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

SPONSOR Powdrell-Culbert

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/27/06

2/6/06 HB 92/aHEC/aHJC

SHORT TITLE Camino Nuevo Client Trauma Treatment

SB

ANALYST Earp

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$300.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

Corrections Department (CD)

Children, Youth & Families Department (CYFD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HJC Amendment

The House Judiciary Committee amendment strikes the House Education Committee amend-

ments, thereby returning the bill to its original status as described below.

Synopsis of HEC Amendments

The House Education Committee amendments remove the words “during and” from the title and

body of the bill. The impact of these changes is to limit the use of the appropriation to the provi-

sion of trauma treatment for Camino Nuevo clients after their incarceration.

The Corrections Department submitted a revised analysis dated 1/27/06 indicating support for

this legislation relative to provision of trauma care after incarceration. Once a woman is dis-

charged from the Camino Nuevo prison, and/or is placed on probation or parole in the commu-

nity, then the Corrections Department does not have the obligation, funds or other resources to

provide medical/psychiatric treatment to that woman. The department would welcome any and

all treatment that the University of New Mexico could provide to all such women after incarcera-

House Bill 92/aHEC/aHJC – Page

2

tion because it would obviously be good for the women to get the treatment they need. It would

also be good for the department because it would help these women better transition back into

the community, and could help reduce recidivism rates. However, the department indicates pro-

vision of services by UNM while the women are still incarcerated would duplicate the services

provided by the Corrections Department. This would be an inefficient and problematic use of

the appropriated money.

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 92 appropriates $300,000 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of the Uni-

versity of New Mexico for the Family and Community Medicine Program to provide trauma

treatment for Camino Nuevo clients during and after incarceration. Camino Nuevo is a women's

correctional facility for parole violators located in Albuquerque.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $300,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert

to the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

This request was not included on the list of priority projects submitted by UNM to the HED for

review. Consequently, this request was not included in the Department's fiscal year 2007

funding recommendations.

The Corrections Department notes serious concerns about this proposal as outlined below:

•

If intended to fund on-site or off-site medical services, it should be noted that the cost of

providing medical services to 100 female inmates far exceeds $300,000.

•

If intended for off-site medical services, the appropriation indirectly subsidizes the Cor-

rections Department’s obligation to provide adequate medical care.

•

This represents a duplication of services as the Corrections Department is already obli-

gated to provide on-site and off-site medical services for incarcerated inmates in accor-

dance with generally accepted medical practices.

•

If intended to fund on-site and off-site services, this bill could result in competing inter-

ests in the provision of medical services to inmates, allowing inmates to play providers

against each other. This could result in a slower delivery of services to inmates.

•

The Corrections Department has an existing contract with Wexford to provide on-site and

off-site medical services and does not have a contract with the University of New Mexico

for trauma treatment services. If the Corrections Department is hindered from fulfilling

its contractual obligations to Wexford for services, it may result in litigation against the

Department.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

UNM would be required to administer these funds. Given the legal obligation of the Corrections

Department to provide care for incarcerated individuals and the other issues noted above, careful

House Bill 92/aHEC/aHJC – Page

3

coordination of efforts would be required.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The Corrections Department notes that this bill does not specify whether or not it is meant to pay

for “on-site” or “off-site” medical services. It also does not define “trauma treatment”.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Have there been problems with the delivery of medical services to the inmates at Camino Nuevo

via the existing Corrections Department contract with Wexford.

DKE/nt