Colorado teen mental health resources.

Colorado ran a statewide crisis line for years before 988 existed, and the two are now connected: calling or texting Colorado Crisis Services at 1-844-493-8255 (or texting TALK to 38255) reaches the 988 Colorado line and can dispatch a mobile crisis team — one that does not include law enforcement. For an immediate crisis, 988 works statewide. Most children's behavioral health runs through Health First Colorado, the state's Medicaid program. This guide explains how it all fits together.

The information here comes from Colorado state sources — the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA), the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), and the Division of Insurance — along with the state's protection and advocacy agency, all linked at the bottom.

If you need help right now

Colorado's mobile crisis response is built to send behavioral health professionals — not police — to a young person in crisis, and Crisis Stabilization Units offer short-term care for youth who need more than a phone or mobile response. Calling 988 or Colorado Crisis Services connects you to that system.

How Colorado's children's system is organized

• The Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) coordinates the public behavioral health and crisis system, including 988 in Colorado.
• HCPF (Health Care Policy and Financing) runs Health First Colorado (Medicaid) and Mobile Crisis Response.
• Regional Accountable Entities (RAEs) manage behavioral health services for most Health First Colorado members.
• The Division of Insurance regulates private health plans and runs external review.

Crisis services and mobile response

Colorado's crisis system has a few connected parts, all reachable through 988 or Colorado Crisis Services:

• Phone, text, and chat support from trained crisis specialists, 24/7
• Mobile Crisis Response (MCR) — face-to-face support in the community, with teams that do not include law enforcement
• Crisis Stabilization Units (CSUs) — short-term care for youth and adults in an urgent behavioral health crisis

Health First Colorado and coverage

Most Colorado children get coverage through Health First Colorado (Medicaid) or CHP+ (the state's Children's Health Insurance Program). Behavioral health for nearly all members is managed through Regional Accountable Entities (RAEs). Under the federal EPSDT benefit, children and adolescents under 21 on Medicaid are entitled to all medically necessary services to treat physical and mental health conditions; the standard is medical necessity, not a fixed cap. If a service is denied, you have the right to a plan appeal and a Medicaid fair hearing.

Residential treatment and what to verify

For youth who need 24-hour care, Colorado uses licensed residential and inpatient programs accessed through Medicaid or the public system for those who meet medical necessity. Before any placement:

• Confirm the program is state-licensed and that placement is being coordinated through Health First Colorado or the public system, which aims for the least restrictive appropriate option.
• Be cautious about out-of-state placements. Families are sometimes steered toward out-of-state residential or wilderness programs Colorado would not license. Hartley's investigative cluster explains why that pattern deserves skepticism.
• Ask about restraint and seclusion, staffing, and discharge planning — and get the answers in writing.

Insurance and parity

For privately insured families, mental health and substance use coverage is protected by the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which requires plans to apply no more restrictive rules to behavioral health care than to medical care. When a state-regulated plan denies care, Colorado's Division of Insurance oversees an external review — generally completed within 45 days, or within 72 hours for an expedited (urgent) review.

The Division of Insurance consumer line is 800-930-3745 (outside the Denver metro area). For self-funded ERISA (large-employer) plans, the federal external review process and complaints to the U.S. Department of Labor apply instead. In every case, get the denial in writing with the specific criteria used, and ask your teen's clinician to document medical necessity.

School-based mental health resources

School counselors and social workers are usually a family's fastest entry point for evaluations, 504 plans, and IEP processes when a teen's mental health is affecting school. Colorado's large districts — Denver, Jeffco, Douglas County, and Cherry Creek — have invested in school-based behavioral health, and the state has expanded free youth counseling options. If your teen is struggling academically because of anxiety, depression, or another condition, start with the school counselor and ask specifically about evaluation timelines.

Other Colorado-specific resources

What this guide doesn't cover (yet)

• Regional resource pages for the Denver metro, Colorado Springs, and the Western Slope
• A directory of Regional Accountable Entities and Crisis Stabilization Units
• A step-by-step walkthrough of a mobile crisis response
• How Colorado authorizes and oversees residential treatment
• Colorado's adolescent substance use treatment landscape

If something here is wrong or out of date, please tell us.

Sources

1. Colorado Behavioral Health Administration, "Colorado Crisis Care" and "988 in Colorado," bha.colorado.gov
2. Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, "Children and Youth Behavioral Health" and "Mobile Crisis Response," hcpf.colorado.gov
3. Colorado Division of Insurance, external review of denied health claims, doi.colorado.gov
4. Disability Law Colorado, Colorado protection and advocacy agency, disabilitylawco.org
5. Federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA).