A. The legislature finds and declares that appropriate and distinct programs of supervision and care for children are required to fulfill the purposes of the Children's Code; that many children are needlessly detained in secured facilities on charges for acts that would not be criminal if they were committed by an adult; that these children would benefit from either immediate return to the family or placement in shelter-care homes or nonsecured shelter-care facilities; and that certain alleged delinquents will benefit from nonsecured placements and do not require secure detention. B. The purpose of the Children's Shelter Care Act is: (1) to provide funding for the establishment of shelter-care facilities or programs; and (2) to divert children out of the juvenile justice system and provide for their supervision and care in community-based shelter-care homes and facilities when the immediate return to the child's family is not feasible or when intervention programs alone are not sufficient for the care and treatment of the child. History: 1978 Comp., § 32-2A-2, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 108, § 2; recompiled as 1978 Comp., § 32A-9-2 by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 210.
New Mexico Legal Code