Increase Residential Behavioral Health Beds

The act requires the department of human services (department) to renovate a building at the mental health institute at Fort Logan to create at least 16 additional inpatient beds for persons in need of residential behavioral health treatment. The act authorizes the new beds to be used for persons needing competency services until the backlog of such persons is eliminated, and at that point the beds may begin to serve civil patients.

The act also directs the department and the department of health care policy and financing to create, develop, or contract to add at least 125 additional beds at mental health residential facilities (mental health facilities) throughout the state for adults in need of ongoing supportive services. For the new beds, the act requires the department, in collaboration with the behavioral health administration, the department of health care policy and financing, and relevant stakeholders, to establish criteria for admissions and discharge planning, quality assurance monitoring, appropriate length of stay, and compliance with applicable federal law. The act requires mental health facilities to be licensed by the department of public health and environment as an assisted living facility or by the department as a behavioral health entity during the 2022-23 state fiscal year. Starting in the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the mental health facilities must be licensed by the behavioral health administration.

The act appropriates to the department from the behavioral and mental health cash fund:

• $728,296 for use by administration and finance;
• $39,854,179 for use by the office of behavioral health for contract beds and renovations in mental health residential facilities, costs associated with additional beds in department facilities, and oversight of the additional beds;
• $6,578,266 for costs associated with the operation of additional beds at the Colorado mental health institute at Fort Logan;
• $6,991,567 for capital construction at the mental health institute at Fort Logan; and
• $3,692,111 for capital construction at three existing department facilities to create mental health residential facilities.

The act also appropriates $91,938 to the department of health care policy and financing.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)