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Behavioral Health Administration highlights SB196 grants, medication‑consistency work and PREVAIL diversion sites
Summary
The Behavioral Health Administration reported on implementation of Senate Bill 196 grant programs (about 29 grantees in 17 counties serving 16,903 people by December) that fund early‑intervention, deflection, diversion and reentry efforts, and described progress on medication‑consistency and health‑information exchange work for jails.
Commissioner Danette R. Smith and Mark Kantajani, director of BHA’s Adult Behavioral Health Continuum Division, told the Joint Judiciary Committee that the administration has been implementing three SMART‑Act‑reporting programs tied to behavioral‑health strategies aimed at reducing criminal justice involvement.
Kantajani described the SB196 grant portfolio (approximately $50.7 million from the Behavioral Health Cash Fund) that has funded 29 programs across 17 counties and—by December—served about 16,903 individuals with early‑intervention, deflection, diversion and reentry services. Examples include Westminster’s in‑house court navigator and expanded reentry supports, which the administration cited as models for linking people to housing, treatment and wraparound services.
The agency also outlined medication‑consistency work under SB 1719, explaining a minimum formulary and progress connecting jails to Health Information Exchanges (HIEs). As of December 2025, 40 jails were connected to HIEs, with bidirectional capability available in about 25 percent of county jails. BHA reported that long‑acting injectables for mental‑health and substance‑use disorders were added to the formulary and that cooperative purchasing and HIE expansion are in planning to reduce costs and improve continuity of care.
BHA described PREVAIL (formerly LEAD) as a statewide deflection/diversion model operating in five sites (Alamosa, Denver, Lakewood, Longmont and Pueblo) that provides intensive case management and community supports, noting development of a public dashboard and ongoing model refinements.
The administration said many funded grantees had closed out their initial grant cycles and that sustainability plans emphasized Medicaid and community partnerships where appropriate. BHA agreed to provide additional grantee feedback and performance materials to the committee upon request.
