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

SPONSOR Cote

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

01/22/08

HB 123

SHORT TITLE Safe House Act

SB

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$4,100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Human Services Department (HSD)

Public Education Department (PED)

Department of Corrections (DOC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 123 appropriates $4.1 million from the general fund to The Human Services

Department for the purpose of establishing the Safe House Act to ensure that persons who need

behavioral health support who do not need hospitalization have access to an appropriate level of

such support in the least restrictive environment. HB 123 also appropriates $4.1 million to HSD

to establish 5 statewide safe house pilot programs under the Safe House Act.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $4.1 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.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

In addition, HSD is to provide by rule for training and credentialing of a peer support specialist;

provided that each peer support specialist has experienced urgent behavioral health needs and

House Bill 123 – Page

2

shall be certified as completing training in de-escalation techniques, cultural competency, race

relations, the recovery process and avoidance of aggressive confrontation prior to working at a

safe house.

HSD is to administer one or more safe houses in each of the state's four geographic quadrants

and one safe house dedicated to serving the Native American population in the northwest part of

the state, as funds permit, or at least one safe house site in a rural area on a pilot program basis.

A safe house is authorized to:

•

serve both those eligible and not eligible for federal medical assistance programs;

•

be staffed twenty-four hours a day by one or more peer support specialists and shall

employ a full-time licensed clinician and a part-time psychiatric consultant;

•

include peer support in helping residents perform daily public living skills and reentry

into independent living;

•

offer a mix of therapeutic services, including nontraditional tools for wellness and

traditional behavioral health services; and

•

accept a resident, funds permitting, on a first-come, first-served basis; provided that no

resident shall live at a safe house except for a short term.

While the program is described as pilot the need is recurring and is noted as such in the

appropriation section.

HSD notes the following questions and concerns:

•

Cost of Service: The Department through the Behavioral Health Collaborative would

need to define the specific minimal staffing requirements for heath, safety and clinical

supervision at each pilot site. Potential provides would then be required to meet those

requirements in response to an RFP. Additionally, the costs of food, physical plant,

furnishings, facility services, insurance, licensing costs, medications; access to medical

services, will all have to be considered by programs proposing to deliver the services.

Without that being developed we are not able to determine at this point if the

appropriation contained in the bill will support 5 sites.

•

Licensing: as written, Safe Houses may be subject to DOH Licensing Regulations for

Adult Residential Facilities which require health and safety issues be addressed

•

Liability: including injury or death of resident, staff, visitors or others;

•

Zoning: Many communities restrict the co-habitation of more then 5 unrelated adults in

single family residences, meaning that Safe Houses might have to be zoned in a category

other than single family;

•

Staffing: HB123 calls for a new range of training and certification of peer support

specialists in New Mexico. The proposal is consistent with some model programs in

other states using peer support specialists for pre- and post-crisis and residential support.

HB123 also calls HSD to provide by rule for training and credentialing of a peer support

specialists and for additional training in specific topics. Currently Certified Peer Support

specialists are not currently certified or trained to provide residential services in

unsupervised settings with persons with urgent behavioral health needs.

•

Eligibility and Referral Process: the Safe House Act does not establish eligibility beyond

“first come-first served", does not account for individuals with co-occurring or substance

House Bill 123 – Page

3

use disorder; is silent on cultural competency issues and does not specify the referral

process;

•

Transition Planning: The Safe House Act limits residency to 12 weeks, but is unclear

about how often a person could return in a year. Additional issues include accessing

other housing options upon release, especially for residents without incomes. Another

issue is the integration of on-going recovery supports upon discharge.

MW/mt