§ 17-26-140 — Continuity of care for persons released from jail - definition

(1)
If a person is treated for a substance use disorder at any time during the person's
incarceration, the county jail shall, at a minimum, conduct the following before
releasing the person from the county jail's custody:

(a) Provide post-release resources developed pursuant to section 17-1-103
(1)(r) to the person;

(b) Provide a list of available substance use providers, to the extent the
behavioral health administration in the department of human services has such a
list available;

(c) If the person received or has been assessed to receive medication-assisted treatment while in jail, has a history of substance use in the community or
while in jail, or requests opioid antagonists upon release, provide the person, upon
release from the jail, at least eight milligrams of an opioid antagonist via inhalation
or its equivalent and provide education to the person about the appropriate use of
the medication;

(d) If the person received medication-assisted treatment while in jail, has a
history of substance use, or requests opiate use-disorder medication, prescribe to
the person, upon release from the jail, medication for an opiate use disorder and
provide education to the person about the appropriate use of the medication; and

(e) Coordinate continued care for the person, including scheduling an
appointment for the person with a substance use provider with the ability to
continue the person's treatment, provide the person with detailed information about
the scheduled appointment, provide the person with a prescription for the
medication that the person was taking while in custody at the facility in an amount
that is at least sufficient to sustain the person until the scheduled appointment, and
provide the person with a referral to the care coordination infrastructure described
in section 27-60-204.

(2) A county jail shall provide medicaid enrollment or reenrollment
paperwork to a person who is incarcerated in the jail and is eligible for medicaid
benefits when the person enters the county jail. The county jail must file the
medicaid paperwork with the county department of human or social services upon
releasing the person from the county jail's custody.

(3) As used in this section, opioid antagonist means naloxone
hydrochloride or any similarly acting drug that is not a controlled substance and
that is approved by the federal food and drug administration for the treatment of a
drug overdose.

(4) Notwithstanding any requirement of this section, a county jail shall not
delay a person's release from the county jail because the jail cannot timely comply
with a requirement of this section.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2020: Entire section added, (HB 20-1017), ch. 288, p. 1425, � 6, effective September 14. L. 2022: (2) amended, (SB 22-196), ch. 193, p. 1293, � 10, effective May 19; (1)(b) amended, (HB 22-1278), ch. 222, p. 1495, � 22, effective July 1; (1) amended and (3) and (4) added, (HB 22-1326), ch. 225, p. 1642, � 16, effective January 1, 2023. L. 2023: (1)(b) amended, (HB 23-1301), ch. 303, p. 1821, � 21, effective August 7. L. 2024: (1)(c) and (3) amended, (HB 24-1037), ch. 458, p. 3169, � 15, effective June 6; (2) amended, (HB 24-1222), ch. 155, p. 686, � 2, effective August 7.