2016 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 16 - Criminal Proceedings
Code of Criminal Procedure
Article 11.9 - Standardized Screening Process for Mentally Ill Offenders
§ 16-11.9-102. Mental illness screening - standardized process - development

(1) The director of the division of criminal justice within the department of public safety shall be responsible for ensuring that the head of the department of psychiatry at the university of Colorado health sciences center, the judicial department, the department of corrections, the state board of parole, the division of criminal justice within the department of public safety, and the unit within the department of human services that administers behavioral health programs and services, including those related to mental health and substance abuse meet and cooperate to develop a standardized screening procedure for the assessment of mental illness in persons who are involved in the adult criminal justice system. The standardized screening procedure shall include, but is not limited to:

(a) Development or identification of one or more standardized instruments for screening persons who are involved in the adult criminal justice system;

(b) Development of criteria for potential use of such standardized instruments, including consideration of methods of addressing confidential communications by those persons who will be screened for mental illness;

(c) Identification of those persons who will be utilizing the standardized screening instruments, and consideration of training requirements for such persons;

(d) Identification of those persons who will be screened for mental illness;

(e) The stages within the adult criminal justice system at which a person shall be screened for mental illness, including consideration of methods of addressing confidential communications by a person screened for mental illness;

(f) Consideration of a standard definition of mental illness, including serious mental illness; and

(g) Development of procedures for referral for further assessment based on the results of the screening.

(2) In conjunction with the development of a standardized mental illness screening procedure for the adult criminal justice system as specified in subsection (1) of this section, the judicial department, the division of youth corrections within the department of human services, the unit responsible for child welfare services within the department of human services, the unit within the department of human services that administers behavioral health programs and services, including those related to mental health and substance abuse, the division of criminal justice within the department of public safety, and the department of corrections shall cooperate to develop a standardized screening procedure for the assessment of mental illness in juveniles who are involved in the juvenile justice system. The standardized screening procedure shall include, but is not limited to:

(a) Development or identification of one or more standardized instruments for screening persons who are involved in the juvenile justice system;

(b) Development of criteria for potential use of such standardized instruments, including consideration of methods of addressing confidential communications by those persons who will be screened for mental illness;

(c) Identification of those persons who will be utilizing the standardized screening instruments, and consideration of training requirements for such persons;

(d) Identification of those persons who will be screened for mental illness;

(e) The stages within the juvenile justice system at which a person shall be screened for mental illness, including consideration of methods of addressing confidential communications by a person screened for mental illness;

(f) Consideration of a standard definition of mental illness, including serious mental illness; and

(g) Development of procedures for referral for further assessment based on the results of the screening.