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 Armstrong/Chavez, N.
LAST UP
DATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2/18/2025
SHORT TITLE Foster Care Behavioral Health Assessment
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 345
ANALYST Hernandez
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
Total
No fiscal
impact
No fiscal
impact
No fiscal
impact
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Kevin S. Co-Neutrals’ 2023 Annual Report
Agency Analysis Receiv
ed From
Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD)
Office of Family Representation and Advocacy (OFRA)
Health Care Authority (HCA)
Agency Declined to Respond
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Bill 345
House Bill 345 (HB345) amends part of the Children’s Code (NMAC 32A-4) to req
uire CYFD
to provide a Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) trauma assessment within 45
days of placing a child into foster care. Based on the assessment, the Department must provide
referrals to appropriate behavioral health services.
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 stated that they would need $5.9 million to ensure that every child entering foster care
receives a CANS assessment between FY26 and FY27. However, in FY24, CYFD received a
recurring appropriation of $963 thousand from the general fund to support additional behavioral
health clinician positions within the department. Since this money is recurring, CYFD received a House Bill 345 – Page 2
similar amount in FY25. In FY25, the department completed a budget adjustment request (BAR)
for $1.2 million to move funds out of personnel, which could have been used to hire clinicians
and instead was used to purchase laptops, desks, and other furniture. Moreover, CYFD reverted
over $6 million in FY24 from their behavioral health services division, meaning that the
department could likely absorb the costs of implementing CANS.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The CANS assessment was developed for children’s services and is utilized in all fifty states.
CYFD agreed to utilize the CANS assessment as part of the Kevin S. settlement. As part of the
agreement, “CANS screenings are required to be completed within 45 days of the child’s
removal from the home, and children must be reassessed before each court hearing (or within six
months, whichever comes first) to assess progress in treatment or to adjust services and supports
as results may indicate. CANS must also be completed any time there is an identified change in
behavior or a significant life event, and upon discharge from CYFD custody.”
In the most recent Kevin S. Co-Neutrals’ Annual Report, CYFD reported that only 39 percent of
children entering foster care received a CANS screening, up from 38 percent in 2022. For the
fourth quarter of FY24, CYFD reported that 15 percent of children in foster care received a visit
with a behavioral health clinician. By comparison, 63 percent of children involved with the
juvenile justice system received a visit with a behavioral health clinician.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
CYFD recommends “that a specific tool, the ‘child and adolescent needs and strengths trauma
assessment’ (the CANS tool) not be named in HB345 but instead be replaced with language
referring to a ‘trauma screening tool.’ Best practices for screening or assessment tools are
continuously being developed and adapted nationally to meet the ever-changing behavioral
health needs of children and youth. Naming one specific tool, available for purchase from one
vendor, may not meet future needs, costs, or intended outcomes for the children’s behavioral
health system.”
While CYFD is correct that the CANS assessment would be codified in statute, limiting their
ability to utilize other behavioral health assessments, the Department agreed to utilize the CANS
assessment in the Kevin S. settlement.
AEH/hj/SR