SB 22-188

Senate Bill 22-188, titled "Behavioral Health Support For Criminal Justice Advocates," aims to provide mental health support for public defenders and prosecutors in Colorado. The bill allocates $500,000 from the state's general fund to create a program that offers counseling services, training on job-related trauma, and peer support programs. Half of this funding goes to the Office of the State Public Defender and the other half to the Colorado District Attorneys' Council (CDAC), which will distribute grants to individual district attorney offices for these purposes. The bill also ensures confidentiality for communications between peers in support roles and those receiving help. Since it has been signed, the program is now active and providing resources to criminal justice advocates dealing with mental health challenges related to their work.

Official Summary

The act creates the public defender and prosecutor behavioral health support program (program) in the department of local affairs (department). The department allocates fifty percent of program money and any gifts, grants, and donations received to the office of the state public defender and the remaining fifty percent to the Colorado district attorneys' council (CDAC). CDAC administers a grant program to award grants to individual district attorney's offices. A grant recipient and the office of the state public defender may use program money for counseling services, including reimbursements for the costs of counseling services; training and education programs that teach the symptoms of job-related trauma and how to prevent and treat trauma; and peer support programs. The office of the state public defender and CDAC are annually required to report to the House and Senate judiciary committees about the grant program. The act prohibits a district attorney or public defender peer support team member from being examined as a witness in court about any communication between the peer support team member and a person receiving peer support services without the consent of the person who received the peer support services. The act appropriates $500,000 from the general fund for the public defender and prosecutor behavioral health support program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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