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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
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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