ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A nonprofit group is suing the New Mexico Department of Health for failure to enforce rules and regulations pertaining to the oversight of boarding homes.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Disability Rights of New Mexico, a group that advocates for the rights of people with mental illness, claims the department is neglecting its responsibilities, which "poses a dire public health and safety risk to some of the state's most vulnerable populations."
The group is asking a judge to issue an order requiring the department to begin enforcing provisions of the state Public Health Act on boarding homes or show cause why not.
Disability Rights visited multiple boarding homes in Las Vegas and Albuquerque and found "a multitude of egregious residential conditions.'
A health department spokesman would not comment on the lawsuit.