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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 3/18/05

HB

SHORT TITLE Office of Courts Neutral Corner Program

SB 489/aSPAC

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)

Senate Bill 489 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 535, Office of Courts Neutral Corner Program.

Senate Bill 489 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 Senate Judiciary Amendment

The Senate Judiciary Amendments specify that the proposed funds would be appropriated to the

local government division of the Department of Finance and Administration for distribution in

Bernalillo County rather than the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 489 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

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

Senate Bill 489/aSPAC -- Page 2

Significant Issues

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.

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 “number of monthly supervised child visitations conducted.” The AOC reports that the pro-

posed 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.

Senate Bill 489/aSPAC -- Page 3

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Senate Bill 489 duplicates and has a relationship to some of the funding proposed in HB 34, Pro-

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

373, One Percent for Children Initiative and HB 535, Office of Courts Neutral Corner Program

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 AOC’s base budget, both in

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

EM/yr