New Colorado program shifts defendants from jail to treatment on competency grounds
By Michael Braithwaite | The Denver Gazette
In an attempt to reduce wait times for inpatient defendant competency restoration, Colorado courts are launching a new program to divert eligible people into a separate community care process.
The near-$1.5 million program, which uses money from the general fund and was spurred by the passage of House Bill 24-1355 last June, will create a process in each judicial district to identify certain individuals who are not competent enough to proceed in a trial process and refer them to a wraparound program that will connect them with external care, according to a news release from the Colorado Judicial Branch and the bill itself.
“This work is the result of years of collaboration, deep listening, and versatility,” said Gene Klivansky,...


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