House committee advances bill to expand emergency juvenile detention beds, add prevention funding

Representatives advanced House Bill 1146 on a 12‑1 committee vote after a day of testimony from district attorneys, child‑welfare advocates and facility officials who described rising juvenile violent crime and widespread local shortages of detention and placement capacity.

The bill’s sponsors, Rep. Lisa Byrd, sponsor, and Rep. Wouk, said the measure is intended to relieve immediate public‑safety strains while investing in services to keep youth out of the justice system. “Our bill, as amended, will reform the actual number of beds that each jurisdiction can use without raising the cap,” Byrd told the committee, adding that the measure would allow the state to move beds across judicial districts and expand emergency beds from 22 to 39.

Why it matters: Colorado lowered its statutory juvenile detention bed cap in 2021, and prosecutors and local officials say violent juvenile filings and detentions have risen sharply since. Witnesses…