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

SPONSOR Papen

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/18/08

HB

SHORT TITLE Dona Ana Crisis Triage Services

SB 97

ANALYST Propst

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$1,500.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to SB 98

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Human Services Department (HSD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 97 makes an Appropriation for Crisis Triage Services for the Mentally Ill in Dona

Ana County, appropriates $1.5 million from the general fund to the Department of Finance and

Administration for the purpose of to implement a crisis triage center to provide care and

professional assessment services in a fully staffed bed space facility in Dona Ana County.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $1.5 million 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.

The Human Services Department (HSD) noted that the appropriation is not in the Executive

Budget and that the $1.5 million requested is more than the $1.4 million estimated in the SJM 34

Study Group Report estimated needed for all three of the community based psychiatric crisis

response components recommended for first priority in Dona Ana County. HSD also noted that

further clarification may be needed about whether the amount requested is wholly for operational

expenses or is intended to combine both capital and operational needs. Any monies expended in

operational needs would need to be recurring

.

Senate Bill 97 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

In addition to the comments noted above, HSD reported that SB 97 recommends three priority

community based services: crisis residential, support to law enforcement and mobile crisis. The

funding recommended for all three services at this time was $1.45 million. The bill describes a

crisis residential service and aims to establish a system by which mentally ill residents of Dona

Ana County who are in psychiatric crisis and have committed a misdemeanor offence can be

diverted from the jail to an alternative program where they can be housed, receive psychiatric

evaluation, medications as needed and redirected back into the community if possible or on to

mere intensive care.

The Senate Joint Memorial 34 Study Group noted that without short term residential services,

called by some a “drop –off center", the effectiveness of a recently established Mobile Crisis

Team will be rendered ineffective. The SJM 34 Study Group recommended that a “drop-off

“center be included in the services needed to have a comprehensive community based psychiatric

crisis system in Dona Ana County.

Any such crisis residential service or facility would need to be carefully planned and

implemented if it were include any Medicaid billable services. It is not clear from SB 97

whether the services proposed or the facility proposed would require continuing General Fund

appropriations in future years. HSD suggested that it is critical that the proposed crisis triage not

be in a facility that would preclude Medicaid reimbursement.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

Senate Bill 97 does not indicate whether the appropriation is to be a government to government

transfer through the Department of Finance.

WEP/nt