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

SPONSOR M.J. Garcia

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/10/07

HB

SHORT TITLE Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

SB 625

ANALYST Lucero

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$250.0

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)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 625 appropriates two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) from the General

Fund to Children, Youth and Families Department for expenditure in 2008 to provide services to

grandparents who are raising their grandchildren in Dona Ana County.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of two hundred fifty thousand ($250,000) 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 of Children, Youth and Families

Department.

Senate Bill 625 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

New Mexico ranks 7

th

highest among other states in the percentage of children under age 18

living in a household headed by a grandparent. Grandparents raising their grandchildren are

often underserved in the community as they are not eligible for many entitlement or social

services, and don’t have the financial resources available for non-relative foster care. Typically

these families have low incomes and the grandchildren suffer from higher levels of

developmental and behavioral disabilities and other challenges. Funding for community-based

programs that support grandparents raising their grandchildren will improve the chances that

children remain with their family members when their parents are incapable of caring for them.

Increased funding for program development may result in fewer children being placed into the

foster care system. CYFD does not administer any programs serving this population. The Aging

and Long-Term Services Department and several other organizations do provide support for this

population.

The appropriation is intended for services in Dona Ana County only.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

Although not directly related to any existing CYFD performance measure, the bill could

positively impact the placement permanency of children living with their grandparents.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

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 identified.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

None identified.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

Other areas of the state are also in need of additional support services for grandparents raising

their grandchildren.

According to the U.S. 2000 Census, there almost 2.5 million households with grandparents

raising their grandchildren. Fifty-seven percent of grandparents raising their grandchildren are

still in the work force and 17% are living in poverty.

In New Mexico, there are 41,085 children living in grandparent-headed households (8.1% of all

the children in the state). There are another 10,572 children living in households headed by other

relatives (2.1% of all the children in the state).

Senate Bill 625 – Page

3

In New Mexico, 54,041 grandparents report they are responsible for their grandchildren living

with them [4,272 in Albuquerque]: 2% of these grandparents are African American; 53% are

Hispanic/Latino; 20% are American Indian or Alaskan Native; and 23% are White. 30% of these

grandparents live in households without the children’s parents present."

ALTERNATIVES

Expand the geographic area to include other areas of the state.

The appropriation may be more suited for the aged network if it was made to the Aging and

Long Term Care Department.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

Status quo.

DL/csd