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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Ryan
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2/11/07
HB
SHORT TITLE Services to Homeless Children
SB 583
ANALYST Lucero
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$150.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to SB 171 and SB 586
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)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 583 appropriates one hundred fifty thousand ($150,000) from the general fund to
Children, Youth and Families Department for expenditure in fiscal year 2008 to provide services
to homeless children in Bernalillo county.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of one hundred fifty thousand ($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 2008 shall revert to the general fund.
The appropriation in this bill is not part of the Children, Youth and Families Department’s
request and is not included in the Executive recommendation for Children, Youth and Families
Department.
pg_0002
Senate Bill 583 – Page
2
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
In 2006, approximately 500 children were in substitute care in CYFD Protective Services in
Bernalillo County as a result of abuse or neglect. Three hundred substantiated allegations of
physical neglect occurred in Bernalillo County. Services to homeless families, including medical
and educational services, could prevent some children coming into the state’s foster care system.
The appropriation is intended for services in Bernalillo County only. The bill does not specify
what type of services the appropriation is intended to cover.
Children and youths have to be free from segregation, isolation and stigmatization (Title VII-B
of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 USC 11431 et seq.)).
Children and youths have to have comparable access to school meals, English language services,
vocational and technical education, special education (including gifted) and Title 1 services
(Title VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 USC 11431 et seq.)).
•
The 2005-06 PED data collection report to the federal government included 4,966
reported homeless children and youths that where served by the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Education Program.
•
Barriers to the education of New Mexico’s homeless children and youth include school
selection, transportation, school records, immunization/medical records and lack of
affordable housing.
•
Homeless children get sick four times as often as children in middle class families (Kids’
Corner: Facts about homelessness, (
http://www.nationalhomeless.org
).
•
Homeless children go hungry twice as often as other children (Kids’ Corner: Facts about
homelessness, (
http://www.nationalhomeless.org
).
•
Homeless children have more mental health problems than other children, but less than
one-third receives treatment (Kids’ Corner: Facts about homelessness,
(
http://www.nationalhomeless.org
).
•
Most homeless families are made up of a young, single mother and two young children.
A worker earning minimum wage would have to work 97 hours a week to pay the rent of
an average two-bedroom apartment (Kids’ Corner: Facts about homelessness,
(
http://www.nationalhomeless.org
).
The waiting period for public housing averages one to two years. For programs that help to pay
for part of the families’ rent, the wait is even longer (Kids’ Corner: Facts about homelessness,
(
http://www.nationalhomeless.org
).
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
Expanding funding for homelessness programs statewide may assist homeless youths in meeting
the state’s academic standards and potentially close the achievement gap.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
If passed, the bill will have a slight administrative impact on CYFD which the bill does not
address.
pg_0003
Senate Bill 583 – Page
3
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
Relates to SB 171 and SB 586
TECHNICAL ISSUES
The bill does not address the type of services to be provided to homeless children.
The appropriation is limited to services in Bernalillo County.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
According to a study by the Better Homes Fund, homeless children:
•
Have four times the rate of delayed development;
•
Are in special education programs at a rate three times higher than other children;
•
Are suspended twice as often as non-homeless children;
•
Attend an average of two different schools in a single year.
•
Four times as many respiratory infections;
•
Five times as many stomach and diarrheal infections;
•
Twice as many emergency hospitalizations;
•
Six times as many speech and stammering problems;
•
Four times the rate of asthma as non-homeless children.
Information from the committee on temporary shelter state:
(
http://www.cotsonline.org/homeless_kids.html
)
Every day, homeless children are confronted with stressful, often traumatic events. As these
painful experiences continue throughout their young lives, these children are indelibly shaped
and sometimes scarred. The stress has profound effects on the cognitive and emotional
development of homeless children, as indicated below.
•
More than one-fifth of homeless children between 3 and 6 years have serious
emotional problems requiring professional care.
•
Homeless children aged 6 to 17 years struggle with high rates of mental health
problems.
•
Less than one-third of homeless children are receiving mental health treatment
they need.
The causes of child abuse are complex, but there is substantial evidence that poverty is
associated with child maltreatment (Drake and Pandey). Exposure to violence injures
children and destroys their sense of self and family. Combining homelessness with violence
is even more detrimental, since homeless children have fewer tools to recover from the
trauma of such violence. Other troubling facts include the following…
•
More than half of homeless school-aged children (57%) were witness to or victims
of violence in their households or communities. (Stern & Nunez)
•
Domestic violence is alarmingly prevalent among homeless families--affecting
63% of homeless parents. (Stern & Nunez).
pg_0004
Senate Bill 583 – Page
4
•
Just over 60% of homeless single mothers grew up in the foster care system.
ALTERNATIVES
Provide funding for a statewide program for homeless children.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
Expansion for homeless programs statewide may not be provided. This program has an indirect
link to addressing the student health, wellness and academic achievement of homeless children.
DL/csd