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Committee advances Youthful Offender System bill to codify trauma‑informed care and accommodations
Summary
Sponsors said HB1064 would modernize the Youthful Offender System by requiring individualized assessments, trauma‑informed and evidence‑based treatment, accommodations for disabilities and behavioral‑health needs, and enhanced reporting; the committee adopted an amendment and sent the bill to the Committee of the Whole, 9–4.
Representatives Jackson and Biden told the committee House Bill 10‑64 codifies updates to the Youthful Offender System (YOS) that sponsors said DOC already implements: individualized assessments and treatment plans, trauma‑informed care, protections so youth are not punished for symptoms of untreated behavioral‑health conditions, stronger staffing standards and outcome reporting.
Stakeholders who testified included Disability Law Colorado, the Colorado PTA, Mental Health Colorado,DOC legislative staff and several people with lived experience. Disability advocates asked the sponsors to strengthen language on effective communication and accommodations, noting that compliance often fails in institutional settings for people with cognitive or communication disabilities. "We would like language that references effective communication and reasonable accommodations under the ADA," a Disability Law Colorado representative told the committee.
Sponsors and DOC staff said the bill largely codifies practice rather than creating new programs; DOC described a neutral position on the bill while noting new reporting requirements could create workload. The bill specifies reporting to the SMART Act and program outcome measures; the sponsors said they worked to avoid provisions that would generate a fiscal note.
The committee adopted an amendment clarifying the entity that determines revocations and resentencing authority. After debate and testimony on nutrition, staffing and definition questions (for example, what qualifies an "evaluator"), the committee moved HB10‑64 as amended to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation; the committee reported the bill passed 9–4.
Next steps: HB10‑64 will go to the Committee of the Whole for further consideration, where sponsors expect to refine reporting definitions and any implementation details with DOC.
