Senate advances bill extending supports to foster youth who aged out from out‑of‑state placements

The Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee voted to give Senate Bill 6 a due‑pass recommendation after hearing from the bill sponsor and child‑welfare advocates. The measure would expand New Mexico’s Fostering Connections program so young people who aged out of foster care after having been placed from another state, or whose cases were not fully adjudicated, can receive housing, transportation, health care and related supports through age 21.

Sponsor Senator Padilla framed the bill as a fix to an unintended gap in earlier legislation. "When we passed that bill, we inadvertently... wound up leaving out students or... young aging out foster youth that were actually fostered in another state or their case had not been fully adjudicated yet," he said. The sponsor described the change as largely codifying an executive order already in place and said the state stands to draw additional federal Title IV‑E and Chafee Act funds by including those youth.

Teresa Casados, cabinet secretary at Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD), testified in support and said the department "stands in full support of this legislation" and that the inclusion will "ensure that they have the same opportunities." Gabrielle Dietrich of NAMI New Mexico also supported the bill, stressing the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and long‑term mental‑health and homelessness risk among youth aging out of care.

Sponsors and committee members discussed federal funding risk. Senator Cedillo Lopez asked what would happen if federal funds diminished; the sponsor said the program cost to the state is modest (an estimated $2.5–4 million annually) and that the department would likely seek to absorb costs if federal dollars decreased. The committee approved a due‑pass recommendation to advance the bill.

Votes at a glance: committee voted to give SB6 a due‑pass recommendation.