Colorado Public Mental Health System

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Division of Mental Health/Division of Behavioral Health

Colorado Public Mental Health System

Colorado's public mental health system provides statewide services for persons of all ages with mental illness and serious emotional disorders. The system is composed of a number of interlinked components, which are described below:

Division of Mental Health (DMH) - is one of several units that comprise the Office of Behavioral Health and Housing (OBHH), a subdivision of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). CDHS, which was created in 1994 through the restructuring of the former State Departments of Social Services, Institutions and Health, is responsible for a variety of state-administered human service programs including welfare/self-sufficiency, aging and adult services, youth corrections, and other children's services. The other units within OBHH are the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (ADAD), Supportive Housing and Homeless Programs (SHHP), Traumatic Brain Injury Program (TBI), and the Mental Health Institutes at Ft. Logan (CMHIFL) and Pueblo (CMHIP). DMH is responsible for providing policy oversight for the state's entire public mental health system, as well as administrative and programmatic oversight for the community mental health system.
Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) and Clinics - Community mental health services are primarily delivered through contracts with seven specialty clinics and 17 not for profit community mental health centers. The state is divided into geographic service areas, and each CMHC is responsible for providing a comprehensive array of services for the residents of its assigned area. Each specialty clinic serves a defined special population (such as members of an ethnic minority group) and may provide a narrower range of services than a CMHC. The roles and functions of both CMHCs and clinics are statutorily defined in Colorado Revised Statutes C.R.S. 27-1-201 et seq.
Behavioral Health Organizations (BHOs)- There are five Behavioral Health Organizations (BHOs) that are responsible for implementing the Medicaid Mental Health Capitation Program through contracts with the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. The BHOs operate managed care programs serving all of Colorado's 64 counties. Each BHO is responsible for managing the delivery of mental health services to Medicaid-eligible individuals in its assigned geographic service area.
Designated Facilities - Under the provisions of C.R.S. 27-10-101 et seq., involuntary mental health services are provided by over 50 public and private facilities located statewide, including all CMHCs and both Mental Health Institutes. These entities are designated and monitored by DMH. Further, DMH is responsible for certifying and monitoring residential facilities that provide mental health services to children (e. g., treatment residential child care facilities) and adults (acute treatment units).
Colorado Mental Health Institutes - Inpatient hospitalization for Colorado citizens with serious mental illness or emotional disorders is provided in two State-operated Mental Health Institutes - Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHIP) and Colorado Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan (CMHIFL). DMH provides policy oversight for the Institutes, which function as part of the integrated public mental health system.

Last Updated: 4/3/09

Comments to: Division of Mental Health