Second Regular Session
Seventy-third General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
INTRODUCED
LLS NO. 22-0718.01 Jane Ritter x4342
HOUSE BILL 22-1158
House Committees Senate Committees
Public & Behavioral Health & Human Services
A BILL FOR AN ACT
C
ONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CENTER AT THE COLORADO101
S
PRINGS CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO TO102
PROVIDE ACCESSIBLE COMMUNITY SERVICES RELATED TO103
SUBSTANCE USE.104
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
http://leg.colorado.gov
.)
The bill establishes the CARE center in the Colorado Springs
campus of the university of Colorado (center). The purpose of the center
is to provide accessible substance use prevention and treatment services
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Sandridge and Snyder,
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
(None),
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing statute.
Dashes through the words indicate deletions from existing statute. to the community, train competent and culturally responsive substance
use counselors, and collect data that will contribute to research regarding
the efficacy of substance use interventions. The center shall submit a
report on its work and data collected to the health and human services
committee of the senate and the public and behavioral health and human
services committee of the house of representatives, or any successor
committees, on or before December 30, 2027.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:1
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly2
finds and declares that:3
(a) According to the 2018 national survey on drug use and health,4
nearly eight percent of persons twelve years of age and older needed5
substance abuse treatment in the previous year, yet only close to two6
percent received treatment for a substance use disorder. This treatment7
gap may be explained by a variety of factors, from individual attitudes8
toward substance use disorder treatment, to market and environmental9
variables, and the characteristics of licensed counselors who provide10
services, such as attitude, knowledge, and ability.11
(b) Barriers to a person's ability to engage in substance use12
prevention and treatment include:13
(I) Lack of accessible treatment options due to geographic14
location, such as in rural communities;15
(II) Inadequate access to transportation to travel to treatment16
facilities;17
(III) Lack of health insurance or difficulties accessing providers18
approved by health insurance;19
(IV) Lack of funding necessary to pay for treatment;20
(V) Social stigma; and21
(VI) Lack of integration of care. The lack of integrated care22
HB22-1158-2- occurs when clients change levels of care during treatment. The lack of1
integration and collaboration among treatment providers results in clients2
"falling through the cracks".3
(c) Research has demonstrated that untreated substance use4
disorders cost society approximately four hundred forty-two billion5
dollars each year in criminal justice expenses, as well as loss of6
productivity and health-care costs;7
(d) For every dollar invested in substance use disorder treatment,8
twelve dollars are saved in health care, criminal justice costs, theft, and9
drug-related crime;10
(e) In 2018, the United States department of health and human11
services estimated that Colorado had a shortage of approximately one12
hundred and ten addictions counselors. If the number of addictions13
counselors introduced to the workforce through training programs14
remains constant, the shortage is expected to increase to a shortage of15
four hundred and thirty addictions counselors by 2030.16
(f) The Colorado Springs campus of the university of Colorado is17
uniquely situated to provide persons experiencing substance use disorders18
issues with behavioral health treatment. The department of counseling19
and human services intends to establish a center, informally referred to as20
the "CARE center", to provide on-site, no-cost community counseling21
services with highly trained counseling interns under the supervision of22
a faculty of fully licensed and certified mental health, substance use, and23
mental health counselors.24
(g) Once the CARE center is formalized, it will ensure counseling25
services are accessible by circumventing common barriers to treatment in26
the following ways:27
HB22-1158
-3- (I) Administering telehealth services using a HIPAA-compliant1
platform to ensure persons in rural communities and those with limited2
transportation resources may access care;3
(II) Providing services at no cost to the client; and4
(III) Training student counselors in culturally responsive,5
integrated healthcare, and evidence-based substance use and mental6
health treatment modalities.7
(h) The CARE center will gather outcome data from each8
participating client, including demographics; responses to interventions;9
and changes in health, symptoms, and well-being. This information will10
contribute to research on the efficacy of interventions for substance use11
disorder treatment.12
(2) Therefore, the general assembly declares it is in the best13
interest of the state to formalize the CARE center and its services in14
statute. This will increase accessibility of substance use disorder15
treatment services by decreasing barriers to care and improving health16
disparities and supporting the education and training of substance use17
counselors-in-training. The interests of the state are further supported by18
the expansion of research to increase the understanding of substance use19
prevention and treatment interventions.20
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 27-81-119 as21
follows:22
27-81-119. CARE counseling center - established - purpose -23
reporting. (1) O
N OR BEFORE DECEMBER 1, 2022, THE COLORADO24
S
PRINGS CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO SHALL ESTABLISH25
THE CARE COUNSELING CENTER, REFERRED TO IN THIS SECTION AS THE26
"
CENTER". THE PURPOSE OF THE CENTER IS TO PROVIDE ACCESSIBLE27
HB22-1158
-4- SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT SERVICES TO THE1
COMMUNITY, TRAIN COMPETENT AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE2
SUBSTANCE USE COUNSELORS , AND COLLECT DATA THAT WILL3
CONTRIBUTE TO RESEARCH REGARDING THE EFFICACY OF SUBSTANCE USE4
INTERVENTIONS.5
(2) O
N OR BEFORE DECEMBER 30, 2027, THE CENTER SHALL6
SUBMIT A REPORT TO THE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE OF7
THE SENATE AND THE PUBLIC AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND HUMAN8
SERVICES COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES , OR ANY9
SUCCESSOR COMMITTEES , CONTAINING THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ,10
BASED ON DATA COLLECTED THROUGH THE CENTER :11
(a) T
HE TOTAL NUMBER OF CLIENTS TREATED BY THE CENTER12
SINCE ITS ESTABLISHMENT;13
(b) T
HE TOTAL NUMBER OF REPEAT CLIENTS TREATED BY THE14
CENTER;15
(c) B
EST PRACTICES FOR SCREENING AND ADMITTING POTENTIAL16
CLIENTS FOR ADMISSION FOR THE LEVEL OF CARE PROVIDED AT THE17
CENTER;18
(d) B
EST PRACTICES FOR ASSESSING THE PRESENCE OF A19
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER; RISK FACTORS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A20
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER ; PROTECTIVE AND RESILIENCY FACTORS21
ASSOCIATED WITH ADAPTATION ; AND PREVENTION OF PROBLEMATIC22
SUBSTANCE USE;23
(e) B
EST PRACTICES FOR INCREASING CLIENT ACCESS TO24
SUBSTANCE USE TREATMENT , AS WELL AS OTHER HEALTH CARE SERVICES;25
AND26
(f) I
DENTIFICATION OF EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS FOR THE27
HB22-1158
-5- TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS AND1
SYMPTOMS AND HOW THESE INTERVENTIONS IMPACT THE HEALTH AND2
WELL-BEING OF CLIENTS.3
(3) T
HE CENTER MAY CONTRACT WITH OTHER ENTITIES IN THE4
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO SYSTEM TO ACQUIRE RESOURCES NEEDED FOR5
THE OPERATION OF THE CENTER.6
SECTION 3. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds,7
determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate8
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety.9
HB22-1158
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