Colorado
Colorado suicide prevention plans and initiatives
Colorado’s Office of Suicide Prevention is housed within the Prevention Services Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Colorado’s Suicide Prevention Commission was established in 2014 (C.R.S. § 25-1.5-111) to provide public and private leadership for suicide prevention and intervention, set statewide priorities, and advise the Office. Current Commission priorities stem from the Colorado Suicide Prevention Plan, created in 2016 and based on the “Zero Suicide” model to reduce suicide in criminal justice and healthcare systems (C.R.S. § 25-1.5-112). The Office of Suicide Prevention is required to report annually on the status of program efforts to coordinate statewide suicide prevention services including progress on recommendations from the Commission (C.R.S. § 25-1.5-101(1)(w)(III)(A)); See the latest 2022-2023 Annual Report.
Colorado laws
Key:
- Required by law
- Encouraged by law
- No law in place
Crisis lines and 988 implementation
- Addresses 988 infrastructure and provides for telecom user fee
- Addresses 988 infrastructure but does not include telecom user fee
- 988 law limited to creating an exploratory commission, advisory committee, or task force
Mental health parity
- Public health plans (e.g., Medicaid) regularly submit parity compliance analyses to state regulators
- Private health plans (individual and group) regularly submit parity compliance analyses to state regulators
K – 12 school suicide prevention
- Inclusion of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and/or other crisis line(s) on student ID cards
- Student allowances for excused mental health absences
- School personnel must report student suicide risk to a parent and/or guardian
- Suicide prevention and/or mental health training for certain school personnel, annual
- Suicide prevention and/or mental health training for certain school personnel, not annual
- Suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention policies/programming
- Student education on suicide prevention
Health professional training in suicide assessment, treatment and management
- Mental health professionals receive regular training
- Mental health professionals receive one time training
- Medical/surgical professionals receive regular training
- Medical/surgical professionals receive one time training
Conversion therapy bans
- Prohibits licensed/board certified mental health providers from engaging in conversion therapy with minors under 18 years of age
- Prohibits licensed/board certified mental health providers from engaging in conversion therapy with vulnerable adults
- Prohibits use of state funds for any purpose related to conversion therapy (e.g., conducting, making a referral for, or extending health benefits coverage for)
University and college campus suicide prevention
- Inclusion of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and/or other crisis line(s) on student ID cards
- Students receive information on available mental health and/or suicide prevention services and/or resources
- Adoption of suicide prevention/awareness policy or program