Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR
Reps. Thomson, De La Cruz, and
Gonzales
/Sen. Maestas
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2/07/2025
SHORT TITLE Rename “Juvenile Corrections Act”
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 255
ANALYST Fischer/Garcia
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
CYFD
No fiscal
impact
No fiscal
impact
No fiscal
impact
No fiscal
impact
Recurring
Other state
funds
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Bill 255
House Bill 255 renames the Juvenile Community Corrections Act to the Juvenile Community
Connections Act, and also renames the associated juvenile community corrections grant fund to
the juvenile community connections grant fund. The bill also adds definitions for child (under 18
years) and youth (under 26 years) to the renamed act.
The bill redefines that the grant fund should be used for any children or youth referred by the
Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD), in addition to the diversion of adjudicated
delinquents. Currently, the fund is only available for grants serving the latter. The bill further
stipulates that prevention, intervention, and diversion programming be prioritized for grant
funding and that all applicants for grant funding demonstrate support for key components of
prevention, intervention, and diversion services.
The bill moves responsibility for establishing a statewide selection panel for screening juvenile
delinquents into a facility or community programming from CYFD to “a county, municipality or
private organization, individually or jointly.” The composition of the local panel is set to be
representatives from the judiciary, the local schools, the department, the county sheriff or the
municipal police department, and individuals representing local programs and private citizens
The bill increases the existing 10 percent cap on administrative spending from the fund to 12
percent. House Bill 255 – Page 2
The bill also cleans up language in the state Tort Claims Act and Governmental Immunity Act
regarding the liability of foster caregivers of children in state custody.
This bill does not contain an effective date and, as a result, would go into effect 90 days after the
Legislature adjourns if enacted, or June 20, 2025.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
CYFD’s juvenile community corrections grant fund is a nonreverting fund that has carried over
increasing balances since FY19. The fund ended FY24 with a $6.1 million balance. Grants made
from the fund in FY24 totaled $1.3 million.
Juvenile Communit
y Corrections Grant Fund Balances
FY24 (unaudited) $6,148,945
FY23 $7,177,286
FY22 $6,209,130
FY21 $6,103,210
FY20 $4,993,947
FY19 $4,116,908
Source: CYFD annual audits and SHARE
FY24 Payments from CYFD’s Juvenile Community Corrections Grant Fund
FAMILIES AND YOUTH INC $291,875
PB & J FAMILY SERVICES INC $275,907
THE COUNSELING CENTER INC $164,859
BORDER AREA MENTAL HEALTH SVC INC $119,168
CHAVES COUNTY CASA $118,898
YOUTHWORKS INC $73,595
REGIONAL AGENCY INTERVENTION NETWORK $65,954
GUIDANCE CENTER OF LEA COUNTY INC $59,982
RIO ARRIBA COUNTY $55,429
DESERT VIEW INC $43,644
H2 ACADEMIC SOLUTIONS $34,335
CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF GALLUP $16,516
NURSTEAD CONSULTING SERVICES LLC $10,080
Total $1,330,241
Source: SHARE
For FY25, CYFD is projecting total expenditures from the fund to be $2.84 million. However, in
recent years CYFD has spent less than budgeted, contributing to the growing fund balance. The
LFC and executive budget recommendations for expenditures for the juvenile community
corrections fund in FY26 include the use of $1.8 million in fund balance. Should this bill pass,
expenditures from the fund could increase over time, spending the fund balance down.
CYFD reports no fiscal impact related to House Bill 255.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
CYFD notes that HB255 is sponsored by the NM Sentencing Commission and supported by
CYFD. The department states that HB255’s primary goal is to expand the target population
eligible for CYFD referrals by addressing restrictive language in NMSA 1978, Section 33-9A-
3(B), which currently limits services to “adjudicated delinquents.” However, the department does
not report how many current children are served via the juvenile community corrections grant
funds, nor how many more they estimate could be served if the funds uses were expanded.
Approximately 100 juveniles were housed in juvenile justice facilities at the end of FY24. House Bill 255 – Page 3
CYFD states that this measure will allow more clients to receive services from Juvenile
Community Correction (JCC) providers, and, without this measure “more JCC providers may be
at risk of closing due to insufficient referrals.”
CYFD also notes no changes related to referrals of Delinquent Act offenses to Juvenile Justice
Services. However, the bill would potentially increase some referrals to Juvenile Justice
Community providers, allowing them to meet service delivery benchmarks and support clients.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
CYFD reported without this statute, Juvenile Community Corrections providers may need to
close due to insufficient numbers of referrals.
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