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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
2/06/07
HB 523
SHORT TITLE Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Project
SB
ANALYST Lucero
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$350.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD)
Public Education Department (PED)
Department of Health (DOH)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 523 appropriates three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000) from the general
fund to Children, Youth and Families Department for expenditure in 2008 to contract with a
nonprofit organization for a fetal alcohol syndrome awareness pilot project. The project shall
use the media and associated awareness initiatives in public schools and target health areas
throughout the state.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000) contained in this bill is a
recurring expense to the general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at
the end of fiscal year 2008 shall revert to the general fund.
pg_0002
House Bill 523 – Page
2
The appropriation in this bill is not part of Children Youth and Families Department's request
and is not included in the Executive recommendation of Children Youth and Families
Department.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
HB 523 identifies one entity to develop a pilot project that will target health areas throughout the
state and in public schools. It may be more efficient to contract with several nonprofit
organizations to avoid excessive travel costs.
Concerning awareness initiatives in the Public Education Department (PED), PED must first
preview any materials created in order to ensure age-appropriateness. PED has specific health
standards and benchmarks for teaching all students about health issues. This pilot program would
need to align with those standards.
According to the New Mexico Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Active Case Ascertainment
Study:
-
FAS is a chronic yet preventable condition
-
Children with FAS are frequently involved in Child Protective Services and special
education
81% of women in New Mexico reported some knowledge of FAS, yet 19% feel that one, two or
more drinks a day will not harm a developing fetus.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
HB 523 relates to the Governor’s policy initiative Healthy New Mexico Goal 2: Improve Health
Outcomes and Family Support for New Mexicans.
DOH suggests performance measures could include the number of public awareness
presentations on FAS, the percent of positive response by the public, and the percent of mothers
who drink during pregnancy.
The expected outcomes, numbers of youth, numbers of participating communities, or changes in
behavior (increase or decrease) are not identified.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
Although CYFD is the administrative agency for this bill, PED staff would have to preview any
materials created.
If passed, the bill will have a slight administrative impact on children, youth and families
department that the bill does not address.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
None at this time.
pg_0003
House Bill 523 – Page
3
TECHNICAL ISSUES
The phrase “target health areas" is not defined.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
Department of Health provided the following data:
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a brain malformation of a developing fetus caused by the
mother’s use of alcohol during pregnancy; there are no known “safe" amounts of alcohol
during pregnancy. FAS is a condition characterized by abnormal facial features, growth
retardation, and central nervous system problems. One of every 1,000 children born in New
Mexico has FAS. The incidence of alcohol related birth defects in New Mexico is 1 in 100
births.
(
http://casaa.unm.edu/PreventFAS/NM_Data.htm
)
FAS is the only completely preventable birth defect. Use of alcohol just before pregnancy
may be a problem because women might not be aware of a pregnancy in the earliest weeks.
In the period 2000-2003 - during the three months before pregnancy - an estimated 19% of
lower income mothers drank frequently compared to 16% of those not at lower income. In
the last 3 months of pregnancy, 4.2% of lower income mothers drank any amount compared
to 5.3% of mothers not at lower income. Less than 1% of mothers who drank frequently or
binge drank had access to and used a program to quit drinking.
www.health.state.nm.us/phd/prams/home.html
The DOH Office of Disability and Health has funded an FAS prevention project at the
University of New Mexico (UNM) Center for Alcohol, Substance Abuse and Addictions
(CASAA) since 1996. In 2003, the project, in conjunction with the UNM School of
Medicine Department of Pediatrics, produced the 30-minute FAS awareness and prevention
video I Don’t Want My Daughter to Hate Me. The project has distributed more than 10,000
copies of the video in New Mexico and the country and has bought airtime on network and
cable channels in New Mexico. Other projects include teen peer education, a school-based
program for parenting teens (GRADS), FAS information in county marriage license packets,
FAS conferences, and videos and other education programs in the schools. To minimize
duplication, the program proposed in HB523 would need to coordinate with already existing
programs.
FAS affects 1 per 1000 births in New Mexico. The rate increases among Native American
tribes from 1.8 to 3.09 per 1000 births. (
http://casaa.unm.edu/PreventFAS/NM_Data.htm
)
ALTERNATIVES
$350 thousand dollars for a statewide awareness pilot project might not be sufficient. The bill
also states that CYFD is to contract with a
nonprofit organization. It may be more efficient to
contract with several nonprofit organizations spread throughout the state to avoid excessive
travel and administrative costs.
DL/csd