New Mexico
New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department seeks $1M to reactivate key division • Source New Mexico
A 2025 budget proposal aims to revive a division of state government aimed at providing community-based and caregiver-based services to New Mexicans who fall just outside of Medicaid eligibility.
In the Aging and Long-Term Services Department’s roughly $5.7 million budget request for next year, $1 million is intended to staff its Long-Term Care Division, which has been inactive.
According to an Aging and Long-Term Services Department spokesperson, the Long-Term Care Division became inactive after the Medicaid waiver programs, which it used to manage, were moved to the state’s Department of Health. The programs – which include living care arrangements, disability assistance and other services – were moved again recently under the Health Care Authority.
Joey Long, public information officer for the department, said they did not have specific dates for the division’s dormancy.
In a presentation to lawmakers during a recent Legislative Finance Committee meeting, Aging and Long-Term Services Department Secretary-designee Emily Kaltenbach said the department also anticipates moving Adult Protective Services – including eight care transition specialists, the Veterans Service Program and New MexiCare program – under the Long-Term Care Division. The Alzheimer’s and Dementia program would also be housed within the division.
New MexiCare in particular has a goal of offering training and financial help to caregivers, who in turn help older New Mexicans age in place rather than in a nursing home. The program is offered in all counties except Bernalillo and Doña Ana, but Long said the department wants to open the program fully statewide by July 2025.
“This will allow us to really create a continuum of care from prevention to intervention to long-term care services and supports,” Kaltenbach said.”That would make us whole.”
The rest of the department’s budget request includes funding for five full-time ombudsman, Aging and Disability Resource Center staff, contractual services to support the call center and support for the department’s volunteer program.
Kaltenbach said the call center receives about 200 calls per day and had an additional 6,000 calls come in between Fiscal Year 2023 and 2024.
“The call center is really the entry point into our department,” Kaltenbach said.
The remaining funds are for special budget requests including emergency preparedness, marketing, information technology updates and the Kiki Saavedra Senior Dignity Fund. The honorary fund provides such services as transportation, access to food, physical and behavioral health services and case management.
The department’s roughly $5.7 million budget request is an 8% increase from the previous year. Kaltenbach pointed out that the department’s request is in keeping with the growing aging population in New Mexico, which is projected to have the fourth highest percentage of older adults among the states by 2030.
“I think it’s really interesting to see and not surprising that the highest percentage of older adults are living in our most rural and frontier counties,” Kaltenbach said. “We have more work to do and our budget reflects this need. 2030 is only five years away.”
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Josh’s Saturday Night Forecast
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Calmer weather has moved back into the state this afternoon. Temperatures are slightly warmer across northwestern New Mexico, while southeastern areas are cooler thanks to the backdoor cold fronts that moved in on Friday. Breezier winds will return Sunday and will help kick off a warming trend across the state, along with an elevated fire threat in eastern New Mexico.
Warmer weather will continue building in across the state throughout the upcoming week. A few isolated rain chances will return Monday in parts of New Mexico, but some of that rain may evaporate before reaching the ground.
Good morning!
Heading out the door this morning? Bundle up! Cold air has settled into the Land of Enchantment after two cold fronts passed through New Mexico within the last 24 hours. Temperatures have fallen to the teens, 20s and 30s throughout northern New Mexico. The metro area is just as cold with Moriarty falling to the teens and several other cities bottoming out near the freezing point. The National Weather Service (NWS) has Freeze Warnings in place until 9 a.m. for several locations in northern and central New Mexico. However, one of the aforementioned cold fronts is still moving through eastern New Mexico this morning. That back door cold front has brought 30-45 mph wind gusts, or more, in southeastern New Mexico. The front will push west further west this morning bringing breezy winds to far south and southwestern New Mexico this afternoon. Otherwise, much calmer weather will be on tap for the state compared to the majority of this week.
The colder air this morning will bring cooler and seasonable weather to the Land of Enchantment later on Saturday. Afternoon highs will range from the high 50s, in sections of the northern mountains, to the 70s in southern New Mexico. Throughout the weekend into early next week a warming trend is expected as a ridge of high pressure builds on Sunday, which is forecasted to last through at least Tuesday. By next Tuesday, high temperatures will be 5 to 15 degrees above normal, and even warmer for some locations by next Wednesday with breezy conditions returning to the state.
Moisture does stream back into the state early next week across New Mexico. Tomorrow’s forecast is expected to have cloud coverage increase with warmer weather. On Monday sufficient moisture in the mid to upper levels of the atmosphere will bring the chance for showers; however, moisture levels toward the surface will be lower. That will also bring the chance for dry showers and thunderstorms throughout the state. Have a great weekend and stay warm this morning!
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A New Mexico man has taken a plea deal for his role in the death of a three-year-old girl more than two years ago. Police said that Kerri Santos brought her toddler to University of New Mexico Hospital, claiming that she fell and hurt herself. Medical staff determined the child was already dead when she arrived, and noticed signs of abuse, including evidence that she had been tied up. Police said that Santos and three others were staying at James Welch’s home when the abuse took place.
On Friday, Welch pleaded no contest to three counts of child abuse and tampering with evidence. He faces up to five years behind bars.
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