Latest news with #EsperanzaLucero
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New Mexico judiciary names behavioral health administrator to implement new legislation
The New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts has hired Esperanza Lucero, a longtime state social services leader, as its behavioral health integration and reform administrator, a new position set to play a major role in carrying out newly enacted legislation. Lucero will implement the Behavioral Health Reform and Investment Act, also known as Senate Bill 3, the agency said in a news release. Signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in February, SB 3 tasks the Administrative Office of the Courts with coordinating the development of regional behavioral health plans, with a goal of expanding access to services throughout the state. 'Esperanza is a great fit for this inaugural position,' Administrative Office of the Courts Director Karl Reifsteck said in a statement. 'Her experience working extensively with state and local agencies to implement policy, strategies and initiatives will help in laying the groundwork for behavioral health system improvements required by state law.' Under SB 3, the Administrative Office of the Courts is responsible for convening behavioral health stakeholders — including providers, advocates, law enforcement, state agencies and local, regional and tribal governments — and identifying behavioral health resources and gaps through a patient mapping process known as the Sequential Intercept Model. That work is already underway, with mapping completed in Taos, Union, Colfax and Rio Arriba counties in 2024, and Santa Fe County earlier this year. Workshops are scheduled in June to complete the task in Los Alamos, San Miguel, Mora and Guadalupe counties. Before starting her new position, Lucero served as director of the New Mexico Department of Health's Center for Health Protection and led the state Aging and Long-Term Services Department's Adult Protective Services Division. She holds master's degrees in social work and business administration from New Mexico Highlands University and a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from New Mexico State University. 'I am passionate about strengthening behavioral health services delivery in New Mexico," Lucero said in a statement. "It's an honor to serve in this capacity.'
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NM courts name first-ever behavioral health reform expert
Administrative Office of the Courts Behavioral Health Integration and Reform Administrator Esperanza Lucero. (Courtesy photo) The state agency that runs state courts on Monday morning named Esperanza Lucero as its first-ever behavioral health integration and reform administrator, the person tasked with implementing major parts of a new state law reforming New Mexico's behavioral health system. New Mexico this year enacted Senate Bill 3, which is meant to rebuild the state's systems for addressing mental health challenges, including substance use disorder. The law requires the Administrative Office of the Courts to divide the state into behavioral health regions, each of which will identify five behavioral health priorities over the next four years. 'I see the Judiciary as uniquely suited to providing the leadership to bring together local stakeholders and providers in a meaningful way,' Esperanza said in a statement. Esperanza's first task in her new position is to assess the initiatives already underway in New Mexico under what is called Sequential Intercept Mapping (SIM), Supreme Court Chief Justice David Thomson said in a statement. SIM is a commonly used conceptual model developed in the early 2000s that outlines points of 'intercept' where people with mental health or substance use disorders can receive treatment and support. AOC completed mapping for Santa Fe County in January; for Rio Arriba County in December; and for the Eighth Judicial District in northeastern New Mexico in October, according to reports published on its website. A mapping workshop for the Fourth Judicial District in Mora, San Miguel and Guadalupe counties is scheduled for June 10 and 11, and a workshop for Los Alamos County is scheduled for June 23 and 24. By June 1, the state Health Care Authority's Behavioral Health Services Division will provide AOC with behavioral health standards and service evaluation guidelines, and by the end of this year, the state's Medicaid program will establish a group of licensing boards to help streamline mental health providers' credentialing, according to a timeline presented by New Mexico's top adult mental health services official earlier this month. Lucero previously served as director of the state Department of Health's Center for Health Protection, and led the Aging and Long-Term Services Department's Adult Protective Services Division. 'Her experience working extensively with state and local agencies to implement policy, strategies and initiatives will help in laying the groundwork for behavioral health system improvements required by state law,' AOC Director Karl W. Reifsteck said in a statement. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
