(1) Notwithstanding any provision of
law to the contrary, a special needs offender, as defined in section 17-1-102 (7.6),
may be eligible for parole prior to or after the offender's parole eligibility date
pursuant to this section if:
(a) The department determines that the inmate is a special needs offender;
and
(b) The state board of parole determines that the special needs offender is
not likely to pose a risk to public safety and approves a special needs parole plan
that ensures appropriate supervision of and continuity of medical care for the
special needs offender.
(2) Repealed.
(3) (a) The department is responsible for identifying inmates who are special
needs offenders. Once a licensed health-care provider determines, and documents
in the patient's medical record, that the inmate suffers from a serious impairment
that limits the inmate's ability to function, or a severe cognitive impairment, the
department shall submit a referral to the state board of parole for the inmate. A
licensed health-care provider is not liable to any person regarding a determination
whether an inmate has a serious impairment that limits a person's ability to function
or severe cognitive impairment. If the inmate has been diagnosed by a licensed
health-care provider as suffering from a serious impairment that limits the inmate's
ability to function, or a severe cognitive impairment, the department shall not set
aside or disregard that determination on the basis that an employee of the
department does not concur in that assessment. The department shall not
determine that an inmate does not have a serious impairment that limits an inmate's
ability to function based on the department's ability to accommodate the inmate's
physical or mental impairment. The department shall submit a referral to the state
board of parole for all other special needs offenders identified by the department. If
notification to the district attorney is required pursuant to subsection (3)(c)(II) of
this section, the inmate shall authorize the department to release the information
described in subsections (3)(b)(I) and (3)(b)(I.5) of this section to the district
attorney. An inmate or inmate liaison, if the inmate is unable to, may also request
that the department make a determination of whether an inmate is eligible for
special needs parole and the department shall make a determination within thirty
days after receiving the request. The department, in consultation with the state
board of parole, shall develop any necessary policies and procedures regarding
special needs parole to ensure that:
(I) Roles and responsibilities of employees and any contractors involved in
special needs parole are clearly defined, employees and any contractors are
adequately trained, and performance measures are developed;
(II) Any inmate who is a special needs offender is identified in a timely
manner at any point in the inmate's term of incarceration;
(III) Adequate tracking and quality assurance processes are in place so that
referrals and any re-referrals, if applicable, are complete and submitted to the
parole board in a timely manner;
(III.5) The department shares relevant and necessary data and information
with the public defender liaisons as described in section 21-1-104 in order to allow
the liaisons to effectively assist special needs parole applicants;
(IV) Formal mechanisms are in place to facilitate effective communication
between the department and the parole board, including but not limited to timely
responses from the department to requests from the parole board for additional
information or for a revised parole plan prior to the parole board's decision or the
conditions under which the parole board would consider a second or subsequent
referral for special needs parole, if applicable; and
(V) Data collection and data sharing between the department and the parole
board are adequate to actively monitor the status of referrals and parole board
decisions on a regular basis.
(b) If an inmate meets the eligibility requirements pursuant to section 17-1-102, the department shall submit a referral to the board that, in addition to the
requirements of section 17-22.5-404 (4)(a), includes:
(I) A summary of the inmate's medical, physical, or mental condition,
including any diagnosis;
(I.5) Criminal history; risk and needs assessment scores; institutional
disciplinary history; work history; an inmate's participation in any programs,
treatment, vocational training, or education; and other relevant information
regarding risk and risk-reduction factors and any additional relevant information
that is requested by the parole board that is in the possession of the department;
(II) The details of a special needs parole plan recommended by the
department;
(III) A statement by the inmate or inmate liaison if the inmate is unable to
submit a statement;
(IV) A victim impact statement and response from the district attorney that
prosecuted the offender, if received pursuant to subsection (3)(c) of this section;
and
(V) Any information, statements, letters, and documents provided by the
inmate liaison or by the public defender liaison as described in section 21-1-104, if
the public defender liaison program is assisting the inmate. The parole board shall
review and consider the submission by the public defender liaison.
(b.5) The department shall provide a copy of the referral packet submitted to
the parole board to the inmate or inmate liaison and to the public defender liaison
as described in section 21-1-104, except for the victim impact statement and
response from the district attorney. The inmate, inmate liaison, or the public
defender liaison as described in section 21-1-104, has thirty calendar days to submit
additional health records or other relevant information not included in the referral
packet to the department for submission to the parole board prior to the parole
board's decision.
(c) (I) If the department determines the inmate is a special needs offender,
the department shall provide notification to any victim, as required pursuant to
section 24-4.1-302.5. A victim shall have thirty days after receiving notification to
submit a victim impact statement to the department. The department shall include
any victim impact statement in the referral to the state board of parole.
(II) At the same time that the department completes the notification required
by subsection (3)(c)(I) of this section, the department shall notify and provide
information required by subsections (3)(b)(I) and (3)(b)(I.5) of this section to the
district attorney that prosecuted the offender if the offender is serving a sentence
for a conviction of a crime of violence as described in section 18-1.3-406, or a sex
offense as listed in section 16-22-102 (9)(j), (9)(k), (9)(l), (9)(n), (9)(o), (9)(p), (9)(q),
(9)(r), or (9)(s). A district attorney shall have thirty days after receiving notification
to submit a response to the department. The department shall include any district
attorney response in the referral to the state board of parole.
(4) (a) The state board of parole shall consider an inmate for special needs
parole upon referral by the department and shall consider all of the information
provided to the board pursuant to subsection (3) of this section and any victim
impact statement.
(b) The state board of parole shall make a determination of the risk of
reoffense that the inmate poses after considering the nature and severity of the
inmate's medical or physical condition, the age of the inmate, the inmate's current
and up-to-date risk and needs assessment scores, the nature and severity of the
offense for which the inmate is currently incarcerated, the inmate's criminal history,
the inmate's institutional conduct, program and treatment participation, and other
relevant risk and risk-reduction factors.
(c) The state board of parole may schedule a hearing on the application for
special needs parole with the inmate present, or the board may review the
application and issue a decision without a hearing, pursuant to section 17-2-201
(4)(f).
(d) The state board of parole shall make a determination of whether to grant
special needs parole within thirty calendar days after receiving the referral from
the department. The parole board may delay the decision in order to request that
the department modify the special needs parole plan. The parole board shall not
deny parole based solely on the lack of a recommended parole plan. If the parole
board considers an inmate to be an appropriate candidate for release except for the
lack of a recommended parole plan, the parole board shall delay the release
hearing decision or render a conditional release decision and request that the
department submit a revised parole plan within thirty calendar days. If the parole
board denies parole, it may inform the department that the inmate should not be
referred for a second or subsequent application for special needs parole unless the
inmate's medical or mental health status further deteriorates.
(e) The department shall provide a monthly report, by facility, the number of
special needs parole applications submitted to the parole board, the decision by the
parole board, how many applications are pending, the average length of time the
decision has been pending, and the general reason for delaying the decision if that
is known to the department. The information must be provided both for the
reporting month and year to date.
(f) If, prior to or during any parole revocation hearing, including hearings for
offenders granted parole pursuant to subsection (5) of this section, the department
or a member of the parole board has a substantial and good-faith reason to believe
that the offender is incompetent to proceed, as defined in section 16-8.5-101 (12),
the parole board shall suspend all proceedings and notify the public defender
liaison described in section 21-1-104 (6). The office of state public defender shall be
appointed by the court to represent the inmate and shall file a written motion with
the trial court that imposed the sentence to determine competency. The motion
must contain a certificate of counsel stating that the motion is based on a good
faith belief that the inmate is incompetent to proceed. The motion must set forth
the specific facts that have formed the basis for the motion. The court shall seal the
motion. The court shall follow all the relevant procedures in article 8.5 of title 16
regarding the determination of competency. The presence of the inmate is not
required unless there is good cause shown.
(g) A denial of special needs parole by the state board of parole does not
affect an inmate's eligibility for any other form of parole or release under
applicable law.
(4.5) If an offender is determined to be incompetent to proceed pursuant to
subsection (4) of this section, the court may order the department to provide or
arrange for the delivery of appropriate restoration services in any setting
authorized by law, by an order of the court, or by any other action as provided by
law, including civil commitment. Nothing in this section requires the department of
human services to take physical custody of an offender for restoration services. The
department of human services is not responsible for conducting the competency
evaluation. If the court determines that there is not a substantial probability of the
offender being restored to competency, the department may refer the inmate for
special needs parole with a special needs parole plan pursuant to this section and
notify the public defender liaison described in section 21-1-104 (6).
(5) The parole board may consider the application for special needs parole
pursuant to the proceedings set forth in section 17-2-201 (4)(f) or 17-2-201 (9)(a).
The board may deny parole only by a majority vote if the board finds that granting
parole would create a threat to public safety and that the offender is likely to
commit an offense.
(6) The department shall not have any responsibility for the payment of
medical care for any offender upon the offender's release; except that, prior to or
upon release, any inmate who is sixty-five years of age or older and has been
approved for special needs parole must be enrolled in the most appropriate medical
insurance benefit plan including medicare, medicare savings plan, veteran's benefit,
or other safety-net health insurance, or an individual health benefit plan prior to or
upon release, whichever will offer the more immediate health-care coverage. The
department shall pay any insurance premiums and penalties for up to six months
from the start of coverage. The department may provide financial assistance for
longer than six months if the person is still under the jurisdiction of the department
and would otherwise be uninsured or underinsured without that financial
assistance.
(7) For any offender who is granted special needs parole pursuant to this
section, the state board of parole shall set the length of the parole for an
appropriate time period of at least six months but not exceeding thirty-six months.
At any time during the offender's parole, the state board of parole may revise the
duration of the parole. However, in no case may such an offender be required to
serve a period of parole in excess of the period of parole to which he or she would
otherwise be sentenced pursuant to section 18-1.3-401 (1)(a)(V)(A), or thirty-six
months, whichever is less.
(8) Repealed.
(9) The department shall include in each contract with a licensed health-care
provider involved in providing patient care to an inmate a requirement that the
provider screen each patient for eligibility for special needs parole.
(10) This section does not require an inmate to seek an outside medical
opinion of impairment or second opinion of any kind.