A. The department shall issue a request for proposals from nonprofit organizations or tribes interested in establishing an individual development account program. A proposal submitted in response to the request shall:

(1)     describe the geographic area to be served and the potential individuals who will be assisted by the program;

(2)     state the amount, if any, of requested distributions of state money from the individual development fund;

(3)     describe the source and the amount of any private or other public funds, if any, that will be used to supplement the requested distributions from the individual development fund;

(4)     state the amount, not to be less than one dollar ($1.00), that will be deposited in the reserve account for each dollar deposited in an individual development account;

(5)     describe the expertise, experience and other qualifications of the proposer and its employees; and

(6)     contain such other information as required in the request for proposals and rules of the secretary.

B. The secretary shall issue a request for proposals to determine if an interested nonprofit organization or tribe is eligible to be a program administrator, determine the legal sufficiency of submitted proposals, evaluate the proposals and, after consulting with the individual development account council, select the program administrators.

C. In selecting program administrators, the secretary shall:

(1)     ensure that geographically diverse populations throughout New Mexico will be served by individual development account programs; and

(2)     ensure that a substantial number of individual development accounts will serve families in which one or more children are living with their biological or adoptive mother or father, or with their legal guardian.

D. The secretary shall enter into contracts with the selected program administrators. E. The secretary shall approve an individual development account program submitted by a program administrator before the program establishes individual development accounts or reserve accounts or provides services required by the Individual Development Account Act to eligible individuals.

F. An individual development account and a reserve account may be established only in an authorized financial institution.

G. The secretary shall monitor all individual development account programs to ensure that individual development accounts and reserve accounts are being operated according to the contract provisions, federal law, the provisions of the Individual Development Account Act and rules adopted pursuant to that act.