AdvocacyDenver

Health Care Advocacy and Education | Providing active voice and supporting civil rights for people with disabilities

Bill Enacts Penalties Against At-Risk Adult Abuse Crimes

An Interview with Catherine Strode

Colorado State Senator Jessie Danielson, Senate District 20
Colorado State Senator Jessie Danielson, Senate District 20

Last year, nearly one thousand cases of abuse against at-risk adults were reported in Colorado. In Denver, police report over a 200% increase in these types of crimes.  Adult Protective Services estimate for every report of abuse against an at-risk adult, many more cases go unreported.

A Colorado legislator has introduced a bill to strengthen efforts to decrease crimes against at-risk adults. Senator Jessie Danielson is sponsoring Senate Bill 19-172 which makes it a Class 6 Felony to unlawfully confine an at-risk adult and a Class 1 Misdemeanor to unlawfully abandon an at-risk adult.  Senator Danielson says this bill will cut down on this type of abuse of the most vulnerable Coloradans.

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Mental Health Competency Addressed In Criminal Justice Bills

An Interview with Catherine Strode

Colorado State Senator Pete Lee, Senate District 11
Colorado State Senator Pete Lee, Senate District 11

It is estimated that the incidence of mental illness among prison inmates is three times more prevalent than in the general population.  Nationally, more than a third of inmates are reported to suffer from some form of mental illness.  Colorado statistics reflect nearly 40 per cent of the state’s inmates are in need of mental health intervention. A package of bills is being introduced this Session to address the issue of competency for individuals with mental illness in the criminal justice system.

Senator Pete Lee, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been one of the architects of the bills.  He says the goal is to establish a protocol where individuals in need of mental health care are identified and expediently moved out of the criminal justice system into community treatment care programs.

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Bipartisan Support to Combat Colorado’s Youth Mental Health Crisis

Colorado State Senator Rhonda Fields, Senate District 29
Colorado State Senator Rhonda Fields, Senate District 29
Colorado State Representative Lois Landgraf, House District 21
Colorado State Representative Lois Landgraf, House District 21

An Interview with Catherine Strode

Democrat Rhonda Fields and Republican Lois Landgraf are each sponsoring the same bill, in the State Senate and in the House, to fight the rising youth suicide rate in Colorado. Senate Bill 19-195, Child and Youth Behavioral Health System Enhancements, creates a policy office and a commission to direct, coordinate, and implement children’s behavioral health services across various state agencies.

The bill also provides for standardized behavioral health screening tools for children and wraparound services. Both legislators say wraparound services will reduce the need for facility-based care and out-of-home placements. In addition to addressing the youth mental health crisis, they agree that the bill will result in significant cost savings to the state. Moreover, it will save lives.

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