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SPONSOR: |
Papen |
DATE TYPED: |
1/29/02 |
HB |
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SHORT TITLE: |
Statewide Programs for Homeless |
SB |
212 |
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ANALYST: |
Esquibel |
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APPROPRIATION
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Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
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FY02 |
FY03 |
FY02 |
FY03 |
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$1,000.0 |
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Recurring |
General Fund |
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(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates
HB 80
Veterans’ Service Commission
Department of Health
New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority
Children, Youth and Families Department
No Response
The Department of Finance and Administration
SUMMARY
Synopsis
Senate Bill 212 appropriates $1,000.0 from the general fund to the Department of Finance and Administration for the purpose of contracting for various services and programs statewide for the homeless. This bill contains an emergency clause that makes this appropriation available immediately.
Significant
Issues
Contracts authorized in this appropriation are
emergency shelter, meals, transitional housing, emergency and permanent
housing, disabled and mentally ill, therapeutic child-care for homeless children,
special health care programs and homelessness prevention assistance to avoid
eviction and foreclosure and to include veterans and disabled persons.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of
$1,000.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any
unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2003
shall revert to the general fund.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
None reported.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
· It is estimated that there are as many as eight thousand (8,000) homeless people in New Mexico at any one time. A snap-shot survey taken by the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness reported that on February 15, 2001, 122 families with children entered an emergency shelter, 156 families with children received transitional housing services and 87 received permanent supportive housing services, for a total of 365 active clients in a day. Experts in the field have come to recognize that many chronically homeless persons suffer from co-occurring disorders, such as a combination of mental health and substance abuse problems, exhausting current health and social service delivery systems. In most instances, homeless persons with co-occurring disorders will present to and be managed by the mental health system.
· The current safety net for homeless children and families includes federally qualified health centers, Medicaid and Medicare disproportionate share hospitals, migrant and rural health centers and informal systems of care provided through charitable organizations.
·
The
underlying causes of homelessness include a lack of affordable housing,
inadequate living wages, seasonal or part-time employment, domestic violence,
substance abuse and mental health issues.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
·
What other
programs does New Mexico currently have to deal with these issues?
·
Can this
appropriation be made to an existing program that would cover the range of issues
contained in this bill?
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