(1) (a) The statewide behavioral health court liaison program is established in the office of the state court administrator. The state court administrator is responsible for program administration, including ensuring that each judicial district implements a local program design that is aligned with statewide goals and legislative intent.
(b) The purpose of the program is to identify and dedicate local behavioral health professionals as court liaisons in each state judicial district. The court liaisons shall facilitate communication and collaboration between judicial and behavioral health systems.
The program is designed to keep judges, district attorneys, and defense attorneysinformed about available community-based behavioral health services, including services for defendants who have been ordered to undergo a competency evaluation or receive competency restoration services pursuant to article 8.5 of this title 16. The program is further designed to promote positive outcomes for individuals living with mental health or co-occurring behavioral health conditions.
On or before October 1, 2018, and as necessary thereafter, the state court administrator shall establish program procedures, timelines, funding guidelines, and acceptable expenses for the distribution of program funds to judicial districts. The state court administrator shall allocate program funding to judicial districts based on case volume, geographical complexity, and density of need.
The state court administrator shall implement capabilities within the existing statewide court data system to indicate behavioral health conditions in cases brought to the courts.
Each judicial district shall use allocated program money to partner with communitymental health providers, such as a community mental health center, that are able to provide a continuum of community-based behavioral health services in their region to accomplish the program goals set forth in subsections (1) and (2) of this section. Program money may be used for the purposes established by the state court administrator pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, including but not limited to:
Program implementation and start-up costs determined necessary and appropriate bythe state court administrator;
Contracting for an adequate number of dedicated court liaisons responsible for theduties set forth in section 16-11.9-204;
Prioritizing, through the court liaisons, cases where competency to proceed and restoration to competency are raised, and providing necessary services for such cases; and
Operational funding for court liaison activities as determined necessary and appropriate by the state court administrator.
Source: L. 2018: Entire part added, (SB 18-251), ch. 494, p. 2382, § 1, effective June 6.