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

SPONSOR Ruiz

DATE TYPED 02/01/05 HB 535

SHORT TITLE Office of Courts Neutral Corner Program

SB

ANALYST McSherry

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

NFI

$250.0

NFI Indeterminate Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

House Bill 535 duplicates partially and relates to HB 34, Programs Affecting New Mexico Chil-

dren, SB 180, Programs Affecting New Mexico Children, SB 373, One Percent for Children Ini-

tiative, SB 489, Office of Courts Neutral Corner Program, SB 489.

House Bill 535 duplicates partially the proposed appropriation in the General Appropriation Act.

There are funds proposed for the Supervised Visitation Program Act in both the LFC and execu-

tive proposals for the General Appropriation.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Administrative Office of the Courts (218)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 535 appropriates $250 thousand from the general fund to Administrative Office of the

Courts for the purpose of supporting the Neutral Corner program. Any unexpended funds or un-

encumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2006 shall revert to the general fund.

Significant Issues

House Bill 535 does not specify which court(s) under the Administrative Office would be funded

should the bill be enacted.

The AOC already receives funding for supervised visitation which is included in both the execu-

tive and LFC recommendation for the agency’s FY06 budget. According to the AOC, the

agency currently finances this particular program in the amount of $26.6 thousand. Because the

agency has already been financing a portion of the total cost of the program, and these funds will

likely be included in the FY06 budget, the remaining cost of the program is actually $223.4 thou-

sand.

House Bill 535 -- Page 2

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) reports that the “Neutral Corner” Program is an

access and visitation program which provides parents a safe place for visitations or exchanges of

children between parents in cases of abuse/neglect, separation, divorce, substance abuse, mental

illness or family violence. According to AOC, the program currently serves the Second Judicial

District Court judges who frequently write the local access and visitation program services into

their court orders, stipulating the level of supervision required.

According to the AOC, access and visitation programs are presently located in the following ju-

dicial districts: 1

st

(Rio Arriba and Santa Fe Counties); 2

nd

(Bernalillo County); 3

rd

(Dona Ana

County); 5

th

(Chaves and Eddie Counties); 6

th

(Grant and Luna Counties); 9

th

(Curry and Roose-

velt Counties); and 13

th

(Sandoval County).

AOC reports that the number of referrals for supervised visitations and exchanges grow each

year. The funding for these services comes from multiple sources and AOC does not believe the

funding mechanism is sound. The Administrative Office of the Courts has contracted in the

amount of $26.6 thousand with the “Neutral Corner” to provide services for the last four years to

the Second Judicial District. The Neutral Corner has also received county and city funds to pro-

vide these services. According to the AOC, the City of Albuquerque and County of Bernalillo

have given notice to the Neutral Corner that as of June 30, 2005, they will no longer provide any

funding for this program. It is reported by AOC that current levels of operation cost $250 thou-

sand annually.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

Performance outcomes cited by the AOC related to the proposed funding are: continuity of the non-

custodial parent/child relationship, and prevention of further violence.

A performance measures for the Access and Visitation Program established for annual reporting is “num-

ber of monthly supervised child visitations conducted.” The AOC reports that the proposed funding will

allow the program to supplant its current resources and continue to gather the data necessary to calculate

and report those performance measures.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $250 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 shall revert

to the general fund.

Should HB 535 be enacted, the AOC recommends that an appropriation of $223.4 thousand

($250,000 minus the state funds of $26,552.50 they are presently receiving from the AOC) be

incorporated into the AOC Special Court Services operating budget.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

House Bill 535 duplicates and has a relationship to some of the funding proposed in

HB 34, Programs

Affecting New Mexico Children, SB 180, Programs Affecting New Mexico Children, SB 373,

One Percent for Children Initiative and SB 489, Office of Courts Neutral Corner Program

House Bill 535 -- Page 3

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The proposed appropriation should be amended to be $223.4 thousand rather than $250 thousand

because the remainder of the funding is already recommended in the agency’s base budget by

both the executive and LFC recommendations.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The AOC reports that it is requesting an appropriation of $241 thousand to maintain existing ac-

cess and visitation programs in the First, Fifth, Ninth, and Thirteen Judicial Districts, add new

programs to additional judicial districts and fund network services for training and quality assur-

ance. It is not clear how the agency is requesting these funds, or whether it is suggested to

amend this bill to fund the said existing and proposed expansion programs.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL.

The AOC reports difficulty in operations with the current funding available for this program and

other access and visitation programs and asserts that if additional state funds are not allocated,

this program will cease.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

What has caused city and county funding to cease. Will the program have a reduced workload

from the city and county as a result of their participation reduction.

EM/lg