Legislative Health and Human Services Committee Chair Liz Thomson said concerns have been raised to her about New Mexico’s new behavioral health system having “a criminal basis, as opposed to just behavioral health.” She asked if the Administrative Office of the Courts has figured out how to implement the new law without relying on the criminal legal system. (Photo by Leah Romero / Source NM)

State lawmakers this week emphasized to court officials that New Mexico’s behavioral health overhaul must not result in pulling more people into the criminal legal system.

New Mexico this year enacted two pieces of legislation intended to rebuild the system for delivering mental health treatment in the state after former Gov. Susana Martinez dismantled it more than a decade ago.

The new laws’ intent includes allowing local communities, including governments and non-governmental organizations, to organize into “behavioral health regions;” determine what services and supports they need; and then present those priorities to the newly created Behavioral Health Reform Executive Committee for approval and funding.

At its first meeting on Tuesday, the Executive Committee voted to establish the regions, Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) Director Karl Reifsteck said at the interim Legislative Health and Human Services Committee meeting on Wednesday.

AOC Behavioral Health Integration and Reform Administrator Esperanza Lucero told the committee that the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is helping AOC with Sequential Intercept Mapping, which is a commonly used conceptual model that maps out “intercept” points where people with mental health or substance use disorders can receive treatment and support.

When Reifsteck and Lucero presented an example of what the model could look like on Wednesday, lawmakers questioned them about why so much of it is focused on police, courts, jail and prison.

Members of the interim Legislative Health and Human Services Committee from both political parties on Wednesday told AOC officials they intended the behavioral health treatment reforms to benefit all people with mental health diagnoses, not just people who come into contact with police or the courts.

LHHS Committee Chair Liz Thomson, a Democratic representative from Albuquerque, said concerns have been raised to her about the new system having “a criminal basis, as opposed to just behavioral health.” She asked if AOC has figured out how to implement the new law without relying on the criminal legal system.

Lucero pointed to the first step in the model that calls for a “crisis line,” which generally refers to phone lines that offer free counseling for people dealing with emotional, mental or substance use issues. The state Health Care Authority’s 988 NM Lifeline offers support via phone, text, live chat or video call.

However, Thomson and other lawmakers on the committee said people need access to more than just a helpline when they start seeking help, before police, prosecutors and judges get involved.

“We want treatment before there’s a crisis,” Thomson said. “I’m bringing it out because I’m part of the disability community and it’s a concern, and we really, really don’t want the public to come away with the impression that a behavioral health disorder issue is criminal.”

Sen. Jay Block, a Rio Rancho Republican, said the law’s intent “is not judicial or criminal by any means.”

“We have an epidemic in this country of some behavioral health issues — especially in this state — and the intent of this is to provide empirical data to allow us to understand where we need to focus our resources, where we need to invest more resources or pull back resources to get these people the help that they need,” Block said.

AOC Deputy Director Sarah Jacobs said her agency is working with UNM’s Health Sciences Center on a model that would involve less interaction with the criminal legal system.

Reifsteck said the new law gives the behavioral health regions and local stakeholders the power to determine their local priorities. “It’s not going to be the courts deciding on what the priorities are,” he said.

Thomson asked if the Executive Committee has veto power in the event one of the regions submits a plan “that’s all about hardened criminals, with nothing for families, nothing for infants and children.”

“Is there some sort of oversight saying, ‘Whoa, this isn’t quite what we had in mind’?” she asked.

Reifsteck said yes, because the new law explicitly makes the Executive Committee responsible for reviewing and approving the plans.

“So I would anticipate that if a region came in and set a plan, and it was purely criminal justice focused, the seven members would say, ‘Hold on, why are these the top priorities for your region’?” he said. “Maybe that’s what is possible right now, or something, for that region, but it’s hard to imagine that those are the only ones.”

Lucero said the Executive Committee expects the local regions to submit plans by July 2026.

The Executive Committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 5, at which time Reifsteck said he hopes to see a rubric or initial thoughts from the Health Care Authority about how the regions should be organized.

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