Need For Juvenile Behavioral Health Treatment

School Safety Committee. The bill instructs the school safety resource center (center) to convene a working group of necessary and interested stakeholders to assess the needs of school districts with respect to the adequacy and availability of residential mental health treatment for children and youth who have been identified by school personnel as having severe behavioral or mental health disorders and potential ways to resolve such needs. The working group is directed to gather information on the availability, need, and cost associated with residential treatment services for children and youth in Colorado. The center shall use the data to prepare a report and make any legislative recommendations to address the mental health needs of children and youth in Colorado.

The center is required to present the report and any legislative recommendations as part of its presentation to its committee of reference at a hearing held pursuant to the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act" in January 2021.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)