CPP State Policy Feature: New Mexico

“IECMH has chosen to restructure the delivery of clinical services for the IMH program around Child-Parent Psychotherapy.”
-IECMH Health Team Manual

Download one-page summary

83 rostered providers*

37 agencies

CPP Champions:
– Soledad Martinez
– Ilse Amaya

Foundational training for CPP participants

Higher CPP reimbursement

Legislation enables
best practice for
IECMH assessment

Timeline

2013

1st CPP cohort, as a collaboration with UNM

2016

State-sponsored cohort to train first state LC trainer

2017

Implementation of 12-month foundational training for CPP

State funds CPP TTT cohort for three State LC trainers

2019

State-funded “case rate” for CPP reporting

CPP selected as an EBP for state child welfare services

2023

State uses clinical outcomes to evaluate CPP effectiveness

IMH-CPP Program

Government-designated unit tasked with disseminating CPP

The Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IMH) Services is a legislative program that centers CPP in its mission to mitigate the transmission of intergenerational trauma. This program sponsors CPP training, maintains a provider directory, and advocates to the state legislature and departments for CPP best practices. IMH chose CPP as “it is the only Evidence Based Practice for infants 0–5 who have experienced trauma.”

CPP Case Rate

Rate facilitates lower caseload and higher compensation

State CPP leaders partnered with the CYFD Behavioral Health Director and Bureau Chief to develop a program to track CPP service delivery for the Legislative Finance Committee. Clinicians report the data and are compensated for their time through the state general fund. CPP leaders noted that this “case rate” is an incentive for agencies to lower caseloads and/or raise compensation for clinicians.

Pre-CPP
Foundational Course

IECMH competencies as prerequisite to CPP

A lack of readiness for trauma work in IECMH can challenge CPP sustainability, so IMH partners with the University of New Mexico on a two- semester, state-funded training program as a primer to a CPP Learning Collaborative. Content includes concepts in development, attachment, and trauma. Additional consultation is available for rural providers to increase access to foundations of IECMH.

Learn More
Key Organizations

CYFD Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Services (IMH)
Learn more about New Mexico’s statewide IECMH coordinating body, including its history, key components, and funding!

Key Resources
Additional Supportive Factors for CPP Sustainability

Funding for Tribal Participation in Foundational Training

The New Mexico legislature has set aside recurring funding for tribal members to attend the pre-CPP Learning Collaborative training. So far, members from eight northern pueblos have participated this training.

Additional Challenges to Sustainability

Competing Priorities

Because no one in the New Mexico CPP community of practice is fully staffed to IMH cases, clinicians sometimes feel stretched between CPP best practices and other work assignments.

Shifting Politics

Although statewide coordination and public funding are critical to CPP sustainability, they increase the exposure of CPP implementation to changes in political priorities.

*Numbers are current as of March 2025.

The content of this document is intended for informational use only. If you are interested in becoming involved with CPP policy advocacy in your state, please fill out this survey.

The CPP Dissemination Team would like to thank Ilse Amaya, for providing context into CPP sustainability in New Mexico, and Deborah Harris, Deryl Palmer, Heather Nelson, Stephanie Albury, and Soledad Martinez, for their contributions and leadership on the New Mexico CPP training team.