Colo. Rev. Stat. § 26-1-136.8

Current through 11/5/2024 election
Section 26-1-136.8 - Custody of a person with the capacity for pregnancy
(1) A state department facility that has in its custody a person who is capable of pregnancy shall:
(a) Train the facility's staff to ensure that a pregnant person receives safe and respectful treatment;
(b) Develop administrative policies to ensure a trauma-informed standard of care is integrated with current practices to promote the health and safety of a pregnant person;
(c) Provide each pregnant person, during the person's pregnancy and through the person's postpartum period, with access to:
(I) Perinatal health-care providers with perinatal experience; and
(II) Healthy foods and information on nutrition, recommended activity levels, safety measures, and supplies, including menstrual products as required in section 26-1-136.5, and breast pumps approved by the executive director or the executive director's designee;
(d) Provide counseling and treatment for pregnant people who have suffered from:
(I) A diagnosed behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorder;
(II) Trauma or violence, including domestic violence;
(III) Human immunodeficiency virus;
(IV) Sexual abuse;
(V) Pregnancy loss or infant loss; or
(VI) Chronic conditions;
(e) Provide evidence-based pregnancy and childbirth education, parenting support, and other relevant forms of health literacy;
(f) Develop administrative policies to identify and offer opportunities for postpartum persons to maintain contact with the person's newborn child to promote bonding, including enhanced visitation policies, access to facility nursery programs, and breastfeeding support, when appropriate;
(f.5) Develop administrative policies, including a system for human milk storage, to ensure a newborn can receive the human milk that the newborn's postpartum parent has pumped for the newborn's nourishment;
(g) In accordance with the requirements of the federal "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996", as amended, Pub.L. 104-191, transfer health records to community providers if a pregnant person exits the facility during the person's pregnancy or during the person's postpartum period;
(h) Connect a person exiting the facility during the person's pregnancy or postpartum period to community-based resources, such as referrals to health-care providers, substance use disorder treatment, and social services that address social determinants of maternal health;
(i) Establish partnerships with local public entities, private community entities, community-based organizations, Indian tribes and tribal organizations as defined in the federal "Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act", 25 U.S.C. sec. 5304, as amended, or urban Indian organizations as defined in the federal "Indian Health Care Improvement Act", 25 U.S.C. sec. 1603, as amended; and
(j) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), by February 15, 2022, and by February 15 each year thereafter, report to the judiciary committees of the senate and house of representatives, or their successor committees, on the number of births by pregnant people who are in the custody of the facility, including the location of the births, that occurred in the prior calendar year.

C.R.S. § 26-1-136.8

Amended by 2024 Ch. 426,§ 5, eff. 6/5/2024.
Added by 2021 Ch. 433, § 9, eff. 9/7/2021.
L. 2021: Entire section added, (SB 21-193), ch. 2865, p. 2865, § 9, effective September 7.
2021 Ch. 433, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).