Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they are used for other purposes.

Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are available on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us). Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and attachments may also be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.

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

SPONSOR	Gonzales		DATE TYPED	2/2/04		HB	230
SHORT TITLE		Taos County Teen Pregnancy Prevention				SB
					ANALYST		Johnson

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained		Estimated Additional Impact		Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY04	FY05	FY04	FY05
	$104.0			Recurring	GF

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Response Received From

Department of Health

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 230 appropriates $104,000 from the general fund to the local government division of the department of finance and administration to support contractual services for a teen pregnancy prevention program in Taos county.

Significant Issues

The department of health provided the following:

Teen pregnancy results in serious education and health problems for both the parents and for the babies born to teen mothers. National Research indicates there are several programs that have demonstrated success in reducing teen pregnancy and/or risky sexual behavior. (Emerging Answers, 2001, The Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, wwwteenpregnancy.org).

The Community Wellness Center is the primary service provider of programs for adolescent pregnancy prevention in Taos County through Girltime, Puentes, and Reproductive Health Education.

The funding for the start up of these programs originated under the DOH’s Maternal and Child Health Program in an effort to implement the County Maternal and Child Health Plan Act (CMCHPA) in Taos County.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $104.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2005 shall revert to the general fund.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The department of health provided the following:

The State Procurement Code requires these funds be allocated through an RFP. Also, DOH is conducting many strategic planning efforts to positively effect teenage pregnancy outcomes throughout the state. It would be important to align the use of these funds with DOH’s evidence-based approaches and strategic planning efforts to assure positive performance outcomes.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The department of health provided the following:

New Mexico has the 4^th highest teen birth rate in the nation. Over 4,500 teens gave birth in 2002, which translates to 12 teen births in New Mexico per day. In 2001 the “Birth Rate Final” for Taos County (Rate = births per 1,000 15-19 year old females) was 58.1, resulting in a rank of 16 out of the 33 counties in New Mexico. (The State Center for Health Statistics, Office of NM Vital Records and health Statistics, Public Health Division, Department of health, October 2003.)

New Mexico would benefit greatly from reduced teen pregnancy. Less child abuse, and fewer low birth weight babies and welfare dependent families would result. There would be more high school graduates, taxpayers and fathers in the home. The gross impact of teenage parenting in New Mexico exceeds half a billion dollars annually, (calculated in the year 2000), about 40% of these costs could be avoided if teenagers delayed childbirth until at least age 20. For New Mexico, this means that approximately $216 million could be saved each year by reducing teen pregnancy to zero. (See The Economic Impact of Teenage Childbearing in New Mexico, 2003, Philip T Ganderton, PhD, for the New Mexico Department of Health Family Planning Program.)

The primary risk factors for teen pregnancy are: early school failure; early behavioral problems; distressed/dysfunctional families and poverty. The primary protective factors for teen pregnancy are: a strong connection to family and a strong connection to school. (New Mexico Teen Pregnancy Coalition, Teen Pregnancy Update; Dec. 2003.) The Community Wellness Center of Taos, New Mexico has designed its programs to address these factors. Since its inception in 1999, Girltime, (an evidence –based Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention program) has been providing after-school and summer non-school-based youth development services to females ages 9-14 in Taos County. Study skills, tutoring, community service projects, cultural enrichment, self-esteem building, case management and health education are provided through this program. Since its inception in 1994, Puentes, a teen pregnancy prevention program to delay a second pregnancy while providing educational support for teen mothers, was no longer considered a funding priority by the Department of Health/Family Planning. The Community Wellness Center continues to implement Puentes in Questa and Penasco through private foundation funding, but no longer has the resources to implement Puentes in Taos. Peer Health Education: an evidenced-based reproductive health education program provides age-appropriate reproductive health education in a unique collaboration with Taos, Questa, and Penasco Schools draws on peer educators to teach an evidence-based prevention curriculum.

It is difficult to know if teen pregnancy prevention programs such as those of the Community Wellness Center of Taos have impacted the difference in rates. The appropriation proposed in this bill is sizable enough to suggest possibilities of increasing the service area to include the eastern portion of Rio Arriba County. Rio Arriba county ranks higher in 2001 the “Birth Rate Final” (Rate = births per 1,000 15-19 year old females) was 81.0, resulting in a rank of 6 out of the 33 counties in New Mexico. (The State Center for Health Statistics, Office of NM Vital Records and health Statistics, Public Health Division, Department of health, October 2003.)

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