(1) (a) The executive director of the department of human services and the state court administrator of the judicial department, or any designees of such persons, shall form a working group that must include representatives from:
The division of criminal justice of the department of public safety;
The office of state planning and budgeting;
The Colorado district attorneys council;
Law enforcement;
The public defender's office and the office of alternate defense counsel;
The office of the child representative;
Juvenile probation;
Juvenile court judges and magistrates; and
Local and county governments, including county departments of human or socialservices.
(b) The working group shall carry out the following duties:
To establish a set of criteria for both detention and commitment for the purposes ofdetermining which juvenile offenders are appropriate for placement in the physical or legal custody of the department of human services. Such criteria must conform with section 19-2-508. This set of criteria, when adopted by the department of human services and the judicial department, must promote a more uniform system of determining which juveniles should be placed in the physical custody of the department of human services or in the legal custody of the department of human services so that decisions for such placement of a juvenile are made based upon a uniform set of criteria throughout the state. In addition, the criteria shall specifically take into account the educational needs of the juvenile and ensure the juvenile's access to appropriate educational services. The working group established pursuant to this subsection (1) shall hold a meeting at least once each year and as necessary to review and propose revision to the criteria established pursuant to this subsection (1) and the formula created pursuant to subsection (1)(b)(V) of this section.
Before January 1, 2021, to develop or adopt by a majority vote of the working groupa research-based detention screening instrument to be used statewide to inform placement of juveniles in a detention facility. In developing or adopting the detention screening instrument, the working group shall consult with expert organizations and review research and best practices from other jurisdictions. The working group is also responsible for:
Ensuring that the instrument identifies and mitigates any disparate impacts based ondisability, race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, economic status, or child welfare involvement;
Identifying measures and scoring for the detention screening instrument to determineeligibility for placement in a juvenile detention facility;
Identifying how the instrument is validated and piloted; and
Establishing statewide scoring override policies that minimize subjective decisionsto hold a juvenile in a detention facility, while allowing for local flexibility.
Before January 1, 2021, to develop a plan to provide training and technical assistance to screening teams on the implementation of the detention screening instrument, including at least annual refresher training;
Before January 1, 2021, to develop a plan for the division of youth services tocollect, compile, and report to the judiciary committees of the senate and the house of representatives, the health and human services committee of the senate, and the public health care and human services committee of the house of representatives, or any successor committees, annually on the use of secure detention; number and justification of overrides of the detention screening instrument as conducted pursuant to section 19-2-507; and, if possible, an analysis of detention screening instrument data to determine if any disparate impacts resulted based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, economic status, or child welfare involvement. The division of youth services shall recommend any necessary changes to appropriations that need to be made prior to fully implementing this section's recommendations. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), this reporting requirement continues indefinitely.
To establish a formula for the purpose of allocating funds by each judicial district inthe state of Colorado for alternative services to placing juveniles in the physical custody of the department of human services or in the legal custody of the department of human services. Such allocation must take into consideration such factors as the population of the judicial district, the incidence of offenses committed by juveniles in such judicial district, and other factors as deemed appropriate. The working group shall consider and take into account whether any federal money or matching funds are available to cover the costs of juveniles within the system, including parent fees and third-party reimbursement as authorized by law or reimbursements under Title IV-E of the federal "Social Security Act", as amended.
Before January 1, 2021, to establish criteria for juveniles served through alternativeservices funded pursuant to subsection (1)(b)(V) of this section. Such criteria must prioritize:
Preadjudicated juveniles eligible for placement in a detention facility as determinedby results from a detention screening instrument;
Juveniles who are in secure detention; and
Juveniles under the supervision of probation when the results of a detention screening instrument indicate that the juvenile is eligible for detention.
At least every two years, to review data collected by the division of youth serviceson the use of funding pursuant to subsection (1)(b)(V) of this section and its impact on the use of juvenile detention. The working group shall identify the measures that it will collect as part of its review of the impact of preadjudicated funding on detention pursuant to this section.
Before January 1, 2021, to adopt a relative information form concerning a juvenile's potential need for services or placement. The information form must be available at each judicial district to each parent or legal guardian of a juvenile screened for detention and participation in alternative services. The information form must:
Advise the parent or legal guardian that he or she is required to provide the requested information fully and completely; and
Require the parent or legal guardian to list the names, addresses, e-mail addresses,and telephone numbers of every grandparent, relative, kin, and person with a significant relationship with the juvenile and any comments concerning the appropriateness of the juvenile's potential need for services from or placement with those persons.
(IX) Before January 1, 2021, to develop a system of graduated responses and rewards to guide parole officers in determining how best to motivate positive juvenile behavior change and the appropriate response to a violation of terms and conditions of juvenile parole. "Graduated responses" means an accountability-based series of sanctions and services designed to respond to a juvenile's violation of parole quickly, consistently, and proportionally and incentives to motivate positive behavior change and successful completion of parole and his or her reentry and treatment goals.
(2) Of the members of the working group established pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the executive director of the department of human services and the state court administrator of the judicial department, or any designees of such persons, have final authority to carry out the duty of creating the set of criteria pursuant to subsections (1)(b)(I) to (1)(b)(IV) of this section and creating the formula pursuant to subsections (1)(b)(V) to (1)(b)(VII) of this section. This authority can only be exercised after working with and participating in the working group process established in this section.
Source: L. 96: Entire article amended with relocations, p. 1607, § 1, effective January 1, 1997. L. 98: (1)(a) amended, p. 730, § 20, effective May 18. L. 2010: (1)(a) amended, (SB 10054), ch. 265, p. 1214, § 6, effective May 25. L. 2019: Entire section amended, (SB 19-108), ch. 294, p. 2696, § 5, effective July 1.
Editor's note: This section was formerly numbered as 19-2-1602 and 19-2-1605.