Colorado § 27-65-108.3 - Criteria and standards for certification for short-term treatment and certification for long-term care and treatment.

§ 27-65-108.3. Criteria and standards for certification for short-term treatment and certification for long-term care and treatment.

(1) A respondent may be certified for short-term treatment pursuant to section 27-65-108.5, 27-65-109, or 27-65-109.5, or certified for long-term care and treatment pursuant to section 27-65-110, if:

(a) The respondent has been advised of the availability of, but has not accepted, voluntary treatment or, with consideration of all reasonably available information, including the relevant history of the respondent, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the respondent will not remain in a voluntary treatment program; and

(b) The respondent, by clear and convincing evidence, has a mental health disorder and, as a result of the mental health disorder, the respondent is a danger to the respondent's self, a danger to others, or gravely disabled.

(2) When evaluating a person to determine whether the person meets the criteria pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the court, evaluator, or intervening professional shall take into consideration:

(a) The person's statements and insights into the person's own mental health disorder;

(b) Clinical diagnosis and clinical perspective on the person's current mental state and prognosis;

(c) The person's willingness to voluntarily seek and comply with a treatment plan in the reasonably foreseeable future;

(d) Recent overt acts by the person to threaten, cause, or attempt to cause harm to the person's self or others;

(e) Previous patterns of deterioration that resulted in the person's hospitalization, arrest, or certification for short-term treatment;

(f) Whether the person was found in a condition where the person was not able to care for the person's own basic needs in order to avoid the risk of serious physical harm; and

(g) The frequency, recency, and severity of the considerations described in subsections (2)(b) to (2)(f) of this section and the likelihood that the conditions and events will reoccur without involuntary treatment.

(3) When evaluating whether a person is a danger to the person's self or a danger to others, is gravely disabled, or poses a substantial risk of serious harm to others, the court, evaluator, professional person, or intervening professional shall, whenever possible, use all reasonable efforts to learn about prior relevant behaviors and prior diagnoses through available and reliable sources, including the person's prior medical and mental health records, police reports, and information from reliable individuals who have a relationship or regular substantial interactions with the person.

(4) The court, evaluator, professional person, or intervening professional shall consider whether the person has a history of emergency mental health holds invoked pursuant to section 27-65-106, certifications for short-term treatment or long-term care and treatment, findings of incompetency to proceed pursuant to article 8 or 8.5 of title 16, and inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations, and whether the person may qualify as having a persistent mental health disorder.

(5) The court or professional person shall assess a person who is incarcerated or in inpatient treatment as if the person were in the community when evaluating whether the person meets the criteria pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.

Source: L. 2026: Entire section added, (SB 26-149), ch. 142, p. 734, § 8, effective May 21.