Signed by Governor John Hickenlooper

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to recede from Senate amendments and pass a bill that establishes the Division of Youth Services and establishes requirements for such division.

Highlights:

• Establishes the Division of Youth Services, formerly known as the Division of Youth Corrections (Sec. 1).

• Defines “youth” as an individual who is less than 21 years of age (Sec. 3).

• Establishes a pilot program that provides treatment to at least 20 youths to test the use of therapeutic, group-treatment without the use of seclusion and mechanical restraints other than handcuffs (Sec. 1).

• Requires pilot program staff to be trained as youth specialists and have substantial knowledge of rehabilitative treatment and adolescent behavior modification and physical management techniques that do not harm youth (Sec. 1).

• Prohibits the use of restraint methods that physically harm youths 1 year after the start of the pilot program (Sec. 1).

• Prohibits the the practice of putting youths alone in a locked room except during sleeping hours after 1 year (Sec. 1).

• Requires the Division of Youth Services to contract with a third party to train staff in relationship-based and group-centered trauma-responsive care and decreasing violence in facilities (Sec. 1).

• Requires the Division of Youth Services to contract with a separate third party to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program (Sec. 1).

• Establishes the Division of Youth Services Pilot Program Cash Fund (Sec. 1).

• Establishes a community board in each region of the Division of Youth Services with 6 uncompensated members, appointed by the governor to a term of 3 years, who are residents of or work in the region in which they serve (Sec. 2)

• Specifies that reports given to the Youth Restraint and Seclusion Working group must include the type of restraint used in incidents and incident reports for any youth who was isolated for more than 8 hours in 2 consecutive days (Sec. 4).

• Specifies that a person who has worked in youth corrections and a person who was once in the custody of the Division of Youth Services or a parent of such a person must be appointed to the Youth Restraint and Seclusion Working Group (Sec. 5).

• Specifies that incident summaries must include use of force and that the information will not be redacted except to protect identifying information of an individual (Sec. 6).

• Specifies that the state auditor must audit reports of recidivism rates and education outcomes for youths in the Division of Youth Services on or before January 1, 2019, and on or before January 1, 2024, examining the reports during the preceding 5 years, after which time audits will be conducted at the discretion of the state auditor (Sec. 8).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to not concur with Senate amendments to a bill that establishes the Division of Youth Services and establishes requirements for such division.

Highlights:

• Establishes the Division of Youth Services, formerly known as the Division of Youth Corrections (Sec. 1).

• Defines “youth” as an individual who is at least 10 years of age but less than 21 years of age (Sec. 3).

• Establishes a pilot program that provides treatment to at least 20 youths to test the use of therapeutic, group-treatment without the use of seclusion and mechanical restraints other than handcuffs (Sec. 1).

• Requires pilot program staff to be trained as youth specialists and have substantial knowledge of rehabilitative treatment and adolescent behavior modification and physical management techniques that do not harm youth, which must begin no later than July 1, 2018 (Sec. 1).

• Prohibits the use of restraint methods that physically harm youths 1 year after the start of the pilot program (Sec. 1).

• Prohibits the the practice of putting youths alone in a locked room except during sleeping hours after 1 year (Sec. 1).

• Requires the Division to contract with a third party to train staff in relationship-based and group-centered trauma-responsive care and decreasing violence in facilities (Sec. 1).

• Requires the Division to contract with a separate third party to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program (Sec. 1).

• Establishes a community board in each region of the Division of Youth Services with 6 uncompensated members, appointed by the governor to a term of 3 years, who are residents of or work in the region in which they serve (Sec. 2)

• Specifies that reports given to the Youth Restraint and Seclusion Working group must include the type of restraints used in incidents and incident reports for any youth who was isolated for more than 8 hours in 2 consecutive days (Sec. 4).

• Specifies that a person who has worked in youth corrections and a person who was once in the custody of the Division of Youth Services or a parent of such a person must be appointed to the Youth Restraint and Seclusion Working Group (Sec. 5).

• Specifies that incident summaries must include use of force and that the information will not be redacted except to protect identifying information of an individual (Sec. 6).

• Specifies that the state auditor must audit reports of recidivism rates and education outcomes for youths in the Division of Youth Services on or before January 1, 2019, and on or before January 1, 2024, examining the reports during the preceding 5 years, after which time audits will be conducted at the discretion of the state auditor (Sec. 8).

• Specifies that an individual who is at least 18 years of age may be transferred to the Department of Corrections under the following circumstances at a youth services facility (Sec. 9):

• The individual is in possession of contraband in the form of a deadly weapon;

• The individual has committed a crime of violence;

• The individual has committed assault;

• The individual has possessed or distributed a controlled substance;

• The individual is no longer benefitting from the youth service programs; or

• It is unfit or unsafe for the individual to be in a youth facility.

Full Bill Text