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Committee advances bill to allow a locked perimeter fence at Fort Logan psychiatric residential treatment facility
Summary
Lawmakers advanced House Bill 1172, which would permit a locked perimeter fence at a new psychiatric residential treatment facility on the Fort Logan campus, with supporters saying it will keep youth safe and keep beds in state.
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced House Bill 1172 after hearing testimony from state health officials, family advocates and trauma-informed-care experts who said a secure perimeter fence will reduce runaways and allow Colorado to keep more young people in-state for psychiatric residential treatment.
Sponsor Sen. Chris Amabile said the bill would allow a locked fence only for the psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF) being built on the Fort Logan campus, and stressed the change is narrow: “We don't want it to be a detention facility. We want it to be a psychiatric facility,” she told the panel.
Department of Human Services deputy executive director Perry May said the PRTF will have 16 beds and that a secure perimeter will let youth access an outdoor yard without staff immediately following them into nearby public streets — a step he called more consistent with “trauma-informed care.” Steven Fisher of the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health described multiple cases in which children who ran from facilities were injured or killed and urged expansion of the secure-perimeter concept to other residential facilities. Mental Health Colorado supported the bill as a way to keep children in-state for specialized care.
After public testimony, the committee placed the bill on the committee consent calendar by unanimous consent; no objection to placement on the consent calendar was recorded in the committee transcript.
Why this matters: Colorado has a shortage of PRTF beds for children with acute psychiatric needs. Supporters argued the narrow change will let the Fort Logan facility operate in a trauma-informed manner, reduce out-of-state placements and prevent harms when children run from campus.
What’s next: Committee placement on the consent calendar means the bill is scheduled for final floor consideration under the consent procedure unless a senator objects and pulls it for separate debate or amendment.
