New Mexico is a long time member of the FJI community and we want to celebrate and congratulate the newly opened Office of Family Representation and Advocacy (OFRA). The Office is implementing high quality interdisciplinary legal representation and practice infrastructure that promise to improve child and family outcomes. OFRA’s work is driven by a fundamental respect for each family it serves, and its model uplifts the strengths, voices, and goals of its clients.
Created as a new executive agency in the 2022 legislative session, OFRA opened its doors on July 1, 2023 under the leadership of Executive Director, Beth Gillia with the support of a legislatively mandated Oversight Commission. New Mexico stakeholders and FJI partners had spent decades in various efforts to improve the quality of representation that is statutorily required for children and parents. Incremental improvements were realized but ultimately it was clear that a centralized office with independence and authority to create policy and budgets was needed to provide the practice infrastructure that would support high-quality representation and advocacy. As in other jurisdictions, securing adequate funding is an ongoing challenge for OFRA.
Interdisciplinary practice built on cornerstone advocacy is the core of the practice model. OFRA Interdisciplinary Legal Teams include the attorney, a social worker and/or a family peer support navigator. The family peer support navigator is critical as this is a person with lived experience who has the dual role of peer support and system navigator. Their navigation is focused on non-clinical domains to secure the concrete supports and services that address housing, food insecurity, and employment that families need to stay together.
OFRA’s commitment to operational excellence and infrastructure includes emerging systems for case management, research and evaluation, quality monitoring, and budget management. OFRA’s strategic plan incorporates a logic model; standards for training and professional development as well as coaching and mentoring; performance standards with clear expectations for attorneys, social workers, and navigators; policies and a detailed practice manual; and a wide range of supports for legal teams.
We at FJI look forward to following OFRA as it steps up for New Mexico’s families.
Visit the OFRA website at https://www.ofra.nm.gov/