Child welfare - foster care prevention services - qualified residential treatment programs - federal compliance. The act authorizes the department of human services (department) to establish and implement a foster care prevention services program for families with children and youth who are candidates for foster care but who can safely remain at home with receipt of foster care prevention services. Eligible recipients of foster care prevention services include children and youth and their parents, legal custodians, legal guardians, and kin caregivers when their needs are directly related to the safety, permanent placement, or well-being of the child or youth. If a child or youth is placed in a qualified residential treatment program (QRTP), the court or the administrative review division of the department is required to review the assessment and needs of the child or youth and determine whether placement in the QRTP is appropriate. The act requires a county department of human or social services (county department) to submit certain evidence to the court during each review and permanency hearing of a child or youth placed in a QRTP. A county department may provide foster care prevention services to a child or youth and the parents or kin caregivers of the child or youth upon the receipt of a report of intrafamilial abuse or neglect or human trafficking. The act adds the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act" as a program to be administered by the department. The act also adds foster care prevention services to the definition of child welfare services. The act requires the department to implement the utilization of foster care prevention services and qualified residential treatment programs when the federal government approves the state's five year Title IV-E prevention plan. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Sponsored bills
Residential mental health facility - pilot program - appropriation. The act creates a new 3-year mental health facility pilot program to provide residential care, treatment, and services to persons with either a mental health diagnosis or a physical health diagnosis. It contains requirements for applicants and directs the department of public health and environment (department) to select one or 2 applicants for the pilot program. The act appropriates $30,370 to the department for use by the health facilities and emergency medical services division. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Competency to proceed - timing - services - reports - tracking system - placement guidelines - training - immunity - appropriations. When a defendant's competency to proceed is raised, the act: Changes the timing of various matters; Clarifies where restoration services are to be provided; Expands the requirements for a competency evaluation report; and Clarifies when defendants are to be released following an evaluation or restoration services. The act requires the department of human services to: Develop an electronic system to track the status of defendants for whom competency to proceed has been raised; Convene a group of experts to create a placement guideline for use in determining where restoration services should be provided; and Partner with an institution of higher education to develop and provide training in competency evaluations. On and after January 1, 2020, except for certain certified or certification-eligible evaluators, competency evaluators are required to have attended training. District attorneys, public defenders, and alternate defense counsel are also to receive training on competency to proceed. The act also provides that a competency evaluator is not liable for damages in any civil action for failure to warn or protect a specific person or persons against the violent behavior of a defendant being evaluated. The act appropriates $10,983,000 from the general fund to pay for fines, liquidated damages, costs, attorney fees, and special master compensation due to a consent decree agreed to by the state. It also appropriates additional money from the general fund and from reappropriated funds to the department of human services and the judicial department to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Medicaid - 1115 demonstration waiver - criminal or juvenile justice system prevention - mental health institute admission criteria - community behavioral health safety net system - appropriation. The act requires the department of health care policy and financing (state department) to develop measurable outcomes to monitor efforts to prevent medicaid recipients from becoming involved in the criminal or juvenile justice system. The act requires the state department to work collaboratively with managed care entities to create incentives for behavioral health providers to accept medicaid recipients with severe behavioral health disorders. The act requires the state department to determine if seeking a 1115 demonstration waiver is the necessary response to ensure inpatient services are available to individuals with a serious mental illness. If the state department determines it is not appropriate, the state department shall submit a report to the general assembly with the state department's reasoning and an alternative plan and proposed timeline for the implementation of the alternative plan. The act requires the state department to develop and implement admission criteria to the mental health institutes at Pueblo and Fort Logan. The act creates a community behavioral health safety net system (safety net system) and requires the department of human services, in collaboration with the state department, to conduct the following activities: Define what constitutes a high-intensity behavioral health treatment program (treatment program), determine what an adequate network of high-intensity behavioral health treatment services includes, and identify existing treatment programs; Develop an implementation plan to increase the number of treatment programs in the state; Identify an advisory body to assist the department in creating a comprehensive proposal to strengthen and expand the safety net system; Develop a comprehensive proposal to strengthen and expand the safety net system that provides behavioral health services for individuals with severe behavioral health disorders; Implement the comprehensive proposal and the funding model no later than January 1, 2024; and Provide an annual report from January 1, 2022, until July 1, 2024, on the safety net system to the public through the annual SMART Act hearing. The act appropriates $75,000 to the department of health care policy and financing from the general fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Wraparound services - child and youth behavioral health delivery system pilot program - standardized screening tools - single statewide referral and entry point - children and youth at risk of out-of-home placement or in an out-of-home placement - appropriation. No later than July 1, 2020, the department of health care policy and financing shall seek federal authorization to provide wraparound services for eligible children and youth who are at risk of out-of-home placement or in an out-of-home placement. Upon federal authorization, the department of health care policy and financing shall require managed care entities to implement wraparound services, which may be contracted out to a third party. The act requires the department of health care policy and financing, in conjunction with the department of human services, to develop and implement wraparound services for children and youth at risk of out-of-home placement or in an out-of-home placement. The act requires wraparound services to be covered under medicaid. Upon implementation of the wraparound services, the department of health care policy and financing and the department of human services shall monitor and report the annual cost savings associated with eligible children and youth receiving wraparound services to the public through the annual "SMART Act" hearing. No later than July 1, 2020, the department of health care policy and financing is required to design and recommend a child and youth behavioral health delivery system pilot program that addresses the challenges of fragmentation and duplication of behavioral health services. The act requires the executive director of the department of human services to appoint two full-time staff persons to support and facilitate interagency coordination for the development and implementation of wraparound services. No later than July 1, 2020, the department of human services is required to select a single standardized assessment tool to facilitate identification of behavioral health issues and develop a plan to implement the tool for programmatic utilization. The act also requires the department of human services to select developmentally appropriate and culturally competent statewide behavioral health standardized screening tools for primary care providers, which may be made available electronically for health care professionals. The department of public health and environment shall ensure adequate statewide training on the standardized screening tools for primary care providers and other interested health care professionals who care for children. No later than July 1, 2020, the department of human services, in conjunction with the department of health care policy and financing and the department of public health and environment, is required to develop a plan for establishing a single statewide referral and entry point for children and youth who have a positive behavioral health screening or whose needs are identified through a standardized assessment. The act makes multiple appropriations to the department of health care policy and financing and the department of human services. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Advance directives - health care providers - electronic advance health care directive system - appropriation. The act requires the department of public health and environment (department) to contract with one or more health information organization networks for the creation, administration, and maintenance of a statewide electronic system (system) that allows qualified providers to upload and access advance health care directives. The act defines an advance health care directive as a directive concerning medical orders for scope of treatment, a declaration as to medical treatment, a directive relating to cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or a medical durable power of attorney. The act also requires the department to promulgate rules to oversee the system. The act allows a qualified provider to upload an individual's advanced health care directive upon the request of the individual after the individual has consulted with the qualified provider in person or through telehealth. A qualified provider who uploads an advance health care directive to the system is not subject to criminal or civil liability. The act requires the individual whose medical treatment is the subject of the advance health care directive, or the authorized surrogate decision-maker, to sign an electronic affidavit, prior to uploading the advance health care directive to the system, attesting that the advance health care directive uploaded to the system is appropriately executed, current, and accurate. The act does not allow for any civil or criminal liability or regulatory sanctions for any emergency personnel, health care provider, health care facility, or any other person that complies with a legally executed advance medical directive that is accessed from the system. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $993,147 from the general fund to the department of public health and environment for personal services related to health statistics and vital records, operating expenses, and for the purchase of information technology services. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Maternal mortality review committee - creation - appointments - duties - sunset review - appropriation. The act creates the Colorado maternal mortality review committee (committee), which is required to review maternal deaths, identify the causes of maternal mortality, and develop recommendations to address preventable maternal deaths, including legislation, policies, rules, and best practices that will support the health and safety of the pregnant and postpartum population in Colorado and prevent maternal deaths. The executive director of the department of public health and environment (department) is directed to appoint at least 11 members to serve on the committee. The act requires certain health care providers and law enforcement officials to provide medical records to the department concerning each maternal death for access by the members of the committee. The records, notes, information, and activities of the committee are confidential. The committee is repealed, effective September 1, 2029, and is subject to sunset review by the department of regulatory agencies prior to its repeal. $145,167 is appropriated to the department for implementation of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Minor victims of human trafficking - immunity - affirmative defense report - post-enactment review. The act clarifies definitions in the "Colorado Children's Code" concerning victims of human trafficking of a minor for involuntary servitude and for sexual servitude. The act creates immunity for a violation of a prostitution-related offense if probable cause exists to believe that a minor was a victim of either human trafficking of a minor for involuntary servitude or for sexual servitude. The act establishes an affirmative defense for all criminal violations, except class 1 felonies, if a minor proves that he or she was: A victim of human trafficking of a minor for involuntary servitude or sexual servitude; and Forced or coerced into engaging in the criminal acts. The act also requires that, if a law enforcement officer encounters a minor and there is probable cause to believe that the minor was a victim of human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude, the officer shall report the suspected violation to the county department of human or social services or the child abuse hotline. The act requires the legislative services agencies of the general assembly to conduct a review of the implementation of the act 5 years after May 6, 2019. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Health care - required head trauma guidelines for organized school athletic activities - physical therapists may authorize youth athletes' return to play. Current law states that if a youth athlete is removed from play because a coach suspects the youth athlete has sustained a concussion in a game, competition, or practice, the coach or other designated personnel shall not permit the youth athlete to return to play or participate in any supervised team activities involving physical exertion until the youth athlete is evaluated by a health care provider and receives written clearance to return to play from the health care provider. The act adds licensed physical therapists with training in pediatric neurology or concussion evaluation and management to the definition of "health care provider" for this purpose.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Prescribing health care practitioners - electronic prescribing of controlled substances - exceptions. The act requires health care practitioners with prescribing authority to prescribe schedule II, III, or IV controlled substances only via a prescription that is electronically transmitted to a pharmacy unless a specified exception applies. The requirement to electronically prescribe starts on July 1, 2021, for podiatrists, physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses, and optometrists, and on July 1, 2023, for dentists and practitioners serving rural communities or in a solo practice. Prescribing practitioners are required to indicate on license renewal questionnaires whether they have complied with the electronic prescribing requirement. Pharmacists need not verify the applicability of an exception to electronic prescribing when they receive an order for a controlled substance in writing, orally, or via facsimile transmission and may fill the order if otherwise valid under the law. Specifies that certain sections take effect only if HB 19-1172 becomes law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More