Sixty-second General Assembly
LLS NO. R990142.01 Julie
Pelegrin
STATE OF COLORADO
BY REPRESENTATIVE Tool;
also SENATOR Wham.
REVISED
APPROPRIATIONS
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 991042
CONCERNING CREATION OF AN INTERIM COMMITTEE TO STUDY
THE TREATMENT OF PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS WHO ARE INVOLVED
IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
WHEREAS, A study by the Colorado Department of Corrections
completed in the fall of 1998 identified approximately 1,200 inmates,
or almost 10% of the inmate population of the Department of Corrections,
as persons who meet the diagnostic criteria for major mental illnesses;
and
WHEREAS, The number of inmates in the Department
of Corrections identified in 1998 as meeting the diagnostic criteria
for major mental illnesses is twice the number identified in 1996
and five to six times the number identified in 1988; and
WHEREAS, In 1998, approximately 20% of the juveniles
held in the legal custody of the Division of Youth Corrections
within the Department of Human Services have been identified as
having moderate to severe mental health problems requiring psychiatric
treatment; and
WHEREAS, A study conducted in 1995 found that approximately
6% of the persons held in county jails and in community corrections
throughout the state had been diagnosed as persons with severe
or chronic mental illness; and
WHEREAS, It is estimated that currently as many as
8.7% of all the adults and juveniles on probation throughout the
state of Colorado and 14.2% of the adults on probation in Denver
have been identified as having severe or chronic mental illness;
and
WHEREAS, As of April 13, 1999, approximately 45%
of the inpatient population at the Colorado Mental Health Institute
had been committed following the return of a verdict of not guilty
by reason of insanity or a determination by the court that the
person was incompetent to stand trial due to mental illness; and
WHEREAS, Persons with mental illness, as a direct
or indirect result of their condition, are in many instances more
likely than persons who do not have mental illness to be involved
in the criminal justice system, including the juvenile justice
system; and
WHEREAS, The existing procedures and diagnostic tools
used by persons in the criminal justice system may not be sufficient
to adequately identify and diagnose persons with mental illness
who are involved in the criminal justice system; and
WHEREAS, The criminal justice system, including the
juvenile justice system, may not currently be structured in such
a manner as to provide the level of treatment and care for persons
with mental illness that is necessary to ensure the safety of
these persons, of other persons in the criminal and juvenile justice
systems, and of the community at large; and
WHEREAS, The ongoing supervision, care, and monitoring,
especially with regard to medication, of persons with mental illness
who are released from incarceration are crucial to ensuring the
safety of the community; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives
of the Sixtysecond General Assembly of the State of Colorado,
the Senate concurring herein:
(1) That there is hereby created an interim
committee to work through the 1999 interim to study the identification,
diagnosis, and treatment of persons with mental illness who are
involved in the state criminal justice system, including the juvenile
justice system. The interim committee shall consider, but need
not be limited to, the following issues:
(a) Early identification, diagnosis, and
treatment of adults and juveniles with mental illness who are
charged with criminal offenses;
(b) Prosecution and sentencing alternatives
for persons with mental illness that may involve treatment and
ongoing supervision;
(c) Diagnosis, treatment, and housing
of persons with mental illness who are convicted of crimes or
who plead guilty, nolo contendere, or not guilty by reason of
insanity or who are found to be incompetent to stand trial;
(d) Diagnosis, treatment, and housing
of juveniles with mental illness who are adjudicated for offenses
that would constitute crimes if committed by adults or who plead
guilty, nolo contendere, or not guilty by reason of insanity or
who are found to be incompetent to stand trial;
(e) Ongoing treatment and supervision,
especially with regard to medication, of adults and juveniles
who are convicted or adjudicated and housed within the community;
(f) Ongoing treatment and supervision, especially
with regard to medication, of adults and juveniles who are on
probation or parole and housed within the community;
(g) Ongoing
supervision, especially with regard to medication, of persons
with mental illness after discharge from sentence;
(h) Civil commitment
of persons with mental illness who are criminally convicted, found
not guilty by reason of insanity, or found to be incompetent to
stand trial;
(i) Other issues
concerning persons with mental illness who are involved in the
state criminal justice system, including the juvenile justice
system, that arise during the course of the interim study.
(2) That the interim committee shall consist
of six members. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and
the President of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the
Senate shall appoint the members of the committee no later
than thirty days after passage of this Resolution, as follows:
(a) The Speaker of the House of Representatives
shall appoint three representatives to serve on the interim committee,
one of whom shall be named chairperson of the interim committee,
and no more than two of whom shall be members of the same political
party;
(b) The President of the Senate shall
appoint two senators to serve on the interim committee,
one of whom shall be named vicechairperson of the interim
committee, and the Senate Minority Leader shall appoint one
senator to serve on the interim committee, and no more than
two of the three shall be from the same political party.
(3) That the chairperson and vicechairperson
of the interim committee shall appoint an advisory task force
to assist the committee in performing its study. The advisory
task force shall consist of nineteen members as follows:
(a) One member who represents the judicial
department;
(b) One member who represents the division
of probation within the judicial department;
(c) One member who represents the division
of mental health within the department of human services;
(d) One member who represents the division
of criminal justice within the department of public safety;
(e) One member who represents the department
of corrections;
(f) One member who represents the division
of parole within the department of corrections;
(g) One member who represents community
corrections;
(h) Two members who represent local law
enforcement agencies;
(i) One member who represents the division
of youth corrections within the department of human services;
(j) One member who represents the Colorado
mental health institute at Pueblo;
(k) One member who represents the state
attorney general's office;
(l) One member who represents the district
attorneys within the state;
(m) Two members who represent the criminal
defense bar within the state;
(n) Two members who are mental health
professionals practicing within the state;
(o) Two members of the public who have
mental illness and have been involved with the criminal justice
system in this state or who have family members who have mental
illness and have been involved with the criminal justice system
in this state.
(4) That the interim committee shall make
findings and recommendations regarding the issues reviewed in
this study, including but not limited to any necessary legislation,
and shall submit a written report on the interim committee's findings
and recommendations to the General Assembly no later than November
15, 1999. Legislation recommended by the interim committee shall
be treated as legislation recommended by any other interim committee
for purposes of any introduction deadlines or bill limitations
imposed by the joint rules of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
(5) That the interim committee shall meet
at least three times to fulfill its responsibilities in this study.
(6) That the members of the interim committee
shall be paid compensated as provided in section 22307,
Colorado Revised Statutes, for attendance at meetings of the interim
committee and of the advisory task force.
(7) That the members of the advisory task
force shall serve without compensation.
(8) That the Legislative Council staff
and the Office of Legislative Legal Services shall be made available
to assist the interim committee in carrying out its duties.
(9) That all expenditures incurred while conducting this study shall be approved by the chair of the Legislative Council and paid by vouchers and warrants drawn as provided by law from moneys allocated to the Legislative Council for legislative studies from appropriations made by the General Assembly.