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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.
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2/4/06
HB
SHORT TITLE 2
nd
Judicial District Mental Health Program
SB 139
ANALYST McSherry
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY06
FY07
$250.7
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Senate Bill 139 relates to Senate Bill 136.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 139 appropriates $250,700 from the general fund to the 2
nd
Judicial District Court for
the purpose of funding salary and benefits for a mental health diversion services supervisor, a
family counselor, probation officers, mental health supervised release specialists and a judicial
specialist in an adult mental health program in the second judicial district.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $250,700 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.
Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2006 shall revert
to the general fund.
The cost of incarcerating mentally ill offenders in jail will be reduced substantially due to their
earlier release from jail and effective use of existing resources in the community.
The state will likely avoid future costs as the program successfully serves more clients.
pg_0002
Senate Bill 139 – Page
2
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The mental health program at the 2
nd
Judicial District has only existed during fiscal year 2006; it
received funding during the 2005 legislative session for a program director and court psycholo-
gist.
According to the 2
nd
District Court, the funds included in Senate Bill 139 would not be sufficient
to hire all the positions proposed (family counselor, probation officers, mental health supervised
release specialists and a judicial specialist). The court asserts that the amount which would fully
fund all the positions is $488.2 thousand.
The purpose of the mental health program would be to reduce the incidents of arrest and incar-
ceration of repeat offenders with mental illness using the Court to mandate appropriate treatment
rather than incarceration.
The program could avoid future costs to the State by using court supervision rather than proba-
tion and prison.
The program would provide services to families including parental training, and mental health
education; clients would also be referred to other community service providers.
According to AOC:
•
Referrals are made by criminal justice agencies, treatment providers, law enforcement,
private attorneys and the community; (i.e., family members).
•
All referrals are presented to the mental health court team for eligibility review and
acceptance into the program.
•
Individuals accepted into the program voluntarily enter into a plea or diversion agreement
before a judge.
•
Participants are strictly supervised in order to ensure compliance with the Court’s orders
which include mandatory treatment.
•
Program participants must appear before a Judge every month to report on their
compliance. They are accompanied by the assigned court supervision specialist and their
case manager.
•
If a person fails to comply, he or she could be immediately incarcerated for
noncompliance.
•
An acknowledgment ceremony is conducted for participants completing the program. For
many, completion and acknowledgment is an uncommon experience. Participants receive
a certificate of completion signed by the judge and the supervising agent.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
The judiciary has not proposed performance measures and targets for the mental health court in
the 2
nd
District.
The desired outcome of the program would be the reduction in recidivism for participants in the
program and reduced mental health-related crime.
The AOC suggests that the bill could have an impact on the measures of the district courts in the
following areas: cases disposed as a percentage of cases filed, percent change in case filings by
case types, and the clearance rate.
pg_0003
Senate Bill 139 – Page
3
AOC suggests that the success of the program would be measured for two years by quarterly
contact with defendants through the mental health specialist. The health specialist would track
success of treatment and medication compliance, and would continue to check court records for
recidivism.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
Passage of the bill would result in the short term increase in the amount of administrative work-
load for the agency as the number of FTEs in the Second District Court would increase.
Reduction of recidivism of crime related to mental health problems could result in long term re-
duction of administrative workload.
According to AOC, the funds would significantly increase the viability of the Mental Health
Program. A long-term impact will be the effect the program will have on the ten local collabo-
rating government agencies that are associated with the program.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
Senate Bill 139, relates to Senate Bill 136, “Doña Ana Mental Health Court.”
TECHNICAL ISSUES
The funding level proposed in this bill would be insufficient to fund all the positions included in
the appropriation’s purpose.
ALTERNATIVES
The bill could be amended so that the number of personnel funded and the amount of funding
made available would correspond.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
The mental health program in the 2
nd
Judicial District will not be expanded.
According to AOC, mentally ill offenders will remain in jail longer than required due to insuffi-
cient staff to arrange for aftercare. The AOC further asserts that untreated or inadequately
treated mentally ill offenders will likely re-offend. This occurrence increases the risk to the
community and perpetuates chronic re-entry into the criminal justice system.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
1.
What has the first phase of the mental health court accomplished in its first six months of
existence.
2.
What is the capacity for participant of the current mental health court at the 2
nd
Judicial
District.
3.
How many potential participants in mental health court at the 2
nd
District are unable to
participate due to the current program’s size.
4.
What number of participants would be able to participate should the program be ex-
panded.
pg_0004
Senate Bill 139 – Page
4
5.
If the amount in the bill is received, how many of the proposed positions would be
funded. Which positions would the funded positions be.
6.
What other community service providers would be/are involved in the mental health
court.
EM/nt:yr