CO Code § 19-2.5-1404 (2021)
2021 Colorado Code|Title 19 - Children's Code|Article 2.5 - The Colorado Juvenile Justice System|Part 14 - Administration|§ 19-2.5-1404. Working Group for Criteria for Placement of Juvenile Offenders - Establishment of Formula - Review of Criteria - Report

     The executive director of the department of human services and the state court administrator of the judicial department, or any designees of such persons, shall form a working group that includes representatives from:   The division of criminal justice of the department of public safety;    The office of state planning and budgeting;    The Colorado district attorneys council;    Law enforcement, including at least one representative from a statewide organization of county sheriffs;    The public defender's office and the office of alternate defense counsel;    The office of the child representative;    Juvenile probation;    Juvenile court judges and magistrates;    Local and county governments, including at least three representatives from county departments of human or social services;    The division of youth services;    The division of child welfare;    The local juvenile services planning committees, created in section 19-2.5-302; and    Organizations that advocate for youth involved in the juvenile justice system.  (a.5) The working group must also include at least two persons directly affected by the incarceration of youth, of whom, at least one person who is or was a youth in the custody of a division of youth services facility.        The working group shall carry out the following duties:   To establish a set of criteria for both detention and commitment for the purposes of determining which juvenile offenders are appropriate for placement in the physical or legal custody of the department of human services. The criteria must conform with section 19-2.5-305. This set of criteria, when adopted by the department of human services and the judicial department, must promote a more uniform system of determining which juveniles should be placed in the physical custody of the department of human services or in the legal custody of the department of human services so that decisions for placement of a juvenile are made based upon a uniform set of criteria throughout the state. In addition, the criteria must specifically take into account the juvenile's educational needs and ensure the juvenile's access to appropriate educational services. The working group established pursuant to this subsection (1) shall hold a meeting at least four times each year and as necessary to review and propose revision to the criteria established pursuant to this subsection (1) and the formula created pursuant to subsection (1)(b)(V) of this section.    Before January 1, 2021, to develop or adopt by a majority vote of the working group a research-based detention screening instrument to be used statewide to inform placement of juveniles in a detention facility. In developing or adopting the detention screening instrument, the working group shall consult with expert organizations and review research and best practices from other jurisdictions. The working group is also responsible for:   Ensuring that the instrument identifies and mitigates any disparate impacts based on disability, race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, economic status, or child welfare involvement;    Identifying measures and scoring for the detention screening instrument to determine eligibility for placement in a juvenile detention facility;    Identifying how the instrument is validated and piloted; and    Establishing statewide scoring override policies that minimize subjective decisions to hold a juvenile in a detention facility, while allowing for local flexibility;       Before January 1, 2021, to develop a plan to provide training and technical assistance to screening teams on the implementation of the detention screening instrument, including at least annual refresher training;    Before January 1, 2021, to develop a plan for the division of youth services to collect, compile, and report to the judiciary committees of the senate and the house of representatives, the health and human services committee of the senate, and the public health care and human services committee of the house of representatives, or any successor committees, annually on the use of secure detention; number and justification of overrides of the detention screening instrument as conducted pursuant to section 19-2.5-303; and, if possible, an analysis of detention screening instrument data to determine if any disparate impacts resulted based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, economic status, or child welfare involvement. The division of youth services shall recommend any necessary changes to appropriations that need to be made prior to fully implementing this section's recommendations. Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), this reporting requirement continues indefinitely.    To establish a formula for the purpose of allocating funds by each judicial district in the state of Colorado for alternative services to placing juveniles in the physical custody of the department of human services or in the legal custody of the department of human services. The allocation must take into consideration such factors as the population of the judicial district, the incidence of offenses committed by juveniles in such judicial district, and other factors as deemed appropriate. The working group shall consider and take into account whether any federal money or matching funds are available to cover the costs of juveniles within the system, including parent fees and third-party reimbursement as authorized by law or reimbursements under Title IV-E of the federal “Social Security Act”, as amended.    Before January 1, 2021, to establish criteria for juveniles served through alternative services funded pursuant to subsection (1)(b)(V) of this section. The criteria must prioritize:   Preadjudicated juveniles eligible for placement in a detention facility as determined by results from a detention screening instrument;    Juveniles who are in secure detention; and    Juveniles under the supervision of probation when the results of a detention screening instrument indicate that the juvenile is eligible for detention.       At least every two years, to review data collected by the division of youth services on the use of funding pursuant to subsection (1)(b)(V) of this section and its impact on the use of juvenile detention. The working group shall identify the measures that it will collect as part of its review of the impact of preadjudicated funding on detention pursuant to this section.    Before January 1, 2021, to adopt a relative information form concerning a juvenile's potential need for services or placement. The information form must be available at each judicial district to each parent or legal guardian of a juvenile screened for detention and participation in alternative services. The information form must:   Advise the parent or legal guardian that he or she is required to provide the requested information fully and completely; and    Require the parent or legal guardian to list the names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers of every grandparent, relative, kin, and person with a significant relationship with the juvenile and any comments concerning the appropriateness of the juvenile's potential need for services from or placement with those persons.       Before January 1, 2021, to develop a system of graduated responses and rewards to guide parole officers in determining how best to motivate positive juvenile behavior change and the appropriate response to a violation of terms and conditions of juvenile parole. Graduated responses means an accountability-based series of sanctions and services designed to respond to a juvenile's violation of parole quickly, consistently, and proportionally and incentives to motivate positive behavior change and successful completion of parole and the juvenile's reentry and treatment goals.          Of the members of the working group established pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the executive director of the department of human services and the state court administrator of the judicial department, or any designees of such persons, have final authority to carry out the duty of creating the set of criteria pursuant to subsections (1)(b)(I) to (1)(b)(IV) of this section and creating the formula pursuant to subsections (1)(b)(V) to (1)(b)(VII) of this section. This authority can only be exercised after working with and participating in the working group process established in this section.      On or before October 31, 2021, and at least four times each year thereafter and as necessary to perform the duties described in this subsection (3), the working group shall convene for the purpose of examining the availability of alternatives to youth detention and the use of detention beds, and examining necessary investments in alternatives to youth detention, including less restrictive placements that serve alleged and adjudicated juvenile offenders and community-based services that allow alleged and adjudicated juvenile offenders to live with family or kin. The working group shall carry out the following duties:   By October 31, 2022, the working group shall develop performance standards and outcome measures to evaluate the degree to which alleged and adjudicated offenders are in the least restrictive setting with appropriate services. The performance standards and outcome measures must:   Evaluate whether the number of alternative placements, range of services offered by such placements, and community-based services available meet the needs of youth in each judicial district and county; and    Determine whether and how specific data and outcome measures must be reported to evaluate the efficacy of less restrictive placements and community-based services.       The working group shall advise the department of human services concerning policies, procedures, and best practices related to serving youth in the least restrictive setting.    The working group shall review the data provided by the department of human services pursuant to subsection (3)(b) of this section, and provide recommendations:   To enhance the continuum of community-based services and placement options for alleged and adjudicated juvenile offenders, including recommendations to improve availability and quality of less restrictive alternative placements and community-based services for youth;    Regarding any changes to secure detention bed capacity limits and the allocation of detention beds across the state; and    For future data collection and reporting to assist the working group in completing its duties.          On or before July 1, 2023, and on or before July 1 each year thereafter, the department of human services shall submit a report to the working group, the judiciary committees of the senate and the house of representatives, or any successor committees, and the health and human services committee of the senate and the public and behavioral health and human services committee of the house of representatives, or any successor committees, including:   An analysis of the data collected in accordance with the performance standards and outcome measures developed pursuant to subsection (3)(a)(I) of this section, and an analysis of the progress toward meeting the performance standards and outcome measures developed pursuant to subsection (3)(a)(I) of this section;    The status of implementation of efforts guided by the working group's recommendations pursuant to subsection (3)(a)(II) of this section;    An analysis of the continuum of in-home and out-of- home placement options and supports for alleged juvenile offenders, including the current availability capacities of the options and supports, including:   An analysis of the availability of and demand for less restrictive alternative placements in each judicial district and county, including but not limited to residential treatment facilities, qualified residential treatment programs, nonqualified residential treatment programs, residential community placements, shelter placements, and family-type settings, including but not limited to foster care;    An analysis of the availability and use of funding for less restrictive alternative placements in each judicial district and county, including but not limited to residential treatment facilities, qualified residential treatment programs, nonqualified residential treatment programs, residential community placements, shelter placements, and family-type settings, including but not limited to foster care;    An analysis of the availability of and demand for community-based services in each judicial district and county offered to alleged and adjudicated juvenile offenders that assist in allowing children to live with family or kin, including the types of community-based services available and capacity for each type of service in each judicial district and county; and    An analysis of the availability and use of funding for community-based services in each judicial district and county offered to alleged and adjudicated juvenile offenders, including the amount of funding spent on different types of services.       An analysis of barriers to placing youth in less restrictive alternative placements;    The number of youth in detention awaiting placement in a less restrictive community setting;    The number of youth in detention charged by direct filing pursuant to section 19-2.5-801 by judicial district or county, and the average length of stay in detention for these youth;    An analysis of the number of youth placed in less restrictive alternative placements, including but not limited to residential treatment facilities, qualified residential treatment programs, nonqualified residential treatment programs, residential community placements, shelter placements, and family-type settings, including but not limited to foster care, and the length of stay in these placements for alleged and adjudicated offenders;    An analysis of the involvement of youth and their families, and their satisfaction with less restrictive alternative placements;    An analysis of the number of alleged and adjudicated juvenile offenders who are served by county human services departments through their child welfare systems and the impact on those county departments; and    The recommendations of the working group made pursuant to subsection (3)(a)(III) of this section.       Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the report required in subsection (3)(b) of this section continues indefinitely.         History. Source: L. 2021: IP(1)(a), (1)(a)(IV), (1)(a)(VIII), (1)(a)(IX), and (1)(b)(I) amended and (1)(a)(X), (1)(a)(XI), (1)(a)(XII), (1)(a)(XIII), (1)(a.5), and (3) added,(SB 21-071), ch. 463, p. 3336, § 7, effective July 6; entire article added with relocations,(SB 21-059), ch. 136, p. 677, § 2, effective October 1.    Editor's note:    This section is similar to former § 19-2-212 as it existed prior to 2021.    Subsections IP(1)(a), (1)(a)(IV), (1)(a)(VIII), (1)(a)(IX), (1)(a)(X), (1)(a)(XI), (1)(a)(XII), (1)(a)(XIII), (1)(a.5), (1)(b)(I), and (3) were numbered as 19-2-212 IP(1)(a), (1)(a)(IV), (1)(a)(VIII), (1)(a)(IX), (1)(a)(X), (1)(a)(XI), (1)(a)(XII), (1)(a)(XIII), (1)(a.5), (1)(b)(I), and (3) in SB 21-071 (seeL. 2021, p. 3336). Those provisions were harmonized with subsections IP(1)(a), (1)(a)(IV), (1)(a)(VIII), (1)(a)(IX), (1)(a)(X), (1)(a)(XI), (1)(a)(XII), (1)(a)(XIII), (1)(a.5), (1)(b)(I), and (3) of this section as they appear in SB 21-059.