N.M. Stat. § 27-2D-3
Application; resource planning session; individual
education plan; review periods.
A. Application for cash assistance or services shall be made to the department. The
application shall be in writing or reduced to writing in the manner and on the form
prescribed by the department. The application shall be made under oath by an applicant
with whom a dependent child resides and shall contain a statement of the age of the
child, residence, a complete statement of the amount of property in which the applicant
has an interest, a statement of all income that the applicant and other benefit group
members have at the time of the filing of the application and other information required
by the department.
B. The department shall assist applicants in completing the application for cash
assistance or services and shall evaluate applicants to determine all department
programs for which the applicant may be eligible. The department shall process all
expedited food stamp applications within two business days of submission, and the
department shall deliver expedited food stamps to eligible applicants within seven days
of the application.
C. At the time of application for cash assistance and services, an applicant shall
identify everyone who is to be counted in the benefit group. Once an application is
approved, the recipient shall advise the department if there are any changes in the
membership of the benefit group.
D. No later than thirty days after an application is filed, the department shall make
referrals and act on the application.
E. No later than five days after an application is approved, the department shall
provide reimbursement for child care.
F. Whenever the department receives an application for assistance, a verification
and record of the applicant's circumstances shall promptly be made to ascertain the
facts supporting the application and to obtain other information required by the
department. The verification may include a visit to the home of the applicant, as long as
the department gives adequate prior notice of the visit to the applicant.
G. The department shall work with the recipient to develop an individual educational
plan that:
(1)
sets forth the educational goal for the recipient, identifies barriers to that
goal and identifies the steps to be taken by the recipient to achieve that goal;
(2)
describes the services the department may provide so that the recipient
may complete the recipient's educational goal; and
(3)
provides for meetings with the recipient every six months or at the end of
each academic term to review the eligibility of the benefit group and to review and
revise the recipient's individual education plan.
H. The recipient and the department shall sign the recipient's individual education
plan. The department shall:
(1)
not allow a recipient to decline to participate in developing an individual
education plan;
(2)
not waive the requirement that a recipient develop an individual education
plan; and
(3)
emphasize the importance of the individual education plan to the recipient.