FA5E48238E156CC98725875A006C8D77 Hearing Summary

Ms. Gottsman told the committee about future opportunities to improve in rural jails. She answered a question about implementing statewide standards for jails.

Chris Richardson, Mental Health Center of Denver, and Lorez Meinhold, Caring for Denver Foundation, introduced the presentation.. They gave an overview of the background of the Co-Response program and the Support Team Assistance Response (STAR) pilot program in Denver. Ms. Meinhold spoke about how the two programs interact with and support each other. Mr. Richardson and Ms. Meinhold answered questions about the programs and how information is shared between those running the programs and first responders.

The task force asked about the percent of calls that come in that are then diverted to co-responders or STAR. Mr. Richardson said that about 20 percent of calls are forwarded to either of the two programs.

Ms. Meinhold told the committee about how funds can be used for programs like this without taking funds away from other agencies.

The task force asked about what sort of savings the state could see. Mr. Richardson talked about the long term benefits and savings that come from up front dollars to meet the needs of an individual.

Mr. Richardson and Ms. Meinhold gave an overview of how a STAR unit is assigned to a call for service and discussed the current SMART team outcomes that Denver has seen with the pilot program.  They discussed the next steps necessary to expand the SMART team program.      

The task force asked about sweeps of homeless camps and how resources are provided for those individuals. Mr. Richardson talked about how they go out to attempt to get resources for those individuals who are impacted by the sweeps.

Jaime FitzSimons, Summit County Sheriff, spoke about how his department implements crisis response with the STAR program. He discussed the affects of the STAR program in his community.

Sheriff FitzSimons continued to discuss the partnerships within his county aimed at providing mental health services to individuals in crisis.

The task force discussed how to use dollars effectively for these types of programs and funding sources.

Sheriff FitzSimons answered a question about balancing a co-responder program at the state level while also focusing on community engagement. He spoke about working with stakeholders and getting adequate input.

Sheriff FitzSimons talked about medical treatment and screening for behavioral health disorders within jails.

Leonard Woodson, Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC), introduced his presentation about behavioral health needs in the criminal justice system. He told the task force about how DOC identifies the different needs of individuals that enter the system and how DOC meets behavioral health needs across Colorado.

The task force asked questions about the data that DOC collected in regards to behavioral health needs.

Mr. Woodson answered a question about how resources vary across facilities and how they vary between public and private providers. He confirmed that it depends on the facility when it comes to what resources are available to individuals.

Mr. Woodson continued to speak about the federal requirements for providing medications for substance use disorders.

Mr. Woodson spoke about the community transition services and how DOC ensures the continuity of care.