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

SPONSOR Park

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/18/08

HB 192

SHORT TITLE Bernalillo Guardianship Program Study

SB

ANALYST Propst

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$200.0

Non-recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Companion to SB 169

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

HB 192, Making an Appropriation to Contract for a Feasibility Study of a Permanent Program in

Bernalillo County that Monitors Guardianships and Conservatorships, appropriates $200 thou-

sand from the general fund to the Department of Finance and Administration for the purpose of

conducting a study of the feasibility of a permanent program in Bernalillo County that ensures

the safety and well being of the population under the protection of guardianships and conserva-

torships.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $200 thousand contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the gen-

eral fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY09 shall revert

to the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to the Administrative Office of the Courts, the pilot program would involve the re-

view of 500 randomly selected guardianships and conservatorships in Bernalillo County through

the use of special limited visitors. A statewide monitoring program, including budgetary rec-

ommendations, could then be developed based upon the information collected. In the process,

the measure would provide immediate benefit to the hundreds of adults under guardianship

whose cases are reviewed.

House Bill 192 – Page 2

The Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) notes that the bill does not indicate

whether the target population for the monitoring of guardianships and conservatorships includes

both children and adults. While both guardianships and conservatorships are established for vul-

nerable adults, guardianships may also be established for children. Currently, the New Mexico

Children’s Code and the Probate Code have provisions for the establishment of guardianships for

children.

This bill does not require the creation of a program, but only that a study is conducted to deter-

mine the feasibility of the creation of such a program.

CYFD further noted that the Adult Protective Services Act contains provisions for the investiga-

tion of the abuse, neglect and/or exploitation of vulnerable adults and would provide a mecha-

nism to assess and protect vulnerable adults served through guardianship or conservatorship if

there were allegations of maltreatment or exploitation. Aging and Long Term Services Depart-

ment conducts adult protective services investigations.

The Office of Guardianship reports that it is not involved with conservatorships.

This study was among the recommendations of the recent HJM 34 Guardianship Task Force Fi-

nal Report (dated Oct. 19, 2007) – but only regarding guardianship, and not related to conserva-

torships. The Office of Guardianship coordinated this Task Force with the contract support by

Protection & Advocacy.

The Office of Guardianship contract guardians are only a small subset (about 10%) of the overall

total number of guardians that also include family and private pay guardians.

The Task Force, as required by the Memorial, invited representatives from the developmental

disabilities planning council, the administrative office of the courts, the adult protective services

division of the aging and long-term services department, the department of health, other appro-

priate state agencies, New Mexico district court judges, the New Mexico guardianship associa-

tion, the protection and advocacy system, the senior citizens law office, individual and corporate

guardians, elders, individuals with disabilities, advocates or other representatives of elders or

adults with disabilities and other interested individuals.

COMPANIONSHIP

SB 169

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