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

SPONSOR Rodella

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/22/08

HB 279

SHORT TITLE Taos County YouthBuild Program

SB

ANALYST Propst

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$215.0

Non-recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)

Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 279, Making an Appropriation for the Taos County YouthBuild Program,

appropriates $215.0 thousand from the general fund to DFA to support the Taos County

YouthBuild Program.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $215.0 thousand contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the

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

revert to the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to CYFD,

YouthBuild is a US Department of Housing and Urban Development-

sponsored program that supports education and employment training for high-risk youth.

Participants construct and/or rehabilitate affordable housing for low-income and/or homeless

persons and families. The Taos County YouthBuild program provides alternative education to

low income at-risk youth and young adults ages 16 to 24 years, helps them prepare for their

House Bill 279 – Page

2

GED, teaches life skills such as financial management, and trains them in construction skills.

Since the program's inception in Taos County, 61 trainees have earned their GED; 64 trainees

have found either gainful employment or been accepted into continuing education; and 21 homes

and 40 apartments have been built or refurbished.

DFA added that

the 2005 US Bureau of Census estimates the poverty rate in Taos County at

20.9% while the national rate is estimated at 12.4%. The unemployment rate of 16-19 year olds

is 10.6% and of 20-24 years olds is 14.2%. The national unemployment average is 6.9%. Taos

County had the fifth highest unemployment ranking in the state. The number of 18-24 years olds

without a high school diploma in Taos County is at 29% while the national average is at 19.6%.

The goals of the YouthBuild program are to address the core issues with low income rural living

in northern New Mexico by providing education development, employment, housing and

leadership skills to at-risk youth in Taos County.

The YouthBuild Program has been in existence for ten years. The program delivers services for

20 youth per program cycle (6-12 months). 90% of the trainees who graduate from the program

are placed into relevant jobs, or apprenticeship programs or continued education. 71 trainees

obtained their GED in the last seven years. Through collaboration with other entities in Taos

County, this program has helped to build 20 homes and 40 apartments for low income citizens in

Taos County. The program recently sold their first home that was built from the ground up

solely by trainees. The income generated from this sale, will be turned around into the start up

costs for the next project. This will make the construction program sustainable, but the program

needs funding for operational costs.

Up until now, funding for the YouthBuild program was provided through HUD. This year the

funding was appropriated through DOL and this program, along with many other rural programs,

was not selected for continued funding. The program will be applying for funding from other

sources into the future, but because of the short notice of not being selected for federal funding,

this program needs assistance from this legislature to bridge the current gap in funding and keep

the program operational.

DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

SB 282; HB 139; HB 282

WEP/mt