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

SPONSOR Vaughn

DATE TYPED 01/27/05 HB 263

SHORT TITLE Suicide Prevention Resources

SB

ANALYST Ford

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$750.0

Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates

SB 210

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

Health Policy Commission (HPC)

Human Services Department (HSD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 263 appropriates $750 thousand from the general fund to the Department of Health

for the purpose of developing, implementing, evaluating, and contracting with a statewide colla-

tion of suicide prevention programs for a coordinated set of community-based, culturally appro-

priate suicide prevention programs and services.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

One of the performance measures for DOH is the suicide rate per 100 thousand suicides for

youth ages 15-24. This bill could help the department improve this performance measure.

House Bill 263 -- Page 2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $750 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2006 shall

revert to the general fund.

In his New Program Initiatives Recommendations, the Governor recommended $600 thousand

for a suicide prevention program. However, this request was not included in the agency’s budget

request submitted in September, 2004 and reviewed by the LFC.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

DOH would incur administrative costs to establish the request for proposals process, initiate con-

tracts, monitor and evaluate programs, collect and analyze data, and provide technical assistance.

DOH indicates that it already manages contracts for youth, parent, and community suicide edu-

cation programs in Santa Fe and surrounding areas. Currently 1.0 FTE is assigned to youth sui-

cide prevention efforts. DOH indicates that the obligations created by this bill may necessitate a

temporary shift of resources.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

House Bill 263 duplicates Senate Bill 210

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The statistics regarding suicide in New Mexico are alarming. According to DOH, New Mexico’s

suicide rate is nearly twice the national rate, ranking New Mexico fourth among all states. DOH

further writes that “…80% of psychiatrists, 70% of psychologists, 47% of social workers, and

53% of counselors are concentrated in Bernalillo and Santa Fe counties. Most of these behav-

ioral health practitioners do not have training for working with children or adolescents.”

The Governor created the Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force, which includes a multi-cultural

group of family members, mental health care providers, advocates, and young people who work

to develop strategies to prevent suicide and link these efforts to the schools. DOH also indicates

that a statewide coalition, the New Mexico Suicide Prevention Coalition, has been working with

DOH since April, 2003. The appropriation contained in House Bill 263 would be used to expand

and intensify existing suicide prevention efforts.

EF/rs