A. The department may adopt and promulgate necessary rules and forms for the administration of the Adoption Act, including rules for the assessment of fees. The rules shall not conflict with the provisions of the Adoption Act.
B. The department has the authority to provide or request additional information from an investigator or an attorney representing any person involved in any action filed pursuant to the provisions of the Adoption Act.
C. The department has the authority to intervene in any action filed pursuant to the provisions of the Adoption Act. The intervention shall be effected when legal counsel for the department files a motion for an entry of appearance and an appropriate response.
D. The department shall be served by mail by the attorney for the petitioner with copies of all pleadings filed in any action pursuant to the provisions of the Adoption Act, except for copies of the petition for adoption, the request for placement and the decree of adoption, which shall be served as provided in Section 32A-5-7 NMSA 1978.
E. The department is authorized to act as an accrediting entity on behalf of the state.
F. The department may assess fees for the cost of accrediting an agency or approving a person in matters related to convention adoptions. The department shall establish the amount of the fees by rule and the fees shall be subject to approval by the United States secretary of state. The amount of the fees shall not exceed the cost of similar services provided by the department.
History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-5-6, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 133; 1995, ch. 206, § 27; 2003, ch. 294, § 3; 2003, ch. 321, § 3.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2003 amendment, effective July 1, 2003, rewrote Subsection A and added Subsections E and F. Laws 2003, ch. 294, § 3 and Laws 2003, ch. 321, § 3 enacted identical amendments to this section. The section was set out as amended by Laws 2003, ch. 321, § 3. See 12-1-8 NMSA 1978.
The 1995 amendment, effective July 1, 1995, added "which shall be served as provided in Section 32A-5-7 NMSA 1978" at the end of Subsection D.