Committee backs first-step reforms to prevent youth runaways from residential treatment centers

The House Health & Human Services Committee unanimously advanced Senate Bill 151, a package of initial reforms from the Timothy Montoya task force aimed at reducing runaways and improving response when youth leave residential treatment facilities.

The bill requires each residential childcare facility to develop a written, trauma‑informed policy that explains how the facility will respond when a young person attempts to run or goes missing. Facilities must provide a copy of that policy to parents or legal guardians at admission. The bill also requires facilities to notify a parent, custodian or legal guardian within four hours after a youth is missing from care.

Sponsors said the measure implements the task force’s immediate, non‑fiscal recommendations and is the first step of a broader plan. Representative Froelich, a sponsor, described the change as a practical reform that can be implemented without new appropriations. Task force member and mother Elizabeth Montoya testified that her 12‑year‑old son Timmy ran away repeatedly from residential placements and was struck and killed by a vehicle in June 2020; she told the committee that timely disclosure of facility policies and quicker notification to parents could have changed her decisions about placement and might have prevented the outcome.

Stephanie Villafuerte, Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman and task force lead, told the committee that state data show roughly 270 children ran away from foster care and residential treatment in 2022 and that Colorado lacks consistent statewide data on how long children are missing or what harms they experience while absent. Villafuerte said the task force identified eight recommendations; SB 151 includes the three that carry no fiscal note.

Parents with lived experience and providers supported the bill. Parent Kevin Lash (represented in testimony by Mahmoud Ahmed) described repeated runs by his son and urged adoption of the bill’s measures. The Colorado Association of Family and Children’s Agencies (CAFCA) and other provider groups testified in favor and said the bill provides a standard of care without imposing a one‑size‑fits‑all treatment model. The Colorado PTA supported requirements for restraint policies, training and parental notification.

Committee members asked whether a standardized policy would discourage placement capacity; sponsors and provider witnesses said the bill is intended to set minimum transparency and notification standards while allowing facilities to tailor clinical responses to their populations. Representatives noted that more than 20 residential facilities have closed in recent years, and witnesses said funding and the overall child‑welfare landscape contributed to closures.

The committee voted to advance the bill by a 13‑0 margin; the measure was reported with a favorable recommendation to the Committee of the Whole. Sponsors said they plan to pursue remaining task‑force recommendations, including validated risk assessments and data collection, as funding allows.