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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Garcia, M.J.

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/26/07

1/30/07 HB

SHORT TITLE

Appropriation to the 3rd Judicial District for

Children’s Court Mediation Program

SB 53/aSJC

ANALYST C. Sanchez

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$0

$23.1

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of SJC Amendment

On page 1, line 17, strike “third judicial district court" and insert in lieu thereof “administrative

office of the courts".

Synopsis of Original Bill

Senate Bill 53 appropriates $23,133 from the general fund to the third judicial district court for

expenditure in FY 2008 to implement a children’s court mediation program in the third judicial

district court. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance at the end of FY 08 shall revert to the

general fund.

Senate Bill 53/aSJC– Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The LFC and the AOC recommend that the appropriation contained in this bill be incorporated in

the AOC Special Court Services operating budget. All the funds are recurring. The funds will

be used to create a children’s court mediation program in the third judicial district and fund

network services for training and quality assurance.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Since March 2000, the AOC and the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department

(CYFD) have successfully collaborated to offer high quality mediation services to families in

abuse and neglect cases. Due to lack of funding, the AOC has been unable to expand this

program into the remaining three judicial districts – Third, Ninth, and Tenth. This request is

part of the Children’s Programs, priority 6, of the Judiciary’s Unified Budget.

The mediation program is a resource for families, the CYFD, and the Judiciary that provides a

non-adversarial approach to helping CYFD and the Courts work with families facing long-term

issues such as substance abuse, domestic violence and mental illness to reach permanency

solutions for their children. Abuse and neglect cases are mediated at the investigation, pre-legal,

and legal stages as well as in cases where families are involved with both protective services and

juvenile justice. A trained mediator meets with the parents, their attorneys, the guardian ad

litem, youth attorney, the CYFD attorney, the social worker and other interested parties to assist

them in achieving agreements regarding placement, visitation, treatment and permanency.

In addition to helping families, this collaborative program has also benefited both the AOC and

CYFD, and is an example of what is possible when two state agencies combine resources.

Together, we have positively affected more than 1800 families during the past six years.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

Performance outcomes for this program include:

•

conserving judicial and CYFD resources of time and money by reducing the time spent in

post mediation hearings

•

decreasing time for court trial delays;

•

positive impact on the quality of and compliance with treatment plans;

•

enhanced communication and problem solving by clarifying issues, exploring new

options, and providing opportunities for collaboration;

•

families feel more engaged in and comfortable with the legal process; and

•

mediation facilitates a high level of agreement (81% to 96%) between families and

CYFD regarding treatment plans, pleas, placement, visitation, and other related issues.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The enactment of this bill will enable the AOC to assist the third district court to create a

children’s court mediation program.

Senate Bill 53/aSJC– Page

3

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The administrative office of the courts (AOC) recommends that the appropriation contained in

this bill be incorporated in the AOC Special Court Services operating budget. All the funds are

recurring. The funds will be used to create a children’s court mediation program in the third

judicial district and fund network services for training and quality assurance.

ALTERNATIVES

Amend line 17 of SB 53 so that the funds are appropriated to the administrative office of the

courts.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

Families, CYFD staff and the third judicial district will not have access to the benefits of the

Children’s Court mediation program that is currently available in other judicial districts. The

funding for this program will ensure the opportunity for families within Dona Ana County to

fully participate in decisions regarding the well-being, safety and permanency of children who

are victims of abuse and neglect.

CS/mt:nt