For Clients

Mandated treatment is for offenders who have been ordered to attend therapeutic interventions as part of their sentence or as a condition of their supervision. The goal of mandated treatment is to address the underlying issues that contributed to a person’s criminal behavior in order to reduce their risk for reoffending, thereby contributing to community safety.

Absolutely! It is common misconception that if treatment is mandated that it is less effective. In fact, because the treatment is mandated, individuals are more likely to remain in treatment long enough to see sustainable change take root.

However, not all treatment programs are equally effective in reducing a person’s risk for reoffending. Therapy services that do not directly address a person’s criminogenic needs (also known as the proximal cause of their legal involvement), have poor outcomes in supporting their clients’ long term risk reduction.

Risk Need Responsivity (RNR) is a model of evidence-based criminal justice rehabilitation that promotes public safety by targeting interventions to the risk level, criminogenic needs, and responsivity concerns of each offender. It emphasizes the use of research-driven assessment tools to identify that person’s risk of future offending and their criminogenic needs, which are identified factors that have been linked to the incidence of recidivism. The RNR model also takes into account the individual characteristics of a person that may affect the effectiveness of these interventions so that treatment plans can be tailored to increase effectiveness.

RNR has consistently been demonstrated as an effective methodology for reducing recidivism in numerous studies. This model has been integrated into standards of care in multiple states, including Colorado, given its demonstrated efficacy.

Our administrative team here at CPA frequently reviews research and aims to offer effective assessment and treatments for our clients. Recent analyses show that RNR remains the best model in aiding our community, which is why we continue to utilize RNR throughout a person’s course of treatment with us.

No - not all therapy looks the same and different services can have a wide range of goals and purposes. For example, trauma therapy would be the wrong treatment for someone struggling with depression but who has no trauma history. Interventions should be driven by a mutual understanding of the goal of therapy. While many mandated clients do not start out interested in their required therapy services, the mutual goal often comes through an overlap in the supervising agencies’ desire to improve community safety converging with the referred client’s desire to maintain their freedom, reconnect with loved ones, and successfully complete their sentence.

Even though many justice-involved individuals may have additional treatment concerns, such as wanting therapy to address past traumas, ongoing anxieties, family disruptions, and more, these treatment interventions have a different purpose, and therefore cannot adequately help someone address their recidivism risk.

As noted within RNR Research, “Other problems or disorders encountered frequently in criminal justice populations, such as low self-esteem or depression, are referred to as non-criminogenic because they are most often a result rather than the cause of crime. Treating non-criminogenic needs before treating criminogenic has been associated with negative outcomes, including higher rates of criminal recidivism, substance use, and unemployment (Andrews & Bonta, 2010; Andrews et al., 1990; Smith et al., 2009; Vieira et al., 2009).”

For a large majority of our clients, we recommend focusing on lowering their risk of recidivism by a substantial margin before engaging in these alternative therapies. Doing so leads to improved outcomes in staying “off paper” and increases their ability to successfully complete any voluntary treatment they want to pursue in the community!

Someone’s length of treatment varies from person to person, and is based upon their individual progress. On average, clients may expect to be in treatment anywhere from 12 to 24 months depending on their risk level for reoffending and identified treatment needs.

For Substance Abuse treatment services, there are state minimum requirements set forth by the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA), the agency that licenses Substance Use Treatment Providers in Colorado.

For any ASAM Level 1 Substance Abuse services, the State has regulations which indicate that criminal justice clients should remain in treatment for a minimum of nine months. However, these are minimums only, and we evaluate our clients’ progress throughout their time in treatment.

Clients enrolled in Domestic Violence (DV) treatment also have minimum requirements, which are driven by Treatment Plan Review timelines as outlined in DVOMB Standards.

While these minimums are important, not everyone changes as the same rate and everyone’s path out of the justice system is different. We do not want our clients to simply comply or “do time” in treatment, but rather internalize and implement learned skills and concepts.

Clients may be funded through a multitude of ways during their course of treatment with us, depending on their primary supervising agency. Clients can receive funding through:

• Department of Corrections (DOC)

• Correctional Treatment Funds (CTF)

• Specialized Offender Funds (SOSF)

• Probation Vouchers

• County-Funded Contracts

Some clients may also be self-pay for their treatment, as there are some exemptions regarding access to funding within specific programs.

It is important to note that all clients are responsible for their treatment balance in the event that the third-party payor chooses not to fund a portion or all of their recommended treatment services. All clients are entitled to information about the fee structure and what their financial obligation may or may not be at the start of their treatment.

If you have specific questions about whether or not your treatment will be funded, contact our main office at (720) 928-1440.

CPA is current working on enrollment within the HealthFirst Colorado Medicaid as a behavioral health provider.

Historically, CPA has not been able to accept Colorado Health First’s Medicaid program because our services are highly specialized and focused on criminogenic need, therefore, they do not meet criteria for Medical Necessity, as defined within 10 CCR 2505-10 8.000.

While we provide holistic treatment and view each person’s individual characteristics and life experiences as meaningful information throughout their time in therapy with us, our primary focus is on addressing the criminogenic needs identified during a client’s assessment and all behavioral interventions are aimed specifically at helping clients work towards abstaining from criminal behavior.

Since engaging in criminal behavior is not a disorder, and any relevant mental health diagnoses someone may have are not the primary focus of the treatment plan, insurance does not consider criminogenic need treatment a medical necessity.

Our administrative team, therefore, has been coordinating with Medicaid and Colorado’s Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing (HCPF) on solutions, and have determined that substance abuse treatment services and non-criminogenic mental health treatment services for clients may be covered for clients with a qualifying diagnosis.

While this means there may be specific treatment interventions that remain uncovered by Medicaid, we are excited to expand the funding options available to our clients for those services which are billable to Medicaid.

For questions regarding which services are covered, please contact our main office at (720) 928-1440.