Date: 04/30/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB15-1358

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer House Bill 15-1358 to the Committee of the WPASS


01:48 PM -- HB 15-1358

Senator Kefalas and Senator Lundberg presented House Bill 15-1358, concerning permanent differential response program for child abuse or neglect cases of low or moderate risk. The Differential Response Pilot Program, administered in selected counties and overseen by the Department of Human Services, identifies low- and moderate-risk cases of abuse or neglect and diverts families to voluntary services rather than referring them to potentially adversarial court intervention. The bill continues the Differential Response Pilot Program as a permanent program and removes the pilot program reporting requirements and repeal date.


01:53 PM -- Pat Ratliff, Colorado Counties Inc., spoke in support of the bill. She spoke about the pilot program being implemented by counties. She told the committee that counties are not required to create a differential response program.


01:57 PM -- Angela Lytle, Arapahoe County Department of Human Services, spoke in support of the bill. She told the committee about how the program has changed how counties respond to child protection concerns. She explained that families who receive services and supports while remaining intact appear to have better outcomes. Ms. Lytle told the committee that the program appears to reduce the rate at which families return to the child welfare and judicial systems and has allowed caseworkers to provide support to families rather than just investigating reports of abuse.


02:02 PM

Committee discussion followed about the following topics: the Larimer County pilot program's outcomes, the Program Evaluation of the Colorado Consortium on Differential Response Final Report prepared by the Social Work Center at Colorado State University, evaluating programs administered in other counties, and caseworker retention.


02:10 PM -- Laura Soloman, Colorado Department of Human Services (DHS), spoke in support of the bill. She told the committee that DHS supports the differential response program. Ms. Soloman responded to questions about how the department will track the data collected from the counties, such as reentry into the system. Committee discussion followed about the role of caseworkers.


02:15 PM

Senator Kefalas and Senator Lundberg made closing comments.
BILL:HB15-1358
TIME: 02:17:58 PM
MOVED:Martinez Humenik
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1358 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 5-0.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Aguilar
Yes
Martinez Humenik
Yes
Newell
Yes
Crowder
Yes
Lundberg
Yes
Final YES: 5 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS