Colorado § 25.5-10-201 - Legislative declaration.

§ 25.5-10-201. Legislative declaration.

(1) In recognition of the varied, extensive, and substantial needs of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including the urgent need to enhance the development of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the general assembly, subject to available appropriations and subject to the existence of appropriate services and supports with available resources, hereby declares that the purposes of this article are:

(a) To provide appropriate services and supports to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout their lifetimes regardless of their age or degree of disability;

(b) To prohibit deprivation of liberty of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, except when such deprivation is for the purpose of providing services and supports which constitute the least restrictive available alternative adequate to meet the person's needs, and to ensure that these services and supports afford due process protections;

(c) To ensure the fullest measure of privacy, dignity, rights, and privileges to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities;

(d) To ensure the provision of services and supports to all persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities on a statewide basis;

(e) To enable persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities to remain with their families and in the community of their choice, to minimize the likelihood of out-of-home placement, and to enhance the capacity of families to meet the needs of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities;

(f) To provide community services and supports for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities which reflect typical patterns of everyday living;

(g) To encourage state and local agencies to provide a wide array of innovative and cost-effective services and supports for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities;

(h) To ensure that persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities receive services and supports which encourage and build on existing social networks and natural sources of support, and result in increased interdependence, contribution to, and inclusion in community life; and

(i) To recognize the efficacy of early intervention services and supports in minimizing developmental delays and reducing the future education costs to our society.

Source: L. 2013: Entire article added with relocations, (HB 13-1314), ch. 323, p. 1744, § 1, effective March 1, 2014.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 27-10.5-101 as it existed prior to 2013.

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. Since § 25.5-10-201 is similar to § 27-10.5-101 as it existed prior to the 2013 amendment to parts 1, 4, and 5 of article 10.5 of title 27, which resulted in the relocation of provisions, relevant cases construing that provision have been included in the annotations to this section.

The state has authority to enact legislation for the welfare of developmentally disabled citizens under its police powers. Glennon Heights, Inc. v. Central Bank & Trust, 658 P.2d 872 (Colo. 1983).

Applied in Adams County Ass'n for Retarded Citizens, Inc. v. City of Westminster, 196 Colo. 79, 580 P.2d 1246 (1978).