Colorado § 17-1-166 - Department duties - parole plan - report.

§ 17-1-166. Department duties - parole plan - report.

(1) The department shall develop a recommended parole plan for every inmate prior to a parole application hearing or release from prison that includes, at a minimum, an approved sponsor or other housing option and a continuity of care plan if the inmate has higher needs for medical or behavioral health care. The department shall comply with this subsection (1) regardless of whether the inmate can provide the department with the name of a potential parole sponsor. If the department is unable to develop a recommended parole plan, the department shall inform the parole board in writing and include a list of options that have been explored but have been rejected by the department.

(2) The department, in consultation with the state board of parole, shall develop necessary policies and procedures regarding prerelease planning to ensure that:

(a) Roles and responsibilities of employees and any contractors involved in pre-release planning are clearly defined, employees and any contractors are adequately trained, and performance measures are developed;

(b) Adequate tracking and quality assurance processes are in place so that a recommended parole plan, whether an in-state or out-of-state plan, is completed and submitted to the parole board prior to the initial and any subsequent parole application hearing;

(c) Expedited protocols are in place so that an inmate's application for parole is submitted to the parole board at the earliest possible opportunity if the inmate is a new arrival at Denver reception and diagnostic center or the central transport unit and is past or within ninety days of the inmate's parole eligibility date;

(d) Formal mechanisms are in place to facilitate effective communication between the department and the parole board, including timely responses from the department to parole board requests for additional information or for a revised parole plan prior to the parole board's decision; and

(e) Data collection and data sharing between the department and the parole board are adequate to actively monitor the status of parole applications when the parole board has delayed its decision.

(3) The department shall provide a monthly report, by facility, the number of parole applications when the parole board has delayed a decision, the average length of time the parole application has been pending, and the general reason for delaying the decision if that information is known to the department. The information must be provided both for the reporting month and year to date.

Source: L. 2021: Entire section added, (SB 21-146), ch. 459, p. 3082, § 3, effective July 6.