NMBCH Admission Requirements & Limits

The child must meet the following requirements:

The child must be willing to come to the NM Baptist Children's Home and participate in the program.

The NM Baptist Children's Home will accept into care children from ages six or of school age, to eighteen. The admission of an eighteen-year-old child is based upon the decision of the Executive Director.  A child over the age of fifteen may be accepted if he or she is part of a sibling group and/or meets all other requirements for admission.  In addition, the older child's acceptance is contingent upon the Executive Director approval.  If a child under six years of age is accepted into care, the circumstances requiring the child's placement must be documented to show that it is to be in the best interest of the child and that no appropriate non-institutional alternative is available. 

During the interview process, the Children's Home must be able to determine that a child's intelligence is within normal limits and is such that the child can benefit from the educational facilities of the Portales Municipal Schools.

The child's behavior must be determined, during the interview process, to have the potential of being of a controllable and manageable nature with the cottage group living situation.  The child's physical condition must be satisfactory and without contagious disease.

It is the policy of the NM Baptist Children's Home to limit admission of:

• Those students or youth displaying an IQ of less than 75 on current WISC score.
• Those who are dependent to or addicted to drugs or alcohol and are in need of formal treatment.
• Those who sell or distribute drugs and alcohol to peers.
• Those who are actively suicidal, psychotic, or emotionally disturbed and are in need of psychiatric hospitalization.
• Those who have a history of fire setting, aggressive behavior between peers or adults, or those that have a history of cruelty to animals.
• Girls who are pregnant or in need of maternity care.
• Those recently discharged from residential treatment centers or psychiatric hospital inpatient programs and have not yet demonstrated the ability to reasonably exercise controls necessary to group living environment in an open setting.
• Those with significant physical or mental handicaps.
• Those who are actively affiliated with a known gang and express an unwillingness to terminate their gang activity or affiliation.

The NM Baptist Children's Home is not equipped with physical facilities and staff to care for children in the above mentioned categories.  In making these limitations we feel we can better serve those children and families who will benefit from the type of care we provide.

The requirements discussed above plus the particular needs of the present cottage group will be used as the criteria in determining a child's eligibility for acceptance into the child care services of the NM Baptist Children's Home.