First Regular Session

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.