The bill expands the necessary human referral services authorized
by the Colorado 2-1-1 collaborative (collaborative) to include necessary referrals for behavioral health services and other resources in the state for Coloradans, particularly for individuals who are unemployed, regardless of whether they receive benefits. Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law. The bill requires the department of human services' office of
behavioral health to contract with the collaborative to hire and train specialized personnel. The bill also requires the office of behavioral health to collaborate with the collaborative to engage in targeted marketing and outreach, and to ensure the marketing and outreach are targeted to traditionally underserved communities, such as immigrant, low-income, and communities of color.
The bill also requires the collaborative to coordinate with the
department of labor and employment (department) to target, conduct outreach, and market to individuals who are unemployed, regardless of whether they receive benefits, and may need referrals for behavioral health services and other resources. The department is required to update its unemployment application web page and specified websites to include contact information for the collaborative.
The bill makes an appropriation.
