Colorado § 19-2.5-1531 - Juveniles committed to the department of human services - prohibition against the use of restraints on pregnant juveniles.

§ 19-2.5-1531. Juveniles committed to the department of human services - prohibition against the use of restraints on pregnant juveniles.

(1) The staff of the department of human services, in restraining a female juvenile committed to the department of human services or detained in a juvenile facility, shall use the least restrictive restraints necessary to ensure safety if the staff have actual knowledge or a reasonable belief that the juvenile is pregnant. The requirement that staff use the least restrictive restraints necessary to ensure safety must continue during postpartum recovery and transport to or from a juvenile facility.

(2) (a) (I) Staff of the department of human services or medical facility staff shall not use restraints of any kind on a pregnant juvenile during labor and delivery of the child; except that staff may use restraints if:

(A) The medical staff determine that restraints are medically necessary for safe childbirth;

(B) The staff of the department of human services or medical staff determine that the juvenile presents an immediate and serious risk of harm to herself, to other patients, or to medical staff; or

(C) The staff of the department of human services determine that the juvenile poses a substantial risk of escape that cannot reasonably be reduced by the use of other existing means.

(II) Notwithstanding subsection (2)(a)(I) of this section to the contrary, under no circumstances shall staff use leg shackles or waist restraints on a juvenile during labor and delivery of the child, postpartum recovery while in a medical facility, or transport to or from a medical facility for childbirth.

(b) The staff of the department of human services or medical facility authorizing the use of restraints on a pregnant juvenile during labor or delivery of the child shall make a written record of the use of restraints. The record must include, at a minimum, the type of restraint used, the circumstances that necessitated the use of the restraint, and the length of time the restraint was used. The department of human services staff shall retain the record for a minimum of five years and shall make the record available for public inspection with individually identifying information redacted from the record unless the juvenile who is the subject of the record gives prior written consent for the public release of the record. The written record of the use of restraint does not constitute a medical record under state or federal law.

(3) Upon return to a department of human services facility after childbirth, the juvenile is entitled to have a member of the department of human services' medical staff present during any strip search.

(4) When a juvenile's pregnancy is determined, the staff of the department of human services shall inform a pregnant juvenile committed to the department of human services in writing in a language and in a manner understandable to the juvenile of the provisions of this section concerning the use of restraints and the presence of medical staff during a strip search.

(5) The executive director of the department of human services shall ensure that the staff of the department of human services receive adequate training concerning the provisions of this section.

Source: L. 2021: Entire article added with relocations, (SB 21-059), ch. 136, p. 705, § 2, effective October 1.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 19-2-924.7 as it existed prior to 2021.