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

SPONSOR Miera, R.

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/29/08

HB 556

SHORT TITLE Southeast Albuquerque Youth Drug Treatment

SB

ANALYST Propst

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$40.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 556, making an Appropriation for a Drug Treatment Program for Troubled Youth in

Southeast Albuquerque, appropriates $40.0 thousand from the general fund for drug treatment

programs.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $40.0 thousand contained in this bill is a 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

CYFD notes that nationally, drug offense cases accounted for 12% of the delinquency caseload

in 2004, compared with 7% in 1985. Between 1991 and 2004, the number of cases involving

drug offenses that juvenile courts handled more than doubled. In 2004, juvenile courts formally

processed 58% of drug offense cases. Between 1985 and 2004, the number of drug offense cases

handled with the filing of a petition for adjudication increased 251% (from 31,800 to 111,500).

In 2004, 1.3% of formally handled drug cases were judicially waived to criminal court,

House Bill 556 – Page

2

accounting for 15% of all delinquency cases waived in that year. The majority (68%) of

formally processed drug cases in 2004 resulted in the juvenile being adjudicated delinquent.

In New Mexico, data from the Juvenile Justice Services Data Unit, CYFD show in 2008 (year to

date), in Bernalillo County 760 (17%) of 4594 juvenile offenses referred to juvenile justice

services were drug or alcohol related. This compared with 1772 (15%) of 11,503 juvenile

offenses referred to juvenile justice services were drug or alcohol related in FY07. Of youth on

probation, data shows in the first six months of fiscal year 2008, there were 1,591 probation

violation charges statewide. 301 (19%) of the probation violation charges were for alcohol or

drugs. In Bernalillo County during the same time period there were 573 probation violation

charges. 84 (15%) of probation violations were for alcohol or drugs.

The 2003 – 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) indicated that 6.1% of

12-17 year olds in Bernalillo County were in need of treatment for illicit drugs but not receiving

any compared to 5.9% of 12-17 year olds statewide.

The 2005 New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (YRRS), Bernalillo County Report,

NMDOH, NMPED, and UNM Health Promotion & Disease Prevention, is the primary

surveillance tool in New Mexico for high school student risk behaviors and protective factors

and is administered statewide every two years to all the school districts in the state who volunteer

to participate. Students in grades 9-12 self-report on a variety of measures. The response rate in

Bernalillo County for 2005 was 65%. According to comparisons between 2001 to 2005, current

marijuana use increased from 27% to 31%, first marijuana use at less than 13 years old increased

from 17% to 22%, past 30 day cocaine use increased from 3% to 10%, heroin and meth had no

data from 2001, but had 4% and 6% respectively in 2005. Finally, inhalants increased from 2%

to 8%. Another variable was injection of illegal drugs in lifetime, and that increased from 4%

to 6%.

According to Nina Shah, Epidemiologist, Epidemiology and Response Division, NMDOH, the

Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) data show from 2002 - 2006 there were 15

unintentional drug overdose deaths between age 12 – 17 statewide, and 8 of those 15 (53%) were

in Bernalillo County. The rest represented 1 death each in 7 counties. The drugs represented in

the Bernalillo County deaths were combinations of cocaine and meth, cocaine and barbiturates,

and various prescription drugs.

ALTERNATIVES

CYFD suggests

that c

onsistent with state agency funding for similar drug treatment programs, the

appropriation for HB556 could be directed to the Behavioral Health Collaborative rather than

DFA.

WEP/jp

FY08 Probation Violation Referral Charges

Probation Violation

Probation Violation

–

Alcohol/Drugs

Statewide

1,591

301

Bernalillo County

573

84

N

ote that the counts above are not of referrals, but rather of charges associated with referrals.