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

SPONSOR Tripp

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/19/07

HB 895

SHORT TITLE Socorro Healthy Family Initiatives

SB

ANALYST Geisler

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$100.0

Recurring

General

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 895 would appropriate $100,000 to the Public Health Division (PHD) of the

Department of Health (DOH) for healthy families initiatives in Socorro County. Any

unexpended balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall revert to the general fund.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation included in this bill is not part of the Department’s FY08 operating budget

request.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Under the County Maternal and Child Health Plan Act (CMCH Plan Act), the DOH funds

county/community-based health councils, including one in Socorro County. Funding in the FY08

agency budget request is $2,822,708 for services related to the County Maternal and Child

Health Act.

The health council recognized by the County Commission is Socorro County Options,

Prevention and Education (SCOPE.). The Socorro General Hospital Healthy Families Initiative

House Bill 895 – Page

2

(formerly Maternal and Child Health Program) serves as a sub-council of SCOPE, and received

$50,000 in FY 07 to provide direct services for prenatal case management, family

enrichment/health classes, and other services to underserved high-risk populations. This

funding, along with an additional $71,000 (for a total of $121,000) for coordination to SCOPE, is

being administered through the DOH under the CMCH Plan Act in FY07.

Funds related to the Maternal and Child Health Plan Act and administered through DOH include

funds for direct services for women of childbearing ages and their families.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

DOH notes that Socorro County consistently has a lower per capita income ($16,206) than the

State of New Mexico ($23,081), which is already lower than the national average. About 28% of

the County population lives in poverty versus 18.2% in the State. The income disparity is

particularly noticeable in children, as 40% of children in the County live in poverty compared to

26.4% for the State. Additionally, Socorro County is almost twice as high as the State in TANF

(Socorro = 1.3% vs. State = 0.9%) and Medicaid (Socorro C= 7.2% vs. State = 3.9%) recipients

(2003 Socorro County Health Profile, NM Vital Records and Health Statistics).

GG/mt