NOTE: As provided in LFC policy, this report is intended for use by the standing finance committees of the legislature.  The Legislative Finance Committee does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information in this report when used in any other situation.

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(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates House Bill 607

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 553 appropriates $200.0 to the University of New Mexico (UNM) to pay the operating expenses of the Corinne Wolfe Children's Law Center at the UNM Institute of Public Law.

Significant Issues

This bill provides funding for salaries and benefits for a director, a staff attorney, and administrative support staff for the Corinne Wolfe Children's Law Center. This appropriation also supports training, technical assistance, research assistance, and information dissemination in the areas of child abuse and neglect.

The Corinne Wolfe Children's Law Center provides services to volunteers, attorneys, and professionals who work with the child abuse and neglect issues and the juvenile justice system.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $200.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY02 shall revert to the general fund.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

According to the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Court Improvement Project Task Force recommended the creation of the children's law center to increase the effectiveness of civil and criminal proceedings related to child abuse and neglect and other proceedings under the New Mexico Children's Code by improving the skills of the professionals involved in these cases. The children's law center will accomplish this by providing relevant, issue-driven, state-of-the-art training to attorneys and other professionals involved in legal proceedings under the Children's Code. Training will focus on the most pressing needs and best interests of children as established by on-going needs assessments.

The following is provided for information only. It is not intended as a commentary on the merits of the program/project.

A request for this appropriation was not included in UNM's budget request to the UNM Board of Regents, it was not approved by the UNM Board of Regents, and it was not submitted by UNM to the Commission on Higher Education (CHE) for review. The CHE did not recommend funding this program.

LG/njw:ar