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

SPONSOR Picraux

DATE TYPED 2/09/05

HB 497

SHORT TITLE Domestic Violence Shelters and Child Services

SB

ANALYST Dunbar

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$3,000.0

Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates SB 325

Relates to HB 334; HB 343; HB 440

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD)

Department of Health (DOH)

Health Policy Commission (HPC)

Department of Public Defender (DPD)

FOR THE LEGISLATIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 497 appropriates $3 million from the General Fund to the Children, Youth and Fami-

lies Department (CYFD) for expenditure in FY 05 and FY06 to contract with a statewide domes-

tic violence coalition to provide needed improvements to shelters and services for children who

are victims of domestic violence. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the

end of FY06 would revert to the General Fund.

HB 497 contains an emergency clause.

House Bill 497 -- Page 2

Significant Issues

This appropriation is directed to a domestic violence coalition through CYFD. The coalition

would be responsible for establishing contracts with individual service providers statewide.

CYFD currently allocates funding and provides contract monitoring to domestic violence pro-

grams statewide. This bill shifts this responsibility to a single coalition for the contained appro-

priation. CYFD will still be required to conduct a competitive bid for the $3,000,000 and moni-

tor the contract with the coalition awarded the bid. As per the procurement code, any contract

over twenty thousand must be let through the competitive procurement process. Allocating

funds in this manner may not make funding available to domestic violence programs that are not

members of the organization or coalition that secures the contract.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

This bill would allow for increased program and service capacity statewide allowing a greater

number of victims of domestic violence to be served.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $3 million 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.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Duplicates SB 325

Relates to:

HB 334 which would designate two million dollars to CYFD to improve domestic

violence programs and centers beginning in FY 06 with no prescribed recipient of the

funding;

HB 343 which proposes to appropriate $100,000 from the General Fund to the New

Mexico Department of Health (DOH) to support a shelter for victims of domestic vio-

lence in Shiprock, including providing increased staffing;

HB 440 which would enact a new section of the Family Violence Protection Act to

require medical personnel to document domestic abuse of a person, to provide infor-

mation and referral to services, and treat all related communications and information

as confidential.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

CYFD suggests allocating the funding to department and have it distributed through the normal

procurement process, available to all domestic violence providers in the state.

House Bill 497 -- Page 3

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

Domestic violence (including but not limited to intimate partner violence) is a serious public

health problem in New Mexico. Incidents of domestic violence often go unreported to law en-

forcement due to failure of family, friends or neighbors to report.

Data available from the “Incidence and Nature of Domestic Violence in New Mexico: An Analy-

sis of 2001-2003 Data from the New Mexico Interpersonal Violence Data Central Repository”

indicates that in 2003 the incidence of Domestic Violence almost doubled the amount of inci-

dents recorded in 2002.

New Mexico Interpersonal Data Central Repository also reports that 7, 985 survivors sought help

from domestic violence service provider agencies in 2003. This represents a 9% increase in the

last 3 years. Services provided by domestic violence programs include emergency shelter, food,

clothing, crisis call response, counseling, treatment, orders of protection and support groups.

More children than ever (5,757) received services from provider agencies in 2003, representing a

37% increase in the last three years.

The Domestic Violence Trend Analysis created by the New Mexico Interpersonal Data Central

Repository, states that 7, 985 survivors sought help from domestic violence service provider

agencies in 2003. This represents a 9% increase in the last 3 years. Just over half (55%) of these

survivors said they reported the incident to law enforcement.

Nationally, battered mothers indicated that their children witnessed the abuse 87% of the time.

The report in New Mexico stated 3,381 children were present at the scene of the domestic vio-

lence cases reported by law enforcement, and almost three-quarters (71%) of children who wit-

nessed domestic violence incidents were not yet adolescents (12 years and under). Children

whose parents abuse each other are more likely to eventually become victims and/or perpetrators

of abuse. Childhood exposure to domestic violence is associated with difficulties with behavior,

emotional health, schoolwork and delinquency. Effects on such childhood exposures last into

adulthood and include alcoholism, drug abuse, mental health problems, smoking and general

poor health.

ALTERNATIVES

CYFD suggests allocating the funding to department and have it distributed through the normal

procurement process, available to all domestic violence providers in the state. This funding

stream may result in duplication of services.

BD/sb:njw