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

SPONSOR Swisstack

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/2/06

HB 569

SHORT TITLE Youth Violence Prevention Network

SB

ANALYST Lewis

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to HB 74, HB 213, HB 249, HB 534, HB 767, HB 775, HB 836, SB 221, SB 277 and

SB 562, all of which appropriate funds for violence prevention programs or services.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD)

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 569 appropriates $100,000 from the general fund to the Department of Health to

establish a statewide youth violence prevention network.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $100,000 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

According to the Department of Health (DOH), New Mexico has among the highest rates of

youth violence, violent deaths and suicides for all ages in the country. In New Mexico, suicide

House Bill 569 – Page

2

and homicide are the second and third leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds; and homicide

is the second leading cause of death for 5-9 year olds. In 2003 one in ten New Mexico high

school students reported being threatened or injured with a weapon at school; and 12% re-

ported being the victim of dating violence.

The Public Education Department (PED) cites the New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency

Survey (YRRS) 2003 Report of State Results as showing that:

16% of males ranging from grades 9-12 were either threatened or injured with a weapon

during the past 12 months;

5% of females ranging from grades 9-12 carried a weapon during the past 30 days; and

7% of females ranging from grades 9-12 were either threatened or injured with a weapon

during the past 12 months.

The DOH notes that HB 569 would establish a statewide Violence-Free Youth Network

(VFYN) for joint planning, resource alignment, and development of quality programming to

reverse the trends of youth violence in New Mexico. Collaborative efforts (networks) have

been shown to increase resources and sustainability of efforts in communities. Networking

helps to address the underlying risk and protective factors that are shared across multiple forms

of youth violence.

DOH specifically cites the Violence Free Youth Partnership (VFYP), comprised of partners

from around New Mexico who convene for the purposes of raising awareness and building

aligned visions and plans around Youth Violence Prevention. The VFYP connects decision

makers and resources to establish statewide structures that foster capacity-building and policies

committed to funding and ensuring long-term sustainability.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

PED suggests that

violence prevention programs may increase the safety of schools, thereby

increasing access to educational opportunities for children and youth and impacting academic

performance.

ML/yr