New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVII,
Issue 14 / July 28, 2026
TITLE 2 PUBLIC FINANCE
CHAPTER 110 LOCAL GOVERNMENT GRANTS
PART 5 JUVENILE ADJUDICATION FUND GRANTS
TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
2.110.5.1 ISSUING AGENCY: Department of finance and administration.
[2.110.5.1 NMAC - Rp, 2.110.5.1 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.2 SCOPE: All county
and municipal governments.
[2.110.5.2 NMAC - Rp, 2.110.5.2 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Section 34-16-1 NMSA 1978. Subsection
E of Section 9-6-5 NMSA 1978.
[2.110.5.3 NMAC - Rp, 2.110.5.3 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.4 DURATION: Permanent.
[2.110.5.4 NMAC - Rp, 2.110.5.4 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: July
28, 2026, unless
a later date is cited at the end of a section.
[2.110.5.5 NMAC - Rp, 2.110.5.5 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.6 OBJECTIVE:
A. In 2009, the New Mexico legislature
enacted Laws of 2009, Chapter 244, which created the juvenile adjudication fund and was compiled
as Section 34-16-1
NMSA 1978. Money in the juvenile
adjudication fund is appropriated to DFA to administer the fund
and to provide an alternative adjudication process for juveniles
charged with traffic offenses and other misdemeanors.
B. The
objective of 2.110.5
NMAC is to establish a juvenile adjudication fund grant program
to fund programs providing
alternative procedures of adjudication for juveniles charged with traffic
offenses and other misdemeanors.
[2.110.5.6 NMAC - Rp,
2.110.5.6 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.7 DEFINITIONS:
A. “Applicant” means a county, municipality, or combination of two or more counties
or municipalities that submits an application
for a grant.
B. “Alternative adjudication program” means a program providing
alternative procedures of adjudication for juveniles charged
with traffic offenses and other misdemeanors.
Teen courts are a type of alternative adjudication program.
C. “Cash transfer” means the transfer of funds by a grantee from an established, separate
grant fund to other fund(s)
in the grantee’s budget.
D. “Charged”
means accused of traffic offenses or other misdemeanors. It is not necessary for formal criminal
proceedings to be initiated through
issuance of a citation
or otherwise for a juvenile to be charged for purposes of this rule.
E. “Components”
means programs that are designed
to address one or more specific traffic
or other misdemeanor offenses
or their underlying causes, including, but not limited to, programs addressing:
(1) substance abuse prevention;
(2) shoplifting;
(3) DWI;
(4) truancy;
(5) anger
management;
(6) drivers education;
(7) counseling;
(8) team
building;
(9) smoking cessation;
(10) tutoring;
(11) peer
counseling;
(12) parental involvement; and
(13) teen
parenting.
F. “DFA” means the department of finance and administration.
G. “Division” means DFA’s local government division.
H. “Grant” means the award of funds from the juvenile adjudication fund to a grantee to assist an alternative adjudication program.
I. “Grantee” means a county, municipality, or combination of two or more counties
or municipalities receiving a grant.
J. “Grant funds” means the funds awarded
from the juvenile
adjudication fund pursuant
to a grant.
K. “Grant program” means the program established by this rule to make grants from the juvenile adjudication fund.
L. “Indirect costs” refers to overhead, salaries and benefits
for support staff, equipment costs, administrative expenses, supplies, and
other expenses incurred by the grantee that are not direct costs of the
alternative adjudication program.
M. “JPO” means juvenile
probation officer.
N. “Juvenile adjudication fund” means the fund created
by Section 34-16-1
NMSA 1978.
O. “Program guidelines” means guidelines for the operation
of alternative adjudication programs established and revised by the division from time to
time.
P. “Supplantation” means the replacement or substitution of existing funding
with grant funds.
[2.110.5.7 NMAC - Rp,
2.110.5.7 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.8 ADMINISTRATIVE
REQUIREMENTS:
A. Grantees must comply with the program
guidelines, all applicable laws and regulations, as well as requirements and procedures
established in the grant agreement between the division and the grantee.
B. Grantees must establish a separate fund in their budget and accounting system to account
for grant funds. This fund must be included in the grantee's
budget process and financial reports.
C. Grantees must have financial management systems that meet the standards set forth in this
subsection.
(1) Financial reporting. Accurate, current, and complete disclosure of
the financial results of financially assisted activities must be made in accordance with the financial reporting requirements of the
grant agreement.
(2) Accounting records. Grantees must maintain records
that adequately identify
the source and application of funds provided for
alternative adjudication programs. These
records must contain information pertaining to grant awards and authorizations,
obligations, unobligated balances, assets, liabilities, outlays or
expenditures, and income.
(3) Internal control. Effective control and accountability must be
maintained for all grant funds and items purchased with grant funds. Grantees must adequately safeguard
all such funds and items and must ensure that they are used solely for authorized
purposes.
(4) Budget control. Grantees must have adequate
systems to ensure
actual expenditures or outlays do not exceed budgeted amounts for each
grant.
(5) Source documentation. Accounting records must be supported by such source
documentation as cancelled
checks, paid bills, payrolls, time and attendance records, contract and
subgrant award documents, etc. The division
may review the adequacy of the financial management system of any applicant or grantee as part of a
pre-award review or at any time after grant award.
[2.110.5.8 NMAC - Rp, 2.110.5.8 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.9 ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS:
A. Counties and incorporated municipalities in New Mexico are eligible
to apply for grants. Two or more counties or municipalities may
jointly apply for a grant, provided that the joint applicants must be within
reasonable geographic proximity to each other and one applicant must be
identified through joint resolution of the governing bodies of the applicants to be the lead applicant,
responsible to the division for the administration of the grant.
B. Pueblo and tribal governments and non-profit organizations are not eligible
to apply directly
for grants. These organizations may receive funds
from grantees as subgrantees, in the case of pueblo or tribal governments, or
service providers, in the case of pueblo or tribal governments and non-profit
organizations.
[2.110.5.9 NMAC - Rp, 2.110.5.9 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.10 ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS:
A. The
threshold eligibility requirements set forth in this subsection must be met for an applicant
to be considered for a grant.
(1) The head of the local JPO office responsible
for the geographic area in which the alternative adjudication program
covered in the application is located must submit
a letter indicating the intent of the JPOs in
that office to refer juveniles
to the alternative adjudication program
during the period
covered by the requested
grant.
(2) The alternative adjudication program
covered by the application must have a qualified program coordinator in place responsible for the overall
management of the alternative adjudication program. The applicant must identify the coordinator
and explain the coordinator’s qualifications in the application.
(3) The applicant must have completed all
audits required under the Audit Act, have a budget approved by the division
pursuant to Chapter
6, Article 6 NMSA 1978, and be current
on all financial reports
required to be submitted to the division under that article.
(4) A minimum of ten percent of the
proposed operating budget of the alternative adjudication program to be assisted with grant funds must come
from sources other than grant funds
or other state funds. Cash valued in-kind contributions may be used to meet this matching
requirement; provided, however, that, in the event the division disagrees with the
grantee’s valuation of in-kind
contributions, the division’s determination of the cash
value of the in-kind contributions shall control for purposes of compliance
with this matching requirement.
(5) Only
alternative adjudication programs
are eligible to be assisted
with grant funds.
B. If the alternative adjudication
program covered by the application has been in operation less than two
consecutive years, the additional threshold eligibility requirements in this
subsection must also be met for an applicant
to be considered for a grant; provided, however, that the division may waive the additional requirements in this
subsection if the applicant
demonstrates and the division determines in writing that good cause exists to
believe that the alternative adjudication program covered by the
application will satisfactorily operate
without a mentorship relationship with an established alternative adjudication
program.
(1) The
alternative adjudication program
must have a mentorship relationship with an alternative adjudication program that has
been operational for more than two consecutive years. Documentation of that
mentorship relationship must be submitted with the application.
(2) The mentor alternative adjudication
program must submit a letter supporting the application for grant assistance for the alternative adjudication program that has been in operation for less
than two consecutive years.
[2.110.5.10 NMAC - Rp, 2.110.5.10 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.11 ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURES:
A. In accordance with the budget
established pursuant to Subsection B of this section, grant funds may be spent on the following
expenditures in support
of the alternative adjudication program financially assisted
by a grant:
(1) reasonable amounts of supplies
and program materials
that are directly
related to the alternative
adjudication program and will be consumed during the grant period;
(2) reasonable training expenditures for employees or volunteers providing direct services to the
alternative adjudication program;
(3) travel for personnel and contractors of alternative adjudication programs, in accordance with
and subject to the limitations provided in the Per Diem and Mileage Act and
implementing regulations;
(4) the portion of employee salaries and
benefits of personnel employed by an alternative adjudication program
and county and municipal employees
who provide direct services for the alternative adjudication program;
(5) indirect costs, such as overhead,
salaries and benefits for support staff, equipment costs, administrative expenses, supplies, and other expenses
incurred by the grantee that are not direct costs of the alternative adjudication program, not
to exceed five percent of the total grant funds; and
(6) contracts for services that directly support
the alternative adjudication program.
B. Grantees shall develop and the division
shall approve a budget for grant funds in such detail and such format as the division shall
from time to time prescribe. All expenditures must be in accordance
with the approved budget. The budget may only be amended as
provided in the grant agreement.
[2.110.5.11 NMAC - Rp,
2.110.5.11 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.12 INELIGIBLE EXPENDITURES: Grant funds cannot be used for:
A. capital outlay expenditures, including, but not limited
to, the lease or purchase of land, buildings, facilities, furnishings, or
equipment;
B. the
purchase of food or beverages;
C. supplantation;
D. cash
transfers; or
E. licensing, professional membership, or organizational fees or dues.
[2.110.5.12 NMAC - Rp, 2.110.5.12 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.13 APPLICATION PROCEDURES, FORM, AND CONTENT:
A. For each application cycle, the
division shall publish application instructions and submission protocols on its
website.
B. Applications must be received by the local government division by 4:00 p.m. of the designated application deadline.
C. In the event that the application is
incomplete or requires modification, the applicant will be promptly notified
by the division. The
applicant must then submit the information and modification
requested. Applicants that do not respond by the deadline established by the
division are disqualified.
D. The
applicant's governing body must authorize
by resolution the applicant to submit the application. A copy of the resolution
must be included with the application.
[2.110.5.13 NMAC - Rp, 2.110.5.13 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.14 APPLICATION REVIEW,
RATING AND SELECTION:
A. The evaluation criteria for applications shall be developed
for each application cycle and shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:
(1) overall quality of the alternative adjudication program for which grant funds are sought and proposal approach;
(2) financial need of the alternative
adjudication program and estimated impact of grant funds (e.g., grant funds
would allow alternative adjudication program to remain operational; grant funds
would allow the alternative adjudication program
to serve more clients;
or grant funds
would allow alternative adjudication program
to provide a higher level of service to clients);
(3) number of clients to be served;
(4) number and quality of components to be provided
to clients;
(5) past
performance of the alternative adjudication program (except for new programs);
(6) expenditure rates and performance of any current
or past grant(s);
and
(7) whether the alternative adjudication program will receive
direct legislative appropriations during the grant period, in which case the amount of grant funds
that the grantee would otherwise be awarded will be reduced by the amount of
such direct legislative appropriations for the alternative adjudication
program.
B. Evaluators selected by the division shall evaluate all applications for eligibility and completeness.
Complete applications that meet all threshold eligibility requirements shall be
evaluated and rated based upon the evaluation criteria established in the
application. Funding recommendations
will be made to the division director based upon those ratings.
C. At
any time during
the application process,
the division may request, and applicants shall provide, any additional information and documentation that
the division feels is necessary to evaluate the application.
D. Division staff may consult
appropriate non-staff experts
for information and advice concerning technical aspects of any
application.
E. The division director shall review
staff ratings and recommendations and make grant program award decisions. The amount of the grant award may be less
than the amount requested in the application.
F. The division will enter into grant
agreements with grantees. The grant period will ordinarily be
for a single fiscal year;
provided, however, that the division
may, in its discretion, provide
a longer or shorter grant period.
[2.110.5.14 NMAC - Rp,
2.110.5.14 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.15 REVERSIONS AND SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING:
A. Reversions. If, at the end of the grant period
set forth in the
grant agreement, an unexpended
balance of funds remains, the unexpended balance shall revert to the juvenile
adjudication fund.
B. Reversions/supplemental funding. When
funds are reverted
as provided in Subsection A of this section, or additional funds are
made available due to any other cause, the division may take one or more of the
following actions:
(1) set
aside the funds
for contingencies or emergencies;
(2) make
the funds available
for grants during
the next regular
application cycle; or
(3) make
the funds available through a special
application cycle.
[2.110.5.15 NMAC - Rp, 2.110.5.15 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.16 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS:
A. Grantees shall submit a quarterly report to the division on October 15, January 15, April 15, and
July 10.
B. The
division shall prescribe
the format and content of quarterly reports,
which shall include,
but
not be limited to, the following:
(1) fiscal reporting on the expenditure of grant funds and match
expenditures; and
(2) program reporting, including, but not
limited to, the number of clients served; the gender, age, grade, and ethnicity of clients; the type of offense; the number of components provided
to clients; and the number
of open, pending and closed cases.
[2.110.5.16 NMAC - Rp,
2.110.5.16 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.17 EVALUATION:
A. The
division may conduct
periodic evaluations of grantees and alternative adjudication programs receiving grant funds to determine compliance with
applicable law and regulations, the grant agreement, and the program
guidelines.
B. Grantees must cooperate fully
with such evaluations, including, but not limited to, by making all
financial and program records available for inspection and making personnel
available for interview.
[2.110.5.17 NMAC - Rp,
2.110.5.17 NMAC 7/28/2026]
2.110.5.18 SANCTIONS:
A. The
division may impose
sanctions on a grantee based upon one or more of the following grounds:
(1) improper or inadequate performance, including, but not limited to, the failure
to implement grant activities in a timely fashion or in
accordance with the grant agreement or conduct the alternative adjudication
program in accordance with the program guidelines;
(2) fraud, abuse, misconduct, or misuse of grant funds;
(3) failure to correct monitoring or audit findings;
(4) failure to document and report to the division
all grant expenditures;
(5) lack
of continuing capacity
to successfully administer the alternative adjudication program;
(6) implementation of an alternative adjudication program or budget change
without prior division
approval;
(7) non-compliance with one or more condition(s) of the grant agreement;
(8) criminal conduct involving the alternative adjudication program; or
B. violation of applicable laws or regulations. The sanctions set forth in this
subsection are the types of permissible sanctions that may be imposed upon a grantee. More
than one sanction may be imposed
for the same ground(s) giving rise to the sanction. The sanction or sanctions imposed
will be based upon the underlying ground(s)
for the sanction(s), past performance of and sanctions imposed upon
the grantee, and the importance of the state interest implicated by the
ground(s) for the sanction(s).
(1) Disallowance of expenditures. A grantee
may not be reimbursed for expenditures.
(2) Withholding reimbursement. The
division director may temporarily withhold
payment, or disallow further
drawdowns.
(3) Suspension. The division director may
suspend the grant agreement. The grantee shall not be reimbursed for expenditures incurred
during the period
of the suspension unless the division director
subsequently authorizes such reimbursement in writing.
(4) Repayment to the juvenile
adjudication fund of amounts previously paid by the division to the grantee.
(5) Termination of the grant
agreement.
(6) Disqualification from receiving future grants.
C. Before imposing any sanctions on a
grantee, the division director shall give the grantee written notice of the
proposed sanction and the grounds for the proposed sanction. The
grantee shall be provided a reasonable opportunity to present facts and arguments
challenging the appropriateness of the proposed
sanction and the grounds upon
which it is based. The division director shall issue a
final decision after duly considering the grantee’s facts and arguments or
after the time for presenting them has passed.
[2.110.5.18 NMAC - Rp,
2.110.5.18 NMAC 7/28/2026]
HISTORY OF 2.110.5 NMAC:
History of
Repealed Material:
2.110.5 NMAC - Juvenile Adjudication Fund Grants To Local
Governments filed 6/16/2011, Repealed, effective 7/28/2026.
Other History: Juvenile
Adjudication Fund Grants To Local Governments filed
6/16/2011, Replaced by Juvenile Adjudication Fund Grants To Local
Governments effective 7/28/2026.