Bill to keep kids from being prosecuted for some crimes advances in state house

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - A new bill advanced in the Colorado House that would prohibit children from age 10 to 12 from being prosecuted or detained for crimes, with exceptions to homicide.

Instead, children will be referred to a local collaborative management program to receive treatment. The program will partner with other resources like the Department of Human Resources and the local mental health center.

“[We] include some of the system partners already where we have this conversation. The family is there, the kid is there, and so there is a level of, you know, having that conversation now and then being able to come up with a plan. This will have that process being utilized in a more robust way, including additional assessment processes and things like that.

Under current Colorado law, children 10-years-old and younger can be prosecuted and detained in a juvenile system.