§ 19-2.5-1203 — Juvenile parole - hearing panels - definition

Colorado § 19-2.5-1203

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 19: Children's
• Art.: The Colorado Juvenile Justice System

Text

(1) Juvenile
parole board - hearing panels authority. (a) The juvenile parole board, established
pursuant to section 19-2.5-1201, may grant, deny, defer, suspend, revoke, or specify
or modify the conditions of any parole for any juvenile committed to the department
of human services pursuant to sections 19-2.5-1103 and 19-2.5-1127. In addition to
any other conditions, the board may require, as a condition of parole, any
adjudicated juvenile to attend school or an educational program or to work toward
the attainment of a high school diploma or the successful completion of a high
school equivalency examination, as that term is defined in section 22-33-102 (8.5);
except that the board shall not require any juvenile to attend a school from which
the juvenile has been expelled without the prior approval of that school's local
board of education. The board may modify any of its decisions, or those of the
hearing panel, except an order of discharge.

(b) Unless inconsistent with other conditions imposed by the board, the
board shall allow a juvenile to have periodic meetings with a juvenile parole officer
at reasonable times through a telephone call or audio-visual communication
technology. Unless inconsistent with other conditions imposed by the board, in
directing the juvenile to have periodic meetings with a juvenile parole officer at
reasonable times, the juvenile parole officer shall schedule, in good faith, meetings
with the juvenile on parole at mutually agreeable times that do not conflict with the
juvenile's essential obligations, including work, education, job training, dependent
care, medical appointments, and other parole requirements.

(2) (a) The board or a hearing panel has subpoena power and the power to
administer oaths to secure attendance and testimony at hearings before the board.
All relevant records pertaining to the juvenile must be made available to the board.

(b) (I) The board or hearing panel shall take into consideration the results of
the validated risk and needs assessment administered by the department of human
services.

(II) In making release and discharge decisions, the board or hearing panel
shall use the length of stay matrix and release criteria developed pursuant to
section 19-2.5-1117 (7).

(3) (a) Hearing panels consisting of two members of the board shall interview
and review the record of each juvenile who comes before the board for the granting
of parole. Whenever possible, one of the hearing panel members must be a
representative of an executive department, and the other must be a member from
the public at large. A hearing panel may grant, deny, defer, suspend, revoke, or
specify or modify the conditions of any parole of a juvenile that are in the best
interests of the juvenile and the public; except that:

(I) If the members of a hearing panel disagree, a review of that case must be
referred to the board for review and a decision made by a majority vote of the board
members present. At least a quorum of the board, as defined in section 19-2.5-1201
(4), must be present to make a decision pursuant to this subsection (3)(a)(I).

(II) The hearing panel does not have authority to grant parole to juveniles
committed as violent juvenile offenders as described in section 19-2.5-1125 (3) or
aggravated juvenile offenders as described in section 19-2.5-1125 (4). In such cases,
the board shall conduct a hearing and make a decision by a majority vote of the
board members present at the hearing. However, if expiration of the juvenile's
commitment is imminent, as defined by the board, the hearing panel shall hold a
hearing and make a recommendation to the board. The board shall review the case
and make a decision by a majority vote of the board members present.

(III) If a written request is made by the juvenile, the juvenile's parents or
guardian, or the executive director of the department of human services or the
executive director's designee, the board may review the case of any juvenile who
has been interviewed by a hearing panel. If such a review is made, the board has the
authority to affirm or reverse the decision of the hearing panel or to impose such
additional conditions for parole as the board deems appropriate.

(b) If a juvenile, while under a juvenile commitment, is in jail pending adult
charges, the board may conduct a parole hearing without the juvenile's presence.

(c) When the board conducts a hearing pursuant to subsection (3)(a) or (3)(b)
of this section, a quorum, as defined in section 19-2.5-1201 (4), must be present.

(d) In addition to any other conditions, the hearing panel may require, as a
condition of parole, any adjudicated juvenile to attend school or an educational
program or to work toward the attainment of a high school diploma or the
successful completion of a high school equivalency examination, as that term is
defined in section 22-33-102 (8.5); except that the hearing panel shall not require
any such juvenile to attend a school from which the juvenile has been expelled
without the prior approval of that school's local board of education.

(4) The juvenile parole board administrator appointed pursuant to section 19-2.5-1201 (6) shall assist the hearing panel in its duties. The administrator shall also
arrange training for the members of the board in all aspects of the juvenile justice
system. It is mandatory for members of the board to attend such training.

(5) (a) If the hearing panel or the board determines that parole should be
granted, the hearing panel shall establish six months as the length of the parole
supervision. However, for a juvenile committed to the department of human
services due to an adjudication for an offense specified in subsection (5)(b) of this
section, the hearing panel may extend the period of parole supervision up to an
additional fifteen months if the hearing panel makes findings of special
circumstances that warrant an extended period of parole services for the juvenile.

(b) Subsection (5)(a) of this section allowing for extension of the period of
parole applies to juveniles committed to the department of human services due to
an adjudication for one or more of the following offenses:

(I) Any offense specified in article 3 of title 18 or in part 3 of article 4 of title
18 that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult;

(II) Incest, as described in section 18-6-301;

(III) Aggravated incest, as described in section 18-6-302;

(IV) Child abuse, as described in section 18-6-401, that would constitute a
felony if committed by an adult;

(V) Fourth degree arson, as described in section 18-4-105, that would
constitute a felony if committed by an adult;

(VI) Assault during escape, as described in section 18-8-206, that would
constitute a felony if committed by an adult;

(VII) Felony illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile, as described in
section 18-12-108.5, that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult;

(VIII) Misdemeanor illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile, as
described in section 18-12-108.5, that would constitute a misdemeanor if committed
by an adult, if the juvenile is contemporaneously committed to the department of
human services for an offense that would constitute a felony if committed by an
adult; or

(IX) Attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit any of the offenses
specified in this subsection (5)(b), which attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation would
constitute a felony if committed by an adult.

(c) Upon completion of the period of parole supervision as established by the
board, the juvenile is deemed to have discharged the juvenile's sentence to
commitment in the same manner as if the sentence were discharged pursuant to
law.

(d) (I) If the juvenile court commits a juvenile to the department of human
services for concurrent sentences based on the commission of two or more
offenses or consecutive sentences based on commission of two or more offenses,
the juvenile is subject to one six-month mandatory period of parole, unless the
period of parole is extended pursuant to subsection (5)(a) of this section.

(II) As used in this subsection (5)(d), concurrent sentence means sentences
identified by the court as concurrent and any sentences, or portions thereof, that
are served simultaneously and that are the basis of the juvenile's treatment
services during the juvenile's commitment.

(e) (I) If a juvenile's parole is revoked pursuant to section 19-2.5-1206, the
juvenile shall serve all or a portion of the remainder of the sentence to commitment,
and the period of reparole or extended period of reparole imposed pursuant to
subsection (5)(a) of this section must be reduced by any time served on parole prior
to the revocation. This subsection (5)(e) does not limit the board's authority to grant,
deny, defer, suspend, revoke, or modify a juvenile's parole within the period of
parole.

(II) If a juvenile's parole is revoked or modified pursuant to section 19-2.5-1206, and the juvenile has completed the period of commitment imposed by the
court, the period of parole, or extended period of parole imposed pursuant to
subsection (5)(a) of this section must continue pursuant to section 19-2.5-1117
(1)(c)(II). The period of parole continues regardless of whether the revocation or
modification authorizes the department of human services to place the juvenile in a
residential placement while on parole status. This does not limit the board's
authority to grant, deny, defer, suspend, revoke, or modify a juvenile's parole within
the period of parole.

(6) If the hearing panel or the board determines that parole should be
granted, the hearing panel or board shall order the parolee to pay any unpaid
restitution that has previously been ordered as a condition of parole.

(7) Notice. (a) The board, prior to consideration of the case of a juvenile for
parole, shall notify the committing court, any affected juvenile community review
board, the prosecuting attorney, and any victims of the juvenile's actions whose
names and addresses have been provided by the district attorney of the time and
place of the juvenile's hearing before the board or a hearing panel of the board. The
notice must be given in order that the persons notified have an opportunity to
present written testimony to the hearing panel or the board. The board, in its sole
discretion, may allow oral testimony at any hearing and has sole discretion
regarding who may attend a juvenile parole hearing.

(b) (I) (A) Prior to consideration of the case of a juvenile for parole, the board
shall provide notice of the time and place of the juvenile's hearing before the board
or a hearing panel of the board to a victim who has provided to the division of youth
services or the board a written statement pursuant to sections 24-4.1-302.5 and 24-4.1-303. The notice and subsequent interactions with the victim must be consistent
with article 4.1 of title 24.

(B) The board shall notify the victim of changes in the juvenile's parole
pursuant to section 24-4.1-303 (14.3).

(II) For a juvenile who is currently serving parole that implicates article 4.1 of
title 24, the division of youth services shall notify the board of any discharge as a
matter of law and any placement change that may impact public safety or victim
safety as determined by the division of youth services, including any escape or
recapture.

(8) Representation of juvenile - parent. The juvenile and the juvenile's
parents or guardian must be informed that they may be represented by counsel in
any hearing before the board or a hearing panel to grant, modify, or revoke parole.

(9) Parole discharge. (a) The board may discharge a juvenile from parole
after the juvenile has served the mandatory parole period of six months but prior to
the expiration of the period of parole supervision when it appears to the board that
there is a reasonable probability that the juvenile will remain at liberty without
violating the law.

(b) (I) Based upon a request and recommendation by the division of youth
services, the board may discharge all or a portion of a juvenile's period of parole, as
defined in section 19-2.5-1117 (1)(b), without holding a hearing before the board or a
hearing panel of the board, if the board finds that:

(A) The juvenile is unavailable to complete the period of parole or the
extended period of parole and the juvenile is not likely to become available in a time
or manner in which the juvenile will benefit from parole services and neither
community safety nor restorative justice interests will be served through the
imposition or continuation of the juvenile's parole; or

(B) The community interest in safety or restorative justice will not be served
through the imposition or continuation of juvenile parole because the juvenile is
under the adult probation supervision of the district court.

(II) As used in this subsection (9), a juvenile is unavailable to complete the
period of parole if:

(A) The juvenile, pursuant to an adult sentence, has been placed in a
department of corrections facility, adult community corrections, the youthful
offender system, or a local jail, as defined in section 17-1-102; or

(B) The juvenile has been or will be transferred out of the state of Colorado
and the division of youth services determines that the discharge is not in conflict
with the interstate compact on juveniles, part 7 of article 60 of title 24; or

(C) The juvenile is in a medical, mental health, treatment facility, or similar
institution; or

(D) The board finds any other circumstance that constitutes unavailability as
established in rule.

(c) The board may discharge a juvenile from parole before completion of the
mandatory six-month parole period when the board finds that the juvenile meets, at
a minimum, all of the following conditions of special achievement:

(I) Graduation from a high school or successful completion of a high school
equivalency examination, as that term is defined in section 22-33-102 (8.5);

(II) Payment of one hundred percent of any restitution the juvenile has been
ordered to pay;

(III) Certification by the juvenile's parole officer that the juvenile is ready for
discharge from parole, that takes into consideration the results of an objective risk
assessment conducted by the department of human services and is based upon
researched factors that have been demonstrated to be correlative to risk to the
community; and

(IV) Presentation to the board of a plan of action prepared by the juvenile
that includes the steps the juvenile will accomplish to ensure a transition to law-abiding citizenship. If the juvenile's plan of action includes an intent to enlist in
military service, the plan must specify the interim steps that the juvenile will take
prior to entering military service.

(d) A discharge from parole pursuant to this subsection (9) has the same
legal effect as if parole had been discharged upon completion of juvenile parole or
when the sentence to commitment was discharged as a matter of law.

(e) (I) If the board of parole decides to discharge parole supervision pursuant
to this subsection (9) for a juvenile adjudicated of any offenses described in section
16-22-102 (9) or 24-4.1-302 (1) prior to the juvenile's mandatory parole supervision
discharge date, the board shall set the juvenile's date of parole supervision
discharge at least fifteen days after notice is provided to the victim of the
discharge. If the victim elected not to receive notifications otherwise required by
law, the board shall set the date of discharge at least fifteen days after the decision
to grant early discharge of parole supervision.

(II) Notwithstanding subsection (9)(e)(I) of this section, the board shall not
set a juvenile's discharge of parole supervision date later than the juvenile's
mandatory parole supervision discharge date.

(10) Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, the department of
human services shall not retain custody of or jurisdiction over an individual who
reaches twenty-one years of age. The sentence to commitment and the period of
parole are discharged as a matter of law when a juvenile reaches twenty-one years
of age.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2021: Entire article added with relocations, (SB 21-059), ch. 136, p. 665, � 2, effective October 1. L. 2023: (9)(e) added, (SB 23-193), ch. 307, p. 1878, � 3, effective August 7. L. 2024: (1) amended, (HB 24-1445), ch. 353, p. 2408, � 8, effective September 1.