Residents of southern and eastern Colorado received behavioral health services more frequently last year than any other region of the state, which could be a focus for state leaders as they work to improve the mental health system.
The new data was made public this week as the Colorado Department of Behavioral Health launched an online portal aimed at increasing transparency and accountability, allowing it to provide better care to Coloradans in the years to come.
So far, the administration’s performance hub contains data showing who is using services across the state, as well as information on how to file complaints against service providers licensed by the administration.
Over time, more data will be available to help identify gaps in care, make systemic improvements and address health care inequities, administration officials said earlier this week.
“When it comes to transforming behavioral health care, we and all of our partners across the state need to know where we are so we know where we need to go to improve behavioral health care, and the Performance Hub is a critical tool for BHA to increase awareness and understanding of behavioral health care in Colorado,” said Kristen Lara, Director of Technology and Data for the Behavioral Health Department.
“This report will let people know what access to mental health and substance use disorders looks like across the state, how it varies from county to county over time, how it varies by the age of the person receiving services, and whether the direction we’re heading is where we want to go as a state or whether it indicates that policy changes need to be made at the local, state and federal levels.”
The Behavioral Health Department was launched two years ago as the state and nation grappled with a worsening mental health crisis that began during the pandemic.
The goal was to ensure that all Coloradans have access to quality mental health and substance use disorder services, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay, and to reduce stigma so people feel comfortable seeking help, treatment, and more.
The law that created this administration required that a monitoring system be established by July 1 to track the capacity of these services and the performance of all behavioral health providers and inform needed changes within the system.
The law requires the government to set minimum standards for treatment, including promulgating rules regarding the availability and timeliness of behavioral health services.
The measure also requires the administration to publish accountability reports and other data on its website.
data
The Performance Hub currently includes information on the number of people who received publicly funded community mental health services in each county annually, the number of residential beds for substance use disorder treatment by county in Colorado, and the number of complaints received by the government each year about behavioral health services.
In 2023, more than 112,000 people across Colorado received care at community-based mental health centers and specialty clinics, and just over 51,000 Coloradans received substance use disorder services funded by the Department of Behavioral Health.
The San Luis Valley and several eastern Colorado counties were among the areas with the highest number of residents receiving publicly funded community mental health services in 2023.
Lake County, Logan County and several other southern Colorado counties were among the counties with the highest numbers of residents who received addiction treatment funded or overseen by the administration last year.
Preliminary data suggests states may need to increase the number of residential beds available for people with substance use disorders who live in rural areas.
From July 2023 to April, there were an average of 397 beds available in residential treatment facilities for people with substance use disorders.
However, 50 of the 64 counties do not have beds available for people with substance use disorders.
Most of the beds are concentrated in Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Jefferson and Weld counties, with some in Pueblo, Baca, Bent and Las Animas counties. Mesa County is the only place on the Western Slope with residential treatment facility beds for people with addictions.
“That level of care is essential for people living with certain conditions, and this map shows what we already knew: access to care is poor, especially in rural counties, leaving many individuals and families without access to care,” said Vincent Atchity, president and CEO of Mental Health Colorado.
Similarly, the number of people receiving community-based mental health services in many Colorado counties decreased from 2022 to 2023, according to the Performance Hub.
“This is going in the wrong direction,” Atchity said. “Why are our numbers going down?”
Behavioral Health Department leaders said they plan to study the data made public on the site over the coming months and years to improve health care across the state.
The Performance Hub gives Coloradans increased options to file complaints against administratively licensed providers, with 64 complaints filed in the first three months of this year, up from 43 in the same period in 2023.
The Behavioral Health Department investigates complaints including concerns about abuse, denial of services, poor quality of care, injury, abuse or neglect, treatment errors, etc.
“Highlighting complaints is a very positive indicator for us because if people are having a negative experience receiving behavioral health services, they need to know where to tell us so we can do something about it,” said Jordan Bass, director of data science for the Behavioral Health Department. “This is unique data specific to the Performance Hub.”
To date, data included in the Hub has been collected by administrators and reported from all-payer claims databases.
The Performance Hub is updated quarterly, and new metrics will appear in the portal by the end of July.
Improving the behavioral health system
The Behavioral Health Administration will be hosting public forums in the coming months to help people learn how to use the tool; these dates will be posted on the Behavioral Health Administration calendar soon.
“It’s important for public systems to have this visibility to show how they’re improving access for people,” Atchity said, “and for our purposes as advocates, it’s useful if we can trust that this is thorough and comprehensive.”
Colorado mental health leaders recently released “Know Your Rights” information for Coloradans who need mental health and substance use services.
Making such information available to people who use the Performance Hub could make it clearer how to respond if, for example, Coloradans suspect they’ve been discriminated against or that their health insurance won’t cover certain mental health services, Atchity said.
“The main thing people are looking for, which they can’t find on this site right now, is a pathway to care,” Atchity said.
“Nobody has figured it out yet,” he added. “But we need to get to a place where people can go online, click a few buttons, identify their area of need and their zip code, and the internet will provide real-time availability at different access points to care.” Coloradans can help improve the state’s performance hub by filling out a short survey and watching the site evolve online.
