Mental Health Transitional Living Homes

Two photos: 1) Exterior photo of a row of houses; 2) A woman with her hand on the shoulder of a man

Mental Health Transitional Living (MHTL) Homes are part of a new program that will provide an added layer of services within the Colorado Department of Human Services' behavioral health continuum of care. These homes, which are run by the Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health, will be used as a transition to a less restrictive setting for individuals with severe mental health conditions. Clients may stay as long as necessary for stabilization with an ultimate goal of reintegrating clients successfully in the community. The focus is to provide continued support with social and life skills development, as well as assistance with other daily life activities based on the client’s individual needs.

Timeline

The MHTL program is currently in development. OCFMH is preparing to open 24 state-run beds in homes in the community, as well as contracting a minimum of 101 beds to be run by outside entities Below is a tentative timeline for next steps: 

  • 125 beds are coming soon

Resources

MHTL placement criteria
Level 1 — Transitional Living

Responsible for daily living with regular support such as medication dispensation, ongoing minimal therapeutic activities, and regularly scheduled daily activities, and an emphasis on ADL support. Such programming is geared towards supporting the individual's engagement and work towards full independence.

Inclusionary Criteria Exclusionary Criteria
Age 18 or older Major medical conditions that require ongoing 24/7 nursing care
Diagnosis of Serious Mental Illness (SMI) consistent with DSM (most current version) criteria, which requires and can reasonably be expected to respond to therapeutic interventions Primary problem is social, legal, economic, or one of physical health without a concurrent mental health diagnosis or admission is being used as an alternative to incarceration
Individual is unable to be treated outside of a supervised 24-hour transition living environment Behavioral problems that may require restraint, seclusion, and/or a locked facility
Demonstrates a need for continued medication management Substance use which requires detoxification and/or inpatient services for stabilization.
Individuals require 24/7 care to develop skills necessary for daily living to assist with successful reintegration into lower level services (i.e. - outpatient) and/or into the community where the focus is working towards full independence. Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)
Individual's current/proposed living environment does not provide the support and access to therapeutic services needed  
Does not exhibit chronic inappropriate behavior which disrupts the activities of the home and/or is harmful to self or others  
Individual is able to function with some independence and participate in community-based activities for limited periods of time that are structured to develop skills for functioning outside of a more controlled residential environment  
Potential risk of harm to self or others, aggressive behaviors may have occurred in their life, but no less than 6 months ago  
History of substance use disorder, but no use of such substances within the last 3 months and/or no active current substance use and/or not at high risk of relapse.  

 

Level 2 — Supported Therapeutic Transitional Living

Coordinated whole person care to include daily social and life skills activities/ training, therapeutic services, group activities, medication dispensation. Programmatic services are geared for those needing more hands-on care due to continued management of severe mental illness. Services include medication management and dispensation, daily living, social, and life skills activities, therapeutic services, support with ADL’s, etc. May also require enhanced supervision to ensure safety, which may include, but is not limited to, increased staffing patterns and delayed egress systems.

Inclusionary Criteria Exclusionary Criteria*
Age 18 or older Major medical conditions that require ongoing 24/7
nursing care
Diagnosis of Serious Mental Illness (SMI) consistent with DSM (most current version) criteria, which requires and can reasonably be expected to respond to therapeutic interventions Primary problem is social, legal, economic, or one of physical health without a concurrent mental health diagnosis or admission is being used as an alternative to incarceration
Individual is unable to be treated outside of a supervised 24-hour transition living environment Behavioral problems that may require restraint, seclusion, and/or a locked facility
Demonstrates a need for ongoing medication, psychiatric, and behavior management support Substance use which requires detoxification and/or inpatient services for stabilization.
Individual requires 24/7 care to develop skills necessary for daily living, where the focus is on continued treatment services, to assist with successful reintegration into lower level services, community based services and/or full independence Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)
Individual's current/proposed living environment does not provide the support and access to therapeutic services needed  
Individual presents with behavioral concerns, which may include aggressive, assaultive, sexualized behaviors, history or pattern of elopement, etc. that can be adequately managed within the care setting  
Individuals require residential supervision and active support to ensure the adequate, effective coping skills necessary to live safely in the community, participate in self-care and treatment. Supervision may be enhanced based on the needs of the individual (i.e. - constant staff supervision, planned structured activities, delayed egress, etc).  
Potential risk of harm to self or others, aggressive behaviors may have occurred in their life and within the past 3 months  
May require continued outpatient short-term or extended short-term certification pursuant to C.R.S. 27-65-107 or 108 and long-term pursuant to C.R.S. 27-65-109  
History of substance use disorder  

*Not to be used as Exclusion Criteria: high risk, high profile behaviors, which include sexualized, aggressive, and/or assaultive behaviors, elopement, criminal history

Request for Applications notice

The Request for Applications (RFA) for contracted mental health transition beds has been posted to the Vendor Self Service (VSS) website, and it can be located by the RFP number 2023000203.

Mental Health Transitional Living (MHTL) Homes will provide a step down option from inpatient hospitalization with a less restrictive level of care.

  • The Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health (OCFMH) will be contracting for a minimum of 107 beds.
  • Admissions to each of the homes will be made by OCFMH Admissions and Coordination team based on the Placement Criteria and appropriateness of services within the care setting.
  • Funds may also allow for renovation costs for existing facilities.

Any entity with experience in group living accommodations for individuals with behavioral health needs is encouraged to apply.

The deadline for applications is June 30, 2023. Applications will be reviewed upon receipt and award notices will be given accordingly. 

More information on application materials, facility requirements and more can be found in the RFA. If you have any questions, please contact Darla Geer at darla.geer@state.co.us or 719.546.4009.

Contact information

Bonnie Wright
Division Director, Mental Health Transitional Living Homes
bonnie.wright@state.co.us

For general questions, email cdhs_transitional.livinghomes@state.co.us or call 303.866.5170.

For questions regarding the referral and admissions process, contact the Admissions and Coordination team:
Lindsay Lucas and RaeAnna Sporrer
cdhs_admissions.mhtl@state.co.us