Community Corrections Program in Colorado – How It Works

A Colorado community corrections program (CCP) provides sentencing alternatives to prison. You typically must

1. maintain employment,
2. go to counseling, and
3. submit to drug and alcohol testing.

As long as you abide by the rules, you can remain out of custody.

In this article, our Denver Colorado criminal defense lawyers will address:

• 1. What is a community corrections program?
• 2. Who is eligible?
• 3. What are the terms?
• 4. What happens if I violate the terms?
• 5. What happens when I complete the program?
• 6. Who runs community corrections?
• 7. Related Topics

1. What is a community corrections program?

Community corrections programs (CCPs) provide a sentencing alternative to prison. Some defendants are diverted into a CCP without serving prison. Others transition from prison to a CCP.

In total, there are seven types of CCP participants:

1. Condition of probation offenders – The district court sentences you to probation, and completing a CCP in a residential facility is a condition of your sentence.
2. Department of Corrections (DOC) Intensive Supervision Program offenders – You are in prison with no more than 180 days until your parole eligibility date (PED), and you get released on parole under intensive supervision (usually home detention with electronic monitoring).
3. Nonresidential diversion offenders – You have already done a residential CCP and are moved to a nonresidential CCP, during which you must report to a day-reporting or drug testing center.
4. Nonresidential transition offenders – You have already served prison and finished a residential CCP, and you are moved to a nonresidential CCP. As a condition, you must report to a day-reporting center or other required treatment program.
5. Residential diversion offenders – A district court judge sentences you to serve all or some of your sentence in a CCP facility.
6. Residential transition offenders – You are serving time in prison, and the Department of Corrections refers you to a CCP to transition back into society.
7. Transition parole offenders – You are in a CCP as a parole condition or because your parole officer fears you are in danger of revoking your probation, and they believe CCP will stabilize your behavior.

During CCP participation, you are required to gain employment. You may also be required to attend

• educational classes,
• drug or alcohol treatment, or
• other individualized counseling.

Once you have demonstrated you can follow the program rules, you may be eligible to spend more time in the community.

2. Who is eligible?

You must be referred to a CCP in Colorado. A recommendation may be made by three main sources:

1. A district court judge. You would enter the CCP as an alternative to a prison sentence. The CCP can also be a condition of probation. With rare exception, judges do not refer defendants to CCPs who are required to serve prison for a violent offense.
2. The Colorado Board of Parole. A CCP can be a condition of your parole or a modification to it. You can also be placed in a CCP while your parole is temporarily revoked.
3. A Department of Corrections case manager. Case managers make referrals to the DOC’s Division of Community Corrections. If you are an inmate convicted of a non-violent offense, the referral is made 19 months prior to your PED (parole eligibiliy date), and you enter the CCP 16 months prior to your PED. If you are an inmate convicted of a violent offense, the referral is made nine months prior to your PED, and you enter the CCP six months prior to your PED.²

Even if you are recommended for a CCP, you could then be rejected by the local community corrections board or the particular CCP facility.³ If that happens, you would be immediately resentenced.⁴

3. What are the terms?

The terms of participating in a CCP depend on your situation.⁵ As a condition of placement in a CCP, you must submit a written waiver of extradition. This means that if you violate the terms of your program and are arrested in another state, you shall not be granted bail in any other state pending extradition to Colorado.⁶

Individual terms of participating in a CCP may include conditions similar to those during parole or probation, including:

• Maintain employment
• Submit to random searches
• Submit to random drug or alcohol testing
• Alcohol testing device
• Restricted curfews
• Mandatory counseling and treatment services
• Drug or alcohol education
• Payment of supervision fees
• Weapons restrictions
• Intensive residential treatment
• Mental health treatment
• Intensive supervision
• Paying child support
• Staying in community corrections facilities / halfway houses / therapeutic communities

Specialized programs and services are offered to sex offenders.⁷

4. What happens if I violate the terms?

If you violate the terms of your CCP, the court may immediately

• resentence you to incarceration,
• extend the terms of your sentence,
• add additional restrictions, or
• continue the CCP sentence.

Suppose you are terminated or rejected from a CCP after having been sentenced to the program for a level 4 drug felony. In that case, the court shall conduct a resentencing hearing in order to comply with each “exhaustion of remedy” provision.⁸

5. What happens when I complete the program?

If you successfully complete the residential phase of a community corrections sentence, pay the costs of the residential program in full, and are being supervised on nonresidential status at either a minimum or administrative level, you are eligible for consideration for early termination of your CCP sentence by the court.⁹

Success in the CCP is based on a number of factors. If you are sentenced to a CCP, you may be eligible for time credit deductions of up to 10 days for each month of placement, based on the administrator’s assessment of progress based on:

• Maintenance of employment, education, or training, including attendance, promptness, performance, cooperation, care of materials, and safety;
• Development and maintenance of positive social and domestic relations;
• Compliance with rules, regulations, and requirements of residential or nonresidential program placement;
• Completion and compliance with components of your individualized program plan; and
• Demonstration of financial responsibility and accountability.¹⁰

After you complete CCP

After successful completion of the program, your probation officer may submit a petition for early termination of sentence to the court and notify the district attorney and you, subject to victim notification.¹¹

In deciding whether to grant or deny early termination, the court may consider a number of factors related to your rehabilitation and the potential safety risk to the community. These factors include:

1. Your assessed risk of reoffending (recidivism);
2. The victims’ input, if any;
3. Your compliance with the terms and conditions of the sentence or CCP;
4. Completion of any treatment required by the court or CCP; and
5. Any other factors deemed relevant by the court.¹²

6. Who runs community corrections?

Each of Colorado’s 22 judicial districts has a board of community corrections with the power to approve of CCPs, establish and enforce standards, and provide an administrative review process.

Some CCPs are run by these boards, and others are run by the local government or private entities. Each CCP is different and catered towards needs of the local community.

Meanwhile, the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) in the Department of Public Safety administers all the contracts required for operating CCPs, audits CCPs for compliance, and allocates state money to local boards and programs.

CCPs in Colorado

Many different public and private entities run the more than two dozen CCPs in Colorado. Some include:

1. Adams County Community Corrections in Brighton
2. Boulder County Community Corrections in Boulder City and Longmont
3. Centennial Community Transition Center in Englewood
4. Denver County Community Corrections in Denver
5. El Paso County Community Corrections in Colorado Springs
6. Hilltop House Community Corrections in Durango
7. Jefferson County Community Corrections in Golden
8. Larimer County Community Corrections in Fort Collins
9. Mesa County Community Corrections in Grand Junction
10. Prowers County Community Corrections in Lamar
11. Weld County Community Corrections in Greeley

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center runs Peer I Therapeutic Community Center (male only). Plus a few programs are classified as Community Intensive Residential Treatment (CIRT) facilities, which offer specialized services to treat more serious offenders convicted of sex crimes or violent crimes or who have mental health problems.¹³

7. Related Topics

Alternatives in Imposition of Sentence CRS 18-1.3-104

In Colorado, the trial court has a number of alternatives when entering judgment for a criminal sentence. Sentencing options range from probation, specialized restitution, and community service programs to imprisonment or the death sentence.

Sentencing alternatives depend on

• the specific crime,
• your history, and
• the potential impact on the safety of the victims.

Alternative Imposition of Sentence for Drug Felonies CRS 18-1.3-104.5

The law provides alternative imposition of sentences for certain felony drug cases. During sentencing or resentence after revocation of probation, the court may consider all reasonable and appropriate alternative sentences, including treatment programs or probation.

Home Detention Programs CRS 18-1.3-106

You may be able to leave detention during necessary and reasonable hours for seeking employment, working, attending school, or seeking medical treatment. Home detention is an alternative correctional sentence where you remain within your approved residence at all times except for court-approved activities.

Collateral Relief CRS 18-1.3-107

When you enter into alternative sentencing, the court may enter an order of collateral relief intended to improve your likelihood of success, including preserving or improving your job and employment prospects.

See our related article, Mesa County Community Corrections – How it works.

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