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Many pieces of legislation regarding human services made their way through the 74th General Assembly. Human Services legislation primarily focused on child welfare issues, funding senior services, and addressing housing concerns through Medicaid.

Submitted herewith is the final report of the Legislative Oversight Committee for the Treatment of Persons with Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice System. The committee was created pursuant to Article 98 of Title 37, Colorado Revised Statutes. The purpose of this committee is to oversee an advisory task force that studies and makes recommendations concerning persons with behavioral health disorders who are justice-involved.

The 75^th General Assembly passed numerous pieces of legislation regarding public health. While not all of the public health legislation fell into these groups, three major themes for public health were: emergency preparedness, education and transparency, and behavioral health.

The Colorado General Assembly passed a number of bills related to human services and families. Many of these laws were recommendations from interim committees and task forces. Others made changes to Colorado’s child welfare system, introduced guardrails around access to certain online material, and more.

The Public Benefits and Services Resource Manual is intended to serve as a reference guide for information on some of the state’s programs that provide direct benefits or services to members of the public. The manual is divided into four sections to make it easier for the reader to access information. The first section provides information on how to apply for certain public benefits using the Colorado PEAK website and county offices of human or social services.

Juvenile justice systems were created in the late 19th century under the philosophy that juveniles are different than adults and may have different rehabilitation needs. Colorado has two separate systems for the detention or commitment of juveniles convicted of crimes. One system exists within the Department of Human Services (DHS), a department with the responsibility of addressing child welfare, while the other exists within the Department of Corrections (DOC), where adult offenders are sentenced.

This memorandum provides information regarding state laws penalizing those who misrepresent pets or other animals as service animals. Nine states have laws prohibiting the misrepresentation of pets, and nine states have laws prohibiting people from misrepresenting themselves as disabled in order to gain the use of service animals. Colorado prohibits impersonating an individual with disabilities, without specifying the use of a service animal.

Colorado's child welfare system provides a range of services to protect children from abuse and neglect and to assist families in caring for their children. This issue brief provides an overview of the child welfare system in Colorado, including administration and funding, reporting and investigation of abuse and neglect, and the types of services provided. An overview of the judicial process in child welfare cases is also included.

Colorado's Adult Protective Services (APS) system, first established in 1983, protects at-risk adults who, because of mental or physical ability, are unable to obtain services or otherwise protect their own health, safety, and welfare. In response to greater awareness of at-risk populations, between 2013 and 2016, legislation expanded the scope of the system by implementing mandatory reporting for certain groups and establishing protections for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Respite care provides temporary relief to a caregiver from the physical and emotional impacts of caring for a person with special needs who is unable or needs assistance to care for himself or herself. It can be provided for a few hours, overnight, or on an extended basis by a friend, family member, volunteer, paid service provider, or in a community-based care setting. This issue brief provides a brief overview of state-funded respite care services and information about the Respite Care Task Force, which met during the 2015 interim.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, approximately 10.3 percent of Colorado’s population reported having a disability in 2015.  Many of those individuals use a service animal or assistance animal to cope with their disability.  This issue brief defines the terms “service animal” and “assistance animal,” and discusses the federal and state laws that address them.

Final Report to the Colorado General Assembly by the Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Interim Study Committee.

Final Report to the Colorado General Assembly by the Oversight Committee on Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System.

This memorandum memorializes the process for requesting and preparing Demographic Notes (notes) pursuant to Section 2-2-322.5, C.R.S. It outlines the number of notes per session, the process for requesting notes, the preparation and timing of notes, and the preparation of revised and final notes.

This memorandum provides a brief overview of the human services delivery structure in Colorado, which is primarily state-supervised and county-delivered.  This includes an overview of the offices, divisions, and boards within the Colorado Department of Human Services (DHS) and a brief description of the services delivered through Colorado's 64 county departments of human or social services. 

This memorandum provides information about veterans community living centers (VCLCs), formerly known as state veterans nursing homes, in Colorado.  Specifically, it includes the history of the five current VCLC locations and the process for building new VCLCs.  The memorandum also discusses how the VCLCs are funded.

Presented to the Joint Health Committee.

Presented to the Joint Health Committee.

Presented to the Joint Health Committee.

During the 2018 legislative session, the General Assembly considered measures related to increasing access to behavioral health services, increasing capacity for competency restoration, protecting children in foster care, child care assistance funding, and increasing the effectiveness of other human services programs.

This issue brief explains Colorado’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, known as Colorado Works, which provides financial and other assistance. The federally funded program is overseen at the state level by the Department of Human Services and is administered at the county level.

Colorado's Adult Protective Services (APS) system, first established in 1983, protects at-risk adults who, because of mental or physical ability, are unable to obtain services or otherwise protect their own health, safety, and welfare.  This issue brief provides an overview of the APS system in Colorado, highlights data on APS reports and investigations, and outlines how information on APS investigations is stored and used in the Colorado Adult Protective Service Data System (CAPS). 

Respite care provides temporary relief to a caregiver from the physical and emotional impacts of caring for a person with special needs who requires assistance to care for themselves.  Care can be provided for a few hours, overnight, or on an extended basis by a friend, family member, volunteer, paid service provider, or in a community-based care setting.  This issue brief provides an overview of state respite care services.

This issue brief outlines Colorado's efforts to address issues associated with persons with mental illness in the criminal justice system.

The Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), Colorado’s newest state department, began operations in July 2022 to provide a range of programs and services that support young children, families, and the professionals that serve them.  This issue brief provides an overview of the CDEC, including its creation, programs and services offered through the department, and budget for FY 2022-23.