DHS asks Joint Budget Committee for $30 million to add inpatient psychiatric beds to meet consent‑decree timelines

The Colorado Department of Human Services asked the Joint Budget Committee for $30,000,000 to increase inpatient psychiatric bed capacity that the department says is necessary to comply with a 2019 consent decree and to reduce a substantial jail wait list.

Leora Joseph, DHS deputy executive director for civil and forensic mental health, told the committee the state is ‘‘in active litigation’’ with the plaintiffs and special masters overseeing compliance. Joseph said the department has about 370 people waiting in jails for state hospital beds and that inpatient programs are at roughly 98% capacity. ‘‘We are asking for $30,000,000 to increase our ability to serve the people off the wait list and get them out of jail and into treatment,’’ Joseph said.

Joseph described the request as primarily for competency (forensic) beds with an additional 24 civil beds that would support step‑down care. She cited data presented by court‑appointed special masters showing that increased inpatient capacity was the metric most directly tied to meeting the consent‑decree timeframes. The department also noted historical results: investments in prior years lowered the wait list dramatically but led to higher judicial orders as the system’s capacity to process cases improved.

Committee members raised persistent concerns about whether adding beds alone would produce sustainable improvements. Senator Amabile and others emphasized the need for stronger community‑based services and outpatient continuity: without step‑down care, patients can reenter the system. Joseph said the administration plans clinic and civil‑bed investments that can be used to reduce churn and, over time, convert forensic capacity to civil capacity once the state achieves compliance.

Representative Taggart highlighted unused regional capacity in Grand Junction and urged the department to explore leasing existing hospitals rather than building new units; Joseph said DHS supports use of the Grand Junction hospital and has previously provided start‑up support.

The department estimated the added beds would enable treatment for more than 200 additional people a year and emphasized the risk of punitive court actions if the state does not make progress; Joseph referenced a Washington state court case that produced large fines and forced releases for noncompliance.

The Committee did not take a budget decision on the $30 million request during the hearing; members asked DHS to provide more detail on the request, options for using existing facilities, and data on churn and treatment outcomes before further action.