The Colorado General Assembly has introduced several legislative measures in 2025 aimed at reforming the treatment of individuals with behavioral health disorders within the criminal and juvenile justice systems. These bills focus on enhancing rehabilitation programs, improving competency proceedings, and establishing support initiatives for justice-involved youth.
Revisions to the Youthful Offender System (YOS):
Legislative Declaration Updates: Emphasizes lasting behavioral changes, accountability, healthy relationship building, and safety for both offenders and staff.
Housing and Equitable Treatment: Introduces provisions for appropriate housing arrangements and equitable treatment, including considerations for offenders with disabilities.
Rehabilitative Treatment Requirements: Mandates rehabilitative treatment and life skills programming, with provisions for individual and family therapy and substance use disorder treatment as needed.
Evaluation and Treatment Plans: Requires comprehensive clinician evaluations and tailored treatment plans managed by assigned client managers.
Annual Reporting: Institutes an annual reporting requirement beginning in January 2026 to monitor program effectiveness.
Competency Proceedings for Juveniles:
Standardized Competency Evaluations: Applies existing juvenile delinquency competency standards to juveniles charged in adult court or under concurrent jurisdiction.
Access to Evaluations: Permits bridges court liaisons to access juvenile competency evaluations and related information.
Case Dismissal Criteria: Requires dismissal of cases if a juvenile is deemed incompetent to proceed and the highest charge is a class 2 misdemeanor, petty offense, drug misdemeanor, or traffic offense.
Management Plan Timelines: Reduces the timeframe for determining a juvenile's competency from one year to six months for level 4 drug felonies.
Management Plan Limitations: Sets limitations on the contents of case management plans, especially in cases involving sexual conduct, and outlines court responses for non-engagement with ordered services.
Deflection and Community Investment Grant Program:
Program Creation: Establishes a grant program within the Prevention Services Division of the Department of Public Health and Environment to fund trauma-informed deflection programs for youth, including Native American youth.
Funding Allocation: Allocates $3.3 million annually for fiscal years 2025-26 through 2027-28 to support the program.
Program Administration: Requires the division to develop an application process, contract for technical assistance, support data collection, and evaluate program effectiveness.
Eligibility and Application: Nonprofit and tribal organizations are eligible to apply for grants to implement deflection programs aimed at diverting youth from formal justice system involvement.
Summary
Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems. Current law establishes the youthful offender system in the department of corrections as a sentencing option that provides a continuum of services. Section 1 of the bill:
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Revises certain legislative declaration provisions to emphasize lasting behavioral changes in preparation for reentry, accountability, healthy relationship building, and offender and staff safety;
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Adds language related to housing arrangements and equitable treatment for youthful offenders, including youthful offenders with disabilities;
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Adds a requirement for rehabilitative treatment and life skills programming and, in certain cases, for individual and family therapy and substance use disorder treatment;
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Elaborates on clinician evaluations, tailored treatment plans, and client manager requirements for youthful offenders; and
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Imposes an annual reporting requirement beginning in January 2026. Section 2 of the bill applies the standards for determining
competency in juvenile delinquency cases to juveniles who have charges directly filed against them in adult court, juveniles whose cases are transferred to adult court, or juveniles subject to concurrent court jurisdiction. Section 3 of the bill permits bridges court liaisons to access
juvenile competency evaluations and related information.
Current law sets forth procedures for court determinations of a
juvenile's competency in juvenile justice proceedings. Section 4 of the bill requires a court to dismiss the case against a juvenile if the court makes a final determination that the juvenile is incompetent to proceed and the juvenile's highest charged act is a class 2 misdemeanor, a petty offense, a drug misdemeanor, or a traffic offense.
Under current law, one year after a court finds a juvenile charged
with a level 4 drug felony is incompetent to proceed the court shall enter a finding the juvenile is unrestorable to competency and shall determine whether a management plan is necessary for the juvenile. The bill reduces the time from one year to 6 months.
The bill imposes certain limitations on a case management plan's
contents in cases that involve sexual conduct and addresses court responses when a juvenile or a juvenile's parent or guardian fails to engage with a management plan's ordered services. Section 5 of the bill requires that a person sentenced for a
delinquent act committed as a juvenile receive credit for any period of confinement prior to sentencing. Section 6 of the bill creates the deflection and community
investment grant program (grant program) in the office of adult and juvenile justice assistance in the division of criminal justice to provide grants to eligible nonprofit and tribal applicants to implement a mixed-delivery system of trauma-informed health and development deflection programs for youth, including Native American youth.
