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The Colorado General Assembly passed a number of bills related to human services and families. Many of these laws were recommendations from interim committees and task forces. Others made changes to Colorado’s child welfare system, introduced guardrails around access to certain online material, and more.

The 75^th General Assembly passed numerous pieces of legislation regarding public health. While not all of the public health legislation fell into these groups, three major themes for public health were: emergency preparedness, education and transparency, and behavioral health.

Many pieces of legislation regarding human services made their way through the 74th General Assembly. Human Services legislation primarily focused on child welfare issues, funding senior services, and addressing housing concerns through Medicaid.

The Colorado General Assembly considered many bills related to public health this legislative session over multiple subject matters including mental health, environmental health, and health in the education system.

The General Assembly addressed a number of bills related to human services and various children and domestic matters, including the establishment and preservation of “family time” and improving services offered to children and youth.

Behavioral health continued to be a focus of the General Assembly in 2023.  Several bills addressing behavioral health services, mental health providers, step therapy requirements for mental health drugs, substance use, and disordered eating were considered during the legislative session.

During the 2022 legislative session, the General Assembly considered numerous bills related to public health, including bills related to service providers and equipment, rare diseases, environmental quality, and data collection.

During the 2022 legislative session, the General Assembly considered numerous bills related to child & domestic matters.  

During the 2022 legislative session, the General Assembly considered measures related to human services, including bills concerning seniors and protected persons, assistance programs, and repurposing the Ridge View campus.

During the 2022 legislative session, the General Assembly considered measures related to behavioral health, including several bills recommended by Behavioral Health Transformational Task Force to address gaps in the continuum of care using federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, as well as bills addressing the establishment of the Behavioral Health Administration, youth and students, mental health holds, and crisis system facilities.

The General Assembly considered several measures during the 2021 legislative session related to human services, including behavioral health and long-term care.

During the 2021 legislative session, the General Assembly considered several measures related to children and domestic matters, including foster care, child care, and child welfare.

During the 2021 legislative session, the General Assembly considered several measures related to public health, including behavioral health, suicide prevention, and public safety. 

During the 2020 legislative session, the General Assembly considered measures related to parental rights, marriage and adoption, and child welfare. 

During the 2020 session, the General Assembly considered bills related to early childhood education; child welfare investigations; appropriating federal CARES Act funding; and other human services programs.

During the 2019 legislative session, the General Assembly passed legislation focused on enhancing the state's adoption, foster care, and child welfare programs; expanding a Division of Youth Services (DYS) pilot program designed to change the internal culture of DYS; and enhancing services available to persons with disabilities who are applying for federal disability benefits.

During the 2018 legislative session, the General Assembly considered measures related to child welfare and foster care, youth mental health and suicide prevention, child abuse prevention, the juvenile justice system, and other aspects of family law. The bills described in this document passed and became law, unless otherwise noted.

During the 2018 legislative session, the General Assembly considered measures related to increasing access to behavioral health services, increasing capacity for competency restoration, protecting children in foster care, child care assistance funding, and increasing the effectiveness of other human services programs.

During the 2017 legislative session, the General Assembly considered numerous measures on child welfare, domestic violence and crimes against children, the juvenile justice system, public school safety, and child care. The bills described in this document passed and became law, unless otherwise noted.

During the 2017 legislative session, the General Assembly considered measures related to Colorado’s behavioral health crisis system and the use and misuse of opioids. Other issues considered include child care regulations, child welfare, and a job program for individuals receiving cash assistance benefits. All bills discussed below became law, unless otherwise noted.

This document provides a summary of legislation pertaining to human services considered by the General Assembly during the 2014 legislative session.