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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR King
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/18/08
HB 162
SHORT TITLE CYFD Child Care Program Eligibility
SB
ANALYST Lucero
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY08
FY09
$3,800.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates SB188
Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)
FY08
FY09
FY10 3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
Total
$64.4
$64.4
$128.8 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 162 appropriates $3.8 million from the general fund to Children, Youth and Families
to increase eligibility for the child care program and increase provider rates. The bill specifies
$2.8 million is to expand eligibility for child care programs to two hundred percent of the federal
poverty level (FPL) and $1.0 million is to increase the reimbursement rate for licensed child care
providers.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
pg_0002
House Bill 162 – Page
2
The appropriation of $3.8 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any
unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of 2009 shall revert to the general
fund.
This appropriation is not included in the Executive recommendation.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Currently, CYFD assists working families earning up to 165 percent of the federal poverty level
(FPL) by helping them pay for the high cost of quality child care through full or partial payments
(offset by co-payments) to providers chosen by the family. Assistance is based primarily on the
income of working families, the hours that parents are involved in work or an approved training
or education experience, and the amount of child care needed.
The Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) projects $2.8 million could serve 882
new clients by increase eligibility from 165 percent to 200 percent of FPL in FY09.
Approximately $6.2 million would be required in FY10 to remain at 200% FPL without running
waiting lists. The increase in FY10 over the FY09 estimated cost is the direct result of the
program “ramping up" to serve additional families who would be eligible for child care at 200
percent of the FPL, and then continuing to serve these families in FY10.
Funding for expanded eligibility and increasing the reimbursement rate for licensed child care
providers was not included in the Executive recommendation.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
CYFD maintains performance measures focusing on the number of children served through the
child care assistance program as well as measures focusing on the quality of child care received
by subsidized children.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
An increase in funding for childcare assistance to two hundred percent of the federal poverty
level would require two additional eligibility interviewers at an estimated annual cost of
$128,800. Funding for these additional staff is not contained in this bill.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
Duplicates SB188.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
None identified.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
None identified.
ALTERNATIVES
pg_0003
House Bill 162 – Page
3
None identified.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
Status quo.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
None at this time.
DL/nt