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

 

 

 

SPONSOR:

Sanchez, B.

 

DATE TYPED:

 2/03/03

 

 

 

SHORT TITLE:

Adult Mental Health Court Program

 

SB

131

 

 

ANALYST:

Hayes

 

APPROPRIATION

 

Appropriation Contained

Estimated Additional Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY03

FY04

FY03

FY04

 

 

 

$430.5

 

 

Recurring

General Fund

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

 

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

 

Responses Received From

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court (BCMC)

Health Policy Commission

 

SUMMARY

 

     Synopsis of Bill

 

Senate Bill 124 appropriates $430,500 to establish a mental health court at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.  A portion of the appropriation also provides funding to the district attorneys and public defender in Albuquerque.  A group of trained professionals will work with offenders arrested for misdemeanors and assist in their release from jail into the community.  The mental health activity will assist the offender by setting up appropriate community resources the offender may need to ensure that the public is safe, the offender is receiving proper care, and their incarceration in jail is minimal.

 

     Significant Issues

 

1.      It is unclear whether the court should be providing such services.  Mental health evaluations and arranging for aftercare when released from jail are not standard court functions.   It seems that the Human Services Department and Corrections Department already provides mental health evaluation and related services for offenders, along with federal, local and community health service agencies.

2.      According to the Bernalillo County Detention Center, a mentally ill offender spends nine month due to evaluation versus six months jurisdiction on misdemeanor cases.  A Crisis Intervention Team established by the Albuquerque Police Department has trained officers to deal with mental illness issues.  A Forensic Intervention Consortium has also been established in Bernalillo County through the National Association of the Mentally Ill to address the issues of the mentally ill offender.  This group consists of interested citizens and professionals in the community who work with the Crisis Intervention Team to provide assistance.

 

3.      According to AOC, the program will assist 300 to 350 offenders by providing the proper assessment to determine the offenders’ needs upon incarceration.  This will speed up the process for their safe release into the community.  If the offender needs medication, a doctor will have the prescription ready upon the offender’s release at the University of New Mexico’s Mental Health Unit.  A caseworker will also assist the offender upon release.

 

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

 

The appropriation of $430.5 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.  Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2004 shall revert to the general fund.

 

Here is a table delineating the appropriation amount to each agency noted in the bill:

 

BERNALILLO COUNTY APPROPRIATIONS

 

AGENY:

Appropriation to  Metro Court

Appropriation to District Attorney

Appropriation to Public Defender Dept

TOTAL

AMOUNT:

$215,900

$101,400

$113,200

$430,500

 

 

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

 

The appropriation includes sufficient staff to oversee the program.  BCMC’s court administration will oversee the budgeting and personnel.  The program is designed to have the same judge and team members assigned to the case from start to end to provide consistency and stability for the offender.

 

QUESTIONS

 

1.      What role do the District Attorney and Public Defender’s Offices play in this mental health issue?  Explain their proposed funding in this legislation.

 

2.      Why is the court performing mental health functions instead of the Bernalillo County Detention Center?

 

   CMH/yr