Children, youth, and families

Following stakeholder meetings, gathering hundreds of testimonies and input, system review, launching a new state department and boldly auditing the behavioral health system, the Behavioral Health Administration has released the Colorado Children and Youth Behavioral Health Implementation Plan. This plan lays out the pathway to access care for children and youth in Colorado. Children and youth have unique needs, experience unique challenges, and require unique supports and interventions; mental health and substance use services for children and youth cannot be a mirror of adult services. The State of Colorado is setting up services and supports for all children and youth and setting expectations for collaboration across state agencies, payers and providers to build a comprehensive, equitable, effective continuum of mental health and substance use services.

View a summary of the plan, as well as a presentation about the plan's priorities.

For more information, contact Matt Holtman at matt.holtman@state.co.us.

Vision

The vision for the children and youth behavioral health system in Colorado is to be a comprehensive, equitable, effective continuum of behavioral health services that meets the needs of children and youth in the right place, at the right time, to achieve whole person health and wellbeing.

This means Colorado's children and youth receive the treatment and support services they need to thrive in their community. To achieve this vision, state agencies need to work in unison and support efforts to:

• Promote the well-being of children and youth;
• Establish a comprehensive continuum of behavioral health services;
• Create the foundation for a system of care framework unique to Colorado;
• Reduce barriers to access and affordability of care;
• Support a competent and adequate workforce; and
• Have accountability and oversight to ensure a quality behavioral health system.

Priorities

The Children’s Behavioral Health Implementation Plan has more than 100 action items for state agencies. It identifies and addresses the most immediate priorities to be addressed within one to two years:

• Create a governance structure in BHA that utilizes the various committees, councils and work groups addressing child and youth behavioral health.
• Develop a set of services to meet the needs of youth with high acuity behavioral health.
• Create policy that increases investment in promotion and prevention efforts.
• Create an implementation plan specific to the delivery of intensive in-home and community-based services.
• Create the necessary policies that support the formation of Affordable Care Collaborative Phase III.
• Successful roll out the Behavioral Health Administrative Service Organizations (BHASO) system by July 2025.