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

SPONSOR Lopez

DATE TYPED 01/27/05 HB

SHORT TITLE UNM Corinne Wolfe Children’s Law Center

SB 148

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$250.0

Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to the appropriation for the University of New Mexico (UNM) in the General Appropria-

tions Act.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

No Response From

Commission on Higher Education

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 148 – Making an Appropriation to the Board of Regents of the University of New

Mexico for the Corinne Wolfe Children’s Center to Provide Training, Assistance and Informa-

tion – appropriates $250,000 to the board of regents of the University of New Mexico for ex-

penditure in fiscal year 2006 to increase funding for the Corinne Wolfe children's law center to

provide training, technical assistance, research assistance and information dissemination in the

areas of child abuse, child neglect and juvenile justice. Any unexpended or unencumbered bal-

ance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2006 shall revert to the general fund.

Senate Bill 148 -- Page 2

Significant Issues

AOC notes that in 1997, the New Mexico Supreme Court’s Court Improvement Project (CIP)

Task Force concluded that improving the expertise of the various participants in child abuse and

neglect proceedings was important to achieving permanency for children who come into the care

and custody of the state. It also concluded that a children’s law center was the best mechanism

for providing the training and other resources needed.

In December 1997, the Corinne Wolfe Children’s Law Center was established at the Institute of

Public Law, UNM School of Law, by memorandum of understanding between the New Mexico

Supreme Court, the AOC, and the UNM School of Law, Institute of Public Law. It is dedicated

to improving the knowledge and skills of the many professionals and volunteers who work in the

child abuse and neglect and juvenile justice legal systems, and are not employed by the judicial

branch of government.

AOC indicates that the center’s current budget does not yet allow it to provide the comprehen-

sive, systematic training and support opportunities originally envisioned by the Supreme Court’s

(CIP) Task Force, and professionals and volunteers in the abuse/neglect and delinquency systems

are still not receiving the requisite training to address the demands of New Mexico’s child wel-

fare legal system. This appropriation will support operating costs in the provision of training,

technical assistance, research and information dissemination directed to child abuse and neglect

and juvenile justice. It will also enable the center to expand children’s services and develop the

following the initiatives:

•

Regional cross-training programs at which volunteers, attorneys, social workers, mental

health providers, foster parents, citizen review board members and others participate to-

gether to enhance joint problem-solving and collaborative efforts to improve the lives of

children who have suffered abuse and neglect.

•

Distance learning technology designed to provide training and information to persons

working in rural and frontier areas;

•

Comprehensive web-based resources;

•

Focused training on specific topics, such as permanency planning, accessing treatment

services, tribal-state coordination, the effect of domestic violence, or interviewing of

children; and

•

Expanded training for persons working in the juvenile justice system.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The Commission on Higher Education (CHE) 2005-2006 Higher Education Funding Recom-

mendation reflects the following history for this program:

•

2003-04 (Recurring Appropriation) - $50,000

•

2004-05 (Recurring Appropriation) - $68,200

Senate Bill 148 -- Page 3

For FY06 CHE recommends $68,400, a .3 percent increase over FY05.

The appropriation of $250,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY06 shall revert to the gen-

eral fund.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The University of New Mexico, School of Law, will retain oversight of this program.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Relates to the appropriation for UNM in the General Appropriations Act.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

Currently, there are more than 2,100 children in the custody of the state because of abuse or ne-

glect, or alleged abuse or neglect. AOC observes that annually the number of children entering

the system in New Mexico continues to rise, while legal proceedings are increasingly more com-

plex.

BFW/yr