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

SPONSOR Sanchez, B

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/24/06

1/26/06 HB

SHORT TITLE Supportive Housing for Dual Diagnosis Women

SB 145

ANALYST Lewis

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

150.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

Human Services Department (HSD)

New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 145 appropriates $150,000 from the general fund to the Department of Health to con-

tract for permanent supportive housing for women being released from jail or a correctional fa-

cility who have a dual diagnosis, co-occurring disorder of substance abuse addiction and a diag-

nosed mental health illness.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $150,000 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), services under this bill could increase the num-

ber of persons served by DOH, because women coming out of jail or corrections with dual diag-

noses may not be immediately eligible for Medicaid or other funding streams for their mental

Senate Bill 145 – Page

2

health and substance abuse treatment needs. The $150,000 appropriation would fund approxi-

mately 10 women with dual diagnoses in permanent supportive housing after their release from

jail or correctional facilities.

The New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD) notes that this bill will open up another op-

tion for the Department to consider when paroling female offenders, and may help to reduce the

women’s prison population as well as probation/parole caseloads. NMCD also observes, how-

ever, that the bill does not specify a location, and notes that the neighborhood where the housing

is located may be resistant to the housing of felons with mental health diagnosis in their area, es-

pecially if children are in the neighborhood.

ML/nt