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

SPONSOR McSorley

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/21/08

HB

SHORT TITLE Camino Nuevo Facility for Women

SJM 14

ANALYST Peery-Galon

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY08

FY09

FY10 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$0.1

$0.1 Recurring General

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD)

New Mexico Sentencing Commission (NMSC)

No Responses Received From

Commission on the Status of Women

New Mexico Corrections Department

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Joint Memorial 14 requests that the secretary of the New Mexico Corrections

Department, the warden of the Camino Nuevo Correctional Center, Corrections Corporation of

America and other contractors at the facility to collaborate with the New Mexico Women’s

Justice Project, and to allow the New Mexico Women’s Justice project and other relevant

members of the community, as selected or approved by the New Mexico Women’s Justice

Project, to assist in transforming the environment at Camino Nuevo. This is to include assistance

in educational and vocational training, community and family reintegration, mother-child

bonding, employment opportunities, behavioral health services and modifications of the physical

environment at Camino Nuevo to meet the goals of the successful low-security facility for

women.

The joint memorial directs the New Mexico Corrections Department to examine and, if

necessary, renegotiate the contracts to better address the goals of transforming the Camino

Nuevo Correctional Center into a model facility for successful reintegration of women.

The joint memorial directs the secretary of the New Mexico Corrections Department, warden of

the Camino Nuevo Correctional Center and the New Mexico Women’s Justice Project to report

Senate Joint Memorial 14 – Page 2

to the appropriate interim legislative committee during the 2008 interim on the progress of this

collaborative process and on any changes or improvements made to the environment and

services at the facility.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

There is an unknown potential fiscal impact if the contracts with Corrections Corporation of

America are renegotiated for the Camino Nuevo and New Mexico Women’s Correctional

Facility.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The New Mexico Women’s Justice Project’s website reports is a non-profit organization that

seeks to eliminate a broad range of systemic barriers to social, economic and political justice

faced by women, girls and their families in New Mexico. The project focuses on women and

girls whose lives are affected by the criminal justice, delinquency and child welfare systems.

The New Mexico Women’s Justice Project notes the following accomplishments in providing

technical assistance to legislators and agency personnel concerning introduction and passage of

legislation: legislation to stream line the process of voter registration allowing convicted felons

to regain their voting rights, appropriation of $130,000 for community corrections housing in

Albuquerque and Santa Fe, reauthorization of $165,000 for building a family visitation center for

children and their inmate mothers, and supported legislation for a pilot project for opiate

replacement for incarcerated women.

NMCD states that the joint memorial erroneously assumes that Camino Nuevo is not a low

security facility and that the department somehow needs the help of the Women’s Justice Project

to operate the Camino Nuevo facility. NMCD reports the department already works with the

American Correctional Association (ACA) in order to make sure that it complies with ACA

national standards for the safe and efficient operation of Camino Nuevo. ACA recently audited

and accredited Camino Nuevo, finding it to be in 100 percent compliance of all mandatory and

nonmandatory standards. NMCD reports that the ACA auditors interviewed almost all of the 32

female residents at Camino Nuevo. These female offenders spoke very positively about living in

Camino Nuevo, and reported they felt very safe there. NMCD notes that the ACA audit occurred

after the allegations of sexual misconduct against one former Camino Nuevo correctional officer.

NMCD reports it is working with and seeking technical assistance from the National Institute of

Corrections (NIC), a nationally recognized group comprised of correctional experts, to ensure

that NMCD’s female correctional facilities are operated in a gender specific fashion. NMCD

reports if NIC makes recommendations to the secretary regarding changes to the operation of

Camino Nuevo or the New Mexico Women’s Correctional Facility, the secretary will follow

those recommendations to the extent feasible.

NMCD notes Secretary Williams is scheduled to attend a 36-hour NIC training program

regarding the operational practices in women’s prison. Helen Carr, NMCD’s Deputy Director of

Female Offender Services, will also be attending the NIC gender specific training. The training

will include, among other things, gender differences as those related to treatment, classification,

programs and services. NMCD notes that Ms. Carr has received intensive NIC training entitled

“An Agency Approach to Gender Specific Programming", and her article “A Women-Centered

Approach for Female Offenders in New Mexico" was published in the August 2007 issue of

ACA’s Corrections Today Magazine. Also, NMCD reports that Gender Specific Trauma

Senate Joint Memorial 14 – Page 3

Informed Training is already being provided to staff working with female offenders.

NMSC states it is unknown if the initiative in the proposed legislation would fit in the future

plans and performance measures of the NM Corrections Department. NMSC also notes that the

tasks included in the proposed legislation are fairly extensive.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Senate Joint Memorial 14 has a relationship to House Joint Memorial 10 and House Memorial 3.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

NMCD reports that unfortunately, the members of the New Mexico Women’s Justice Project

tend to interact with NMCD and Camino Nuevo staff in a suspicious, adversarial style. NMCD

states this makes it difficult, if not impossible, for NMCD and Camino Nuevo staff to truly

collaborate with the Women’s Justice Project in any meaningful fashion. NMCD reports that

National Institute of Corrections (NIC) and American Correctional Association (ACA) staff

interacts with NMCD and Camino Nuevo staff in an objective, professional manner, and those

entities are comprised of nationally recognized correctional experts. NMCD states if the

members of the Women’s Justice Project choose to work with NMCD and Camino Nuevo staff

in a professional, collaborative manner, then the department will welcome their input on issues

of gender specific programming. NMCD notes to the extend that any recommendations made by

the Women’s Justice Project differ or conflict with those made by ACA or NIC, the department

is going to favor the recommendations of ACA or NIC.

RPG/bb