DENVER — While the next legislative session is still three months away, Colorado lawmakers are already working on legislation to help people living with severe mental illness.
The Treatment of Persons with Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems Interim Committee advanced a slate of bills this week aimed at helping people with mental illness stay out of the criminal justice system, and to ensure those who do end up behind bars get the treatment they need.
Helping a loved one with a mental illness isn’t easy, especially when they find themselves on the wrong side of the law.
"The people who have loved ones with serious mental illness are ashamed and embarrassed, and they're also broken by the experience of not being able to get care for their person," said State Rep. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder.
It’s something Amabile knows all too well.
"I have a child who has serious mental illness, schizoaffective schizophrenia with bipolar, who has substance use disorder, who's been homeless, who's been criminal justice involved," said Amabile.
She said sharing her family’s personal story has inspired others to come forward.
"And my talking about it has caused other parents to call me and say, ‘Hey, we're in trouble,'" said Amabile.
Amabile says the state’s failure to address severe mental illness is why too many young people end up in jail or prison instead of a hospital.
"For people who have serious mental illness, jail is pretty punishing," said Amabile. "It's just that is not what they are set up to do. They're not a mental health provider."
Data from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), shows that about two in five people in America’s jails and prisons have a history of mental illness.
Five bills lawmakers advanced this week would help young Coloradans with mental illness potentially avoid jail by doing things like setting up community deflection programs and making sure adult courts follow juvenile competency proceedings instead of adult competency proceedings whenever the defendant is a juvenile.
For those who do wind up in jail, lawmakers hope to ensure they get better treatment than what’s currently offered.
“Coloradans seeking help deserve well-resourced and widely available care,” said State Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City, the chair of the committee.
Michaelson Jenet sponsored three of the bills.
"I’m proud to sponsor legislation that will improve services for Coloradans in the juvenile justice system, provide behavioral health supports for people incarcerated in jails, and ensure Coloradans deemed incompetent by the judicial system have access to the behavioral health resources they need. These are all important ways we can support some of our most vulnerable Coloradans and equip them with the resources they need to heal," said Michaelson Jenet.
Amabile, who serves as vice-chair of the interim committee, said there’s a lot of work to do to solve Colorado’s mental health crisis, especially as it relates to incarcerating people with mental illness.
"It is time for us to talk about this problem and to fix it," said Amabile.
The bills will go to the legislative council for approval. If the bills are approved, they will be introduced next legislative session.
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