DENVER — For the first time since the pandemic, Colorado is seeing dramatic improvements to its waitlist for people accused of crimes who need mental health treatment. These defendants have been deemed too ill to stand trial, and their cases are on hold until they've been restored to competency. Despite improvements, hundreds of people are waiting in jail cells for longer than they should.
Around 445 people were on a waitlist for restoration treatment a year ago. Today, there are fewer than 250 people on the waitlist. The waitlist for treatment is the lowest it's been in years since the pandemic.
"We were able to offer incentives to our nurses to work for us," Leora Joseph, director of Colorado's Office of Behavioral Health, said. "We opened 44 new beds, forensic beds, at the Fort Logan State Hospital which had never had forensic patients. We have been contracting throughout the state with private hospitals.
" Because of the backlog, they entered into an agreement in federal court in 2019 to meet certain deadlines. When the consent decree took effect in 2019, the Colorado Department of Human Services saw meaningful progress. The waitlist and the time detainees spent waiting decreased throughout the first year.
By June 2020, the number on the waitlist dropped below 100. Then the pandemic hit, and all the numbers moved in the wrong direction. The Department of Human Services faced staffing challenges, which left hospital beds unused.
There became less capacity to serve people .