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

SPONSOR	Beam		DATE TYPED	2/4/04		HB	405
SHORT TITLE		Early Childhood Program and Teacher Support				SB
					ANALYST		Maloy

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained		Estimated Additional Impact		Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY04	FY05	FY04	FY05
	$500.0		See Narrative	Recurring	General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates SB 396.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Children, Youth and Families Department

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 405 appropriates $500.0 thousand from the General Fund to the Children, Youth and Families Department for FY05. The purpose of the appropriation is to support early childhood teachers and early childhood programs to ensure children are ready for school when they enter kindergarten.

Significant Issues

• As part of the Department’s comprehensive child care program, the Children, Youth and Families Department is striving to build quality measures into its early care and school-readiness programs. Currently, these quality measures are included in the 5-step Aim High Program. The Department would like to see greater movement toward quality, such as the measures undertaken by the popular publicly funded Head Start program.

• Currently, New Mexico expends, on average, $3,100 per child, per year for early care. A 34 week Head Start program expends, on average, $7,100 per child. Thus, New Mexico has a way to go to achieve Head Start-style school-readiness.

• Early intervention is essential to the long-term success of a child. Experts estimate every $1 invested in quality early care and school-readiness can result in $7 savings in special education programming, identification of learning disabilities, juvenile crime, drop-out rates, teenage pregnancy, college attendance and earning potential.

• Quality early care begins with quality educators, trained in school-readiness.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The bill appropriates $500 thousand in general fund to the Children, Youth and Families Department. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY05 shall revert to the General Fund.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

This bill and the appropriation of $500 thousand would compliment existing Children, Youth and Families initiatives and budget resources.

SJM/yr:njw