child and to provide the child with food, shelter, personal care, education and ordinary and emergency medical care; the right to consent to major medical, psychiatric, psychological and surgical treatment and to the administration of legally prescribed psychotropic medications pursuant to the Children's Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Act [32A-6A-1 NMSA 1978]; and the right to consent to the child's enlistment in the armed forces of the United States; 

P.   "parent" or "parents" includes a biological or adoptive parent if the biological or adoptive parent has a constitutionally protected liberty interest in the care and custody of the child;

Q.   "permanency plan" means a determination by the court that the child's interest will be served best by: 

(1)   reunification;

(2)   placement for adoption after the parents' rights have been relinquished or terminated or after a motion has been filed to terminate parental rights;

(3)   placement with a person who will be the child's permanent guardian;

(4)   placement in the legal custody of the department with the child placed in the home of a fit and willing relative; or 

(5)   placement in the legal custody of the department under a planned permanent living arrangement;

R.   "person" means an individual or any other form of entity recognized by law;

S.   "preadoptive parent" means a person with whom a child has been placed for adoption; 

T.   "protective supervision" means the right to visit the child in the home where the child is residing, inspect the home, transport the child to court-ordered diagnostic examinations and evaluations and obtain information and records concerning the child; 

U.   "reunification" means either a return of the child to the parent or to the home from which the child was removed or a return to the noncustodial parent; 

V.   "tribal court" means:

(1)   a court established and operated pursuant to a code or custom of an Indian tribe; or

(2)   any administrative body of an Indian tribe that is vested with judicial authority; 

W.   "tribal court order" means a document issued by a tribal court that is signed by an appropriate authority, including a judge, governor or tribal council member, and that orders an action that is within the tribal court's jurisdiction; and

X.   "tribunal" means any judicial forum other than the court.