HB 24-1038 Summary

• Establishes a comprehensive system of care for children and youth with complex behavioral health needs, including standardized assessments, intensive care coordination, expanded supportive services, and increased access to treatment foster care.

• Creates a Residential Child Care Provider Training Academy by September 15, 2025, to ensure staff receive necessary training and establishes quality standards for residential child care providers with public reporting by July 1, 2026.

• Expands residential treatment capacity by requiring the state to seek federal authorization by January 1, 2025, to expand the residential child health-care program to serve children and youth at risk of out-of-home placement.

• Establishes leadership and implementation teams composed of state agency representatives, county officials, families with lived experience, and consumer advocates to oversee system development and provide quarterly progress reports to the Joint Budget Committee beginning January 2025.

• Appropriates $12.7 million in general fund and anticipates $8.9 million in federal and local funds for fiscal year 2024-25 to support child welfare services, high-acuity treatment, residential placements, and room and board costs.