DENVER- Governor Jared Polis is expected to sign a bill into law hat would increase behavioral health services for children and youth in Colorado Thursday May 16.
Senate Bill 195 passed the legislature with strong support. Lawmakers say this bill would make mental health care for youth a state priority.
The bill would create the Colorado Children and Youth Behavioral Health Policy Coordinating Council, which would bring together agencies and health care providers among which care is currently fragmented. It would also increase public understanding and awareness of child and youth behavioral health needs.
Child and youth behavioral health is a major problem in Colorado, with suicide as the leading cause of death for young people ages 10-24. About one out of every six teens having a diagnosable mental health condition.
Governor Polis will sign the bill into law Thursday at 2:15 p.m. at the Children’s Hospital Colorado, that’s located at 13123 East 16th Avenue in Aurora.
