Colorado § 27-60-402 - Early intervention, deflection, and redirection from the criminal justice system grant program - established - permissible uses.

§ 27-60-402. Early intervention, deflection, and redirection from the criminal justice system grant program - established - permissible uses.

(1) There is established in the behavioral health administration the early intervention, deflection, and redirection from the criminal justice system grant program to provide grants to eligible entities to fund programs and other strategies that:

(a) Provide behavioral health treatment or resources to prevent individuals from becoming involved in the criminal justice system or further penetrating into the system;

(b) Facilitate a direct community response to effectively respond to a person in a behavioral health crisis with the goal of preventing people with behavioral health needs from being arrested; or

(c) After an arrest, redirect individuals with behavioral health needs, including individuals engaged in competency evaluation or restoration provided in a community setting and not in a jail-based setting, from the criminal justice system to appropriate community-based treatment and support services.

(2) An early intervention, deflection, and redirection from the criminal justice system grant may be used for any of the following:

(a) To support, create, or expand pre-arrest early intervention programs, including community-based alternative response programs described in section 24-32-3501 (8);

(b) To support, create, or expand co-responder community response, as defined in section 24-32-3501 (8);

(c) To fund enhanced staffing, facility improvements, or security measures for existing crisis walk-in centers, crisis stabilization units, mobile crisis services, or crisis respite services, as described in section 27-60-103 (1)(b), and withdrawal management programs at facilities approved pursuant to article 81 of this title 27. A crisis walk-in center must use a grant award to enable the crisis walk-in center to accept all behavioral health related first responder drop-offs and provide crisis receiving and stabilization services. Grants awarded for crisis stabilization units, mobile crisis services, crisis respite services, and withdrawal management programs must be used to provide crisis receiving and stabilization services.

(d) Collaboration between community-based organizations and court-appointed counsel who represent indigent clients to facilitate behavioral health screening and assessment and to help clients access behavioral health and other supportive services, particularly during early stages in a criminal proceeding;

(e) Comprehensive service delivery, including models where multiple partners co-locate or create new resource centers, to ensure swift connection to and receipt of social support services including, but not limited to, counseling, job placement services, housing navigation assistance and support, benefits enrollment, family counseling, substance use treatment, case management services, peer support, and other supportive services. To receive a grant for comprehensive service delivery, the applicant must demonstrate collaboration with local partners that will provide social support services as part of the comprehensive service delivery.

(f) Comprehensive pre-release planning for individuals in a jail or prison with behavioral health needs, to prevent reincarceration;

(g) To support, create, or expand programs to help people who have a pending municipal criminal case attend their court dates and avoid jail for non-appearance, such as through court reminders, ride assistance, or other supportive interventions. A program that operates with grant money must serve a substantial number of people with behavioral health needs.

(h) To establish and operate, or fund an existing, mobile medication-assisted treatment unit;

(i) Other innovations or programs aimed at deflecting, redirecting, or otherwise preventing people with behavioral health needs from further penetrating into the criminal justice system;

(j) Technical assistance and capacity-building, as identified by the applicant as a component of the program, to support delivery of evidence-based or evidence-informed services along the behavioral health continuum of care; and

(k) Capital expenditures related to providing the treatment and services described in this subsection (2).

(3) The BHA shall provide grant recipients with information about the 988 crisis hotline, defined in section 27-64-102, to ensure that the grant recipients are aware of the services available by using the 988 crisis hotline.

(4) (a) The behavioral health administration shall administer the grant program in collaboration with the department of public safety. The BHA shall create a grant application process and shall make the process publicly available on its website prior to accepting applications. The BHA shall begin accepting grant applications no later than December 31, 2022.

(b) The BHA and department of public safety shall engage in statewide community outreach to make eligible entities aware of the grant program, application process, and deadlines.

(c) No later than sixty days before the grant application deadline, the BHA and department of public safety shall jointly hold a public meeting to present information about the grant program and to give eligible entities the opportunity to ask questions regarding the grant program. The BHA may allow electronic attendance and participation at the meeting.

(d) The BHA shall provide grant application and program development support upon request to an eligible entity that has an annual budget of less than one million dollars. Available support may include assistance with grant-writing, program design, identifying sustainable funding opportunities, program implementation, and data-gathering and evaluation.

Source: L. 2022: Entire part added, (SB 22-196), ch. 193, p. 1283, § 2, effective May 19.