GRANT OPPORTUNITY CLOSED
The The Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS) offered two grant* application rounds ending on May 16 and June 24 to support onboarding and integration to CTIP! (*Behavioral Health Information and Data Sharing Grant Program).
Project Overview
Colorado Trusted Interoperability Platform Summary
Improving health and safety outcomes through the exchange of information and enhanced record accuracy.
Problems to Solve, Opportunities to Realize
The development of a capacity for the secure sharing of health and safety information between jails and other criminal justice partners in the State of Colorado can improve health and safety outcomes for justice-involved individuals and the staff who serve and help people during and after incarceration.
Background
The criminal justice system population has higher medical and mental health acuity levels than the general population.
The lack of exchange of historical and current physical and mental health information across justice entities and community providers creates delays in services that pose serious health and safety risks for individuals, first responders, and justice professionals who manage and ensure access to treatment.
Criminal justice system agencies often do not have resources to identify and treat individuals under their supervision. Inefficient processes to re-assess needs and re-establish treatment result in destabilizing impacts to individuals and soaring healthcare costs.
These problems persist when information does not follow an individual who may cycle in and out of incarceration and the community. Creating a mechanism for transferring information as an individual transitions through these cycles can help break these cycles and promote long-term stability.
The Trusted Interoperability Platform Advisory Committee, established in Senate Bill 2020-037/C.R.S. 24-33.5-524, developed a strategic plan to implement a secure exchange of information between the criminal and juvenile justice systems and community health agencies to improve the health and stability of individuals in the justice system, decrease recidivism and evaluate system needs and programs. This project is helping to execute the proposed S.B. 2020-037 Strategic Plan.
Project Scope
Building a trusted interoperability information exchange will connect County Jails across Colorado to the Colorado Integrated Criminal Justice Information System
- Establishes Jails as a new member to CICJIS with existing members including: Colorado Courts, Colorado Departments of Public Safety, Human Services, Corrections, and the Colorado District Attorney’s Council
- Funded through several federal grant programs and legislative authority
- Provides jails an opportunity to improve safety, security, and health of staff and inmates
- Provides other CICJIS members an opportunity to verify jail detention status of justice involved individuals, and improve reporting, security, management, and programming needs
- Allows agencies to control access to the sensitive information and creates options for direct data transfers
- Overall improvement of criminal justice and health outcomes through information sharing and continuity of care
Initial Use Cases
How the platform helps criminal justice system partners
- Custodial Data (Jail to Jail)
- Upon booking or transfer the intake processor can request a report on health and safety concerns from jails that previously held the inmate.
- Automation reduces the workload for staff during intake by informing on the need to place alerts, set up appropriate care, and have resources in place for successful transition. Automation reduces workload for this data gathering.
- Statutory Reporting Data (Jail to CDPS)
- Quarterly jail reporting requirements set forth in SB19-1297 currently requires manual data entry.
- Enabling a software and API-driven process can automate this task. At runtime a jail-defined process gathers the data, formats it, and sends it to the state, reducing several manual steps and improving consistency.
- Failure to Appear (Jail to Judicial)
- When an inmate fails to appear, the courts have no way of knowing if they are incarcerated.
- Querying across the subscribed jails allows the court to quickly find out if an individual is in custody. This reduces the workload from hours to seconds and prevents unnecessary warrants.
Project Progress
During 2023-2024, our team is working to integrate four primary pilot jails (jail management system):
- Arapahoe (Central Square - Jail 5)
- Broomfield (New World)
- Denver (ATIMS)
- Moffat (EFORCE)
These jails were selected because of their geographical location, capacity, inmate population, jail management system vendor, and health information management processes.
Future efforts will add jails to the CICJIS infrastructure. Benefits to other Colorado Counties who would like to join the interoperability information exchange in 2024 include:
- Availability of grant funds to support process for connecting jails through CICJIS (see "Interested in Participating?" below)
- Initial development for infrastructure is already accomplished
- Once full proof of concept is established, more participating jails means higher likelihood of receiving helpful information
Grant Information
CDPS offered two opportunities for county jails to apply for grant funds to support onboarding and integration to the CTIP platform. The first round of grant applications closed May 16, 2024 and the second closed June 24, 2024. For grants awarded during both application opportunities, the grant period will run from December 1, 2024 through June 30, 2026, giving grantee jails over 18 months to work with CDPS and manage the integration process.
To help provide jails with additional information to prepare a grant application, the Colorado Trusted Interoperability Platform Technical Specifications document featured a “Grant Application Development” section that outlined many requirements, considerations, and questions that were addressed in the grant applications.
Technical Documentation
The Colorado Trusted Interoperability Platform Technical Specifications provides information that all interoperability platform participants should review. This documentation manual includes an overview and explanation of the initial data exchange processes proposed for participants, as well as participation requirements and considerations.
One of the primary requirements for participation is agreement with the CICJIS Participation Agreement. We encourage any potential participant to review this document with your legal representatives for approval.
Questions?
Please refer any questions to:
Project Manager:
Alexis Harper, Ph.D.
Office of Research and Statistics
Division of Criminal Justice
Email: alexis.harper@state.co.us