New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 8 - SOCIAL SERVICES › Chapter 9 - EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE › Part 6 - GOVERNING BACKGROUND CHECKS AND EMPLOYMENT HISTORY VERIFICATION › Section 8.9.6.7 - DEFINITIONS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A.
"Administrative review"
means an informal process of reviewing a
				decision that may include an informal conference or hearing or a review of
				written records.
B.
"Administrator"
means the adult in charge of the day-to-day
				operation of a facility. The administrator may be the licensee or an authorized
				representative of the licensee.
C.
"Adult"
means a person who has a chronological age of 18 years or
				older, except for persons under medicaid certification as set forth in
				Subsection K below.
D.
"Appeal"
means a review of a determination made by the BCU, which
				may include an administrative review or a hearing.
E.
"Applicant"
means any person
				who is required to obtain a background check under these rules and Section
				32A-15-3 NMSA 1978.
F.
"Arrest"
means notice from a law enforcement agency about an
				alleged violation of law.
G.
"BCU"
means the ECECD background check unit.
H.
"Background check"
means a
				screen of ECECD's information databases, state and federal criminal records and
				any other reasonably reliable information about an applicant.
I.
"Care recipient"
means any
				person under the care of a licensee.
J.
"Child"
means a person who
				has a chronological age of less than 18 years, and persons under applicable
				medicaid certification up to the age of 21 years.
K.
"Conditional employment"
means a period of employment status for a new applicant prior to the BCU's
				final disposition of the applicant's background check.
L.
"Criminal history"
means
				information possessed by law enforcement agencies of arrests, indictments, or
				other formal charges, as well as dispositions arising from these
				charges.
M.
"Direct physical
				supervision"
means continuous visual contact or live video observation
				by a direct provider of care who has been found eligible by a background check
				of an applicant during periods when the applicant is in immediate physical
				proximity to care recipients.
N.
"Direct provider of care"
means any individual who, as a result of
				employment or, contractual service or volunteer service has direct care
				responsibilities or potential unsupervised physical access to any care
				recipient in the settings to which these regulations apply.
O.
"Eligibility"
means the
				determination that an applicant does not pose an unreasonable risk to care
				recipients after a background check is conducted.
P.
"Employment history"
means a
				written summary of the most recent three-year period of employment with names,
				addresses and telephone numbers of employers, including dates of employment,
				stated reasons for leaving employment, and dates of all periods of unemployment
				with stated reasons for periods of unemployment, and verifying
				references.
Q.
"Licensed"
means authorized to operate by the licensing authority
				by issuance of an operator's license or certification certificate.
R.
"Licensee"
means the holder
				of, or applicant for, a license, certification, or registration pursuant to
				8.9.4 NMAC, 8.9.5 NMAC or other program or entity within the scope of these
				regulations. ECECD LICENSEE means program or entity within the scope of these
				regulations.
S.
"Licensing
				authority"
means the ECECD division having authority over the
				licensee.
T.
"Moral
				turpitude"
means an intentional crime that is wanton, base, vile or
				depraved and contrary to the accepted rules of morality and duties of a person
				within society. In addition, because of the high risk of injury or death
				created by, and the universal condemnation of the act of driving while
				intoxicated, a crime of moral turpitude includes a second or subsequent
				conviction for driving while intoxicated or any crime involving the use of a
				motor vehicle, the elements of which are substantially the same as driving
				while intoxicated. The record name of the second conviction shall not be
				controlling; any conviction subsequent to an initial one may be considered a
				second conviction.
U.
"Notice
				of provisional employment"
means a written notice issued to a child care
				center or home applicant indicating the BCU reviewed the applicant's
				fingerprint based federal or New Mexico criminal record and made a
				determination that the applicant may begin employment under direct physical
				supervision until receiving background eligibility. A notice may also indicate
				the applicant must receive a complete background eligibility prior to beginning
				employment.
V.
"Relevant
				conviction"
means a plea, judgment or verdict of guilty, no contest,
				nolo contendere, conditional plea of guilty, or any other plea that would
				result in a conviction for a crime in a court of law in New Mexico or any other
				state. The term RELEVANT CONVICTION also includes decrees adjudicating
				juveniles as serious youthful offenders or youthful offenders, or convictions
				of children who are tried as adults for their offenses. Successful or pending
				completion of a conditional discharge under Section 31-20-13 (1994) NMSA 1978,
				or Section 30-31-28 (1972) NMSA 1978, or a comparable provision of another
				state's law, is not a relevant conviction for purposes of these regulations,
				unless or until such time as the conditional discharge is revoked or rescinded
				by the issuing court. The term RELEVANT CONVICTION does not include any of the
				foregoing if a court of competent jurisdiction has overturned the conviction or
				adjudicated decree and no further proceedings are pending in the case or if the
				applicant has received a legally effective executive pardon for the conviction.
				The burden is on the applicant to show that the applicant has a pending or
				successful completion of any conditional discharge or consent decree, or that
				the relevant conviction has been overturned on appeal, or has received a
				legally effective pardon.
W.
"Unreasonable risk"
means the quantum of risk that a reasonable
				person would be unwilling to take with the safety or welfare of care
				recipients.