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Senate panel unanimously refers bill to centralize host-home information and strengthen oversight for people with IDD
Summary
House Bill 11-47 would create a centralized, verified database about host homes, improve tracking and complaints processes, clarify that host homes are residential (not institutional) and add safeguards against bad actors; the committee referred the bill unanimously to Appropriations after broad support from advocates, providers and state agencies.
The Senate Health & Human Services Committee unanimously voted to send House Bill 11-47 to Appropriations after hearing widespread support from advocacy groups, provider associations and state agencies.
Sponsors said the bill addresses documented instances of abuse and neglect in some host-home settings by creating a centralized database and clearer information sharing among provider agencies. Witnesses said the database would help prevent ‘‘pasta shopping’’ — the practice of changing operating names to avoid accountability — and allow families and agencies to make more informed placement decisions.
Lindsay Menno, deputy director at DDRC and a host-home provider, testified that host homes provide community‑based, family‑like settings and that the bill balances privacy with transparency. ‘‘This bill helps remove bad actors from the system,’’ Menno said. Several advocacy organizations, including the Arc chapters and Disability Law Colorado, described the bill as striking a balance between privacy protections and necessary oversight.
Jack Johnson, an attorney with Disability Law Colorado, urged the committee to close gaps that allow terminated providers to reenter the market under different names and said giving families access to verified information will help them choose safer placements.
State officials and providers, including Cassandra Keller (HCBS community options manager) and Ellen Gensby (public policy director, Alliance), supported a narrowly tailored approach that keeps private residential information restricted to verified users while making critical compliance and termination histories available to agencies and families during placement decisions.
Committee members asked whether the departments could build such a database without legislation; witnesses said legislative authority and modest funding (witnesses referenced ARPA start-up funds and an $80,000 follow-up figure) were needed to finish, pilot and secure the system. After sponsor remarks and brief questions, the committee voted unanimously to send HB 11-47 to Appropriations.
