AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL STORYTELLING FOR CHILDREN

HB 534, introduced by Representatives Torres-Velásquez and Thomson, requires New Mexico's Children, Youth and Families Department to develop a trauma-informed storytelling program for children in foster care. The bill directs the department to contract with speech-language pathologists to train foster parents and case workers, using family experiences in subjects like math or history to build children's language and emotional skills through autobiographical storytelling. It also mandates establishing service standards for training quality, confidentiality, and creating an evaluation framework for the program. The bill was referred to committees but was postponed indefinitely on June 3, 2025, and does not yet have effect.