Lawmakers in the Colorado Senate have introduced a pair of bills aimed at improving access to Colorado’s behavioral healthcare system by improving and increasing the state’s healthcare workforce. Together the two bills would invest $84.2 million to expand the behavioral healthcare workforce and better connect Coloradans with the care they need.

For the past several months, an examination of the state’s behavioral health resources by the Colorado News Collaborative (of which Ark Valley Voice is a member) has revealed significant shortfalls across some of the 17 regions which serve Colorado residents’ mental health needs. At the same time, the state announced that it is investing $450 million to improve access to behavioral health in Colorado.

The additional legislation was developed based on recommendations from the state’s Behavioral Health Transformational Task Force announced in Jan. 2022:

SB22-181: Behavioral Healthcare Workforce Development
Sponsored by Sens. Jeff Bridges (D-Greenwood Village) and Cleave Simpson (R-Alamosa), Reps. Lisa Cutter (D-Jefferson County) and Tonya Van Beber (R-Weld County)

This bill directs the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) to develop plans to invest $72 million to bolster and stabilize the state’s behavioral healthcare workforce, which will help more Coloradans access the critical care they need to thrive.