The state Department of Human Services plans on freezing all state-run beds set aside for people with severe mental illness and use the space for people charged with crimes and in need of competency treatment.
The state Department of Human Services plans on freezing all state-run beds set aside for people with severe mental illness and use the space for people charged with crimes and in need of competency treatment.Joe Mahoney/Rocky Mountain PBS I-News file

The move, which includes about 20 beds for juveniles, virtually cuts off all state beds for mentally ill people – except those who are currently awaiting competency restoration in jail.

“It’s amazing to me the bare bones of the system are the civil beds they’ve had,” said Doyle Forrestal, CEO of the Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council. “It’s part of the system that is now gone.”

Read the rest of the story at Colorado Public Radio.