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SPONSOR: |
Beffort |
DATE TYPED: |
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HB |
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SHORT TITLE: |
Support for Indigent Early Childhood Teachers |
SB |
539 |
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ANALYST: |
Chabot |
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APPROPRIATION
|
Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
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FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
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$500.0 |
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Recurring |
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Grant
Fund |
(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Related to HB 191 that transfers CYFD’s Office of Child Development to the State Department of Education.
Related to SB 89 and HB 198 containing an appropriation to
NMSU for a bachelor’s degree program in early childhood and elementary
education in Grants and
Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act to the CYFD Prevention and Intervention Program.
LFC Files
Responses
Received From
Children,
Youth and Families Department (CYFD)
Commission
on Higher Education (CHE)
Human
Services Department (HSD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis
of Bill
Senate Bill 539
appropriates $500.0 from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
grant to the CYFD Office of Child Development for the purpose of contracting
with persons employed as early childhood teachers who are also TANF clients to
enroll in a degree course at a post-secondary educational institution to
improve their employment skills.
Significant
Issues
CYFD currently spends $3,000.0 on contracts that
provide training and technical assistance to childcare providers ($2.4 million
for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), $500.0 from TANF and
100.0 from general fund) and this bill would provide another $500.0. CYFD is concerned with the expenses of
developing contracts with each participant and would prefer expanding existing
contracts through the training and technical assistance programs currently
under contract. In addition, the agency
has 2 FTE overseeing contracts and, if contracts for individuals are required,
more staff maybe needed to administer the contracts.
The HSD budget request has the agency
transferring the 30 percent maximum from TANF to the CCDBG. The degree course required in this bill would
take $500.0 of the funds transferred to CYFD Office of Child Development for
training of child care providers and direct it for TANF clients to enroll in a
degree course as specified in the bill.
The proposed degree program is available as part of the TANF Education
Works Program and, if conducted through that program, would not be counted in
the 30 percent transfer maximum to CCDBG.
HSD states for the past five years the agency
has transferred funds to the Office of Child Development for training of child
care providers. In the FY04 budget
request, this was increased by an additional $500.0 and is included in the LFC
recommendation. HSD states that the
language in this bill would likely limit, rather than enhance, the Income
Support Division and CYFD’s ability to provide training. In addition, the agency states the $500.0
would go to a very small group of eligible participants.
Lastly, HSD states that the appropriation from
TANF needs to be made to HSD who will transfer the funds to the appropriate
agency. HSD states all federal TANF
block grant funds have historically been appropriated to HSD. Appropriating these funds to another state
agency, while possible, complicates the state’s ability to account for these
funds and report TANF activity to the federal government.
CHE states they have worked with CYFD Office of
Child Development and the Early Childhood Education Task Force for the past ten
years and this bill would help to relieve the financial burden of early
childhood teachers in taking higher education cources.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of
$500.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the TANF block
grant. Any unexpended or unencumbered
balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2002 shall revert to the TANF block
grant.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
CYFD will have to
develop rules and regulations for administrating the program, criteria for individual
contracts and a tracking method for both financial and individual performance.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
CYFD recommends amending page 1, line 22-23 to
specify qualifying degree courses.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
GAC/njw/ls