About 112,000 Colorado residents last  year received publicly funded community mental health services.

The Colorado Behavioral Health Administration provided this data point, along with several other facts and figures marking the state’s progress in addressing the mental health crisis through a new hub launched on July 1.

The data hub comes two years after the agency was tasked with transforming the state’s behavioral health care system.

Last week, the BHA announced a way for the public to see what has been accomplished, how many people have been helped, and what services are available statewide. 

The hub offers several data points, including a county-by-county breakdown of how many people received public services. While more than 100,000 statewide received the services, according to the breakdown, 14,900 received help in Denver, and more than 7,000 sought help last year in El Paso County.

Addressing the state’s mental health crisis became a priority for several organizations and the state legislature after the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already-brewing crisis. At one point, Children’s Hospital Colorado declared an emergency, citing a significant increase in youth entering the ER in mental health crises or for attempted suicide.

In response, the state legislature passed several laws designed to fund and improve public mental health services, as well as to task BHA with overseeing the programs and tracking progress.

The new data hub also tracked how many people received “substance abuse disorder care” in 2023. According to the data, 51,029 Colorado residents entered assistance programs for drug abuse. In the county-by-county breakdown, the state website shows how many people per 1,000 residents received help for drug abuse.

In launching the site, the agency identified five priorities that officials said would help Colorado residents in their searching for quality and affordable behavioral health care.

“The launch and progressive implementation of our Five Priorities lay additional bricks on the foundation of transformation of the behavioral health care system that BHA is charged with delivering for the people of Colorado,” said BHA Commissioner Dannette R. Smith. “In the immediate term and with time, these are the steps that will make change tangible to our communities.”

“Over the coming months, we look forward to traveling around the state to share more about these priorities, and to invite residents into the process, so that we can continue to learn about the behavioral health challenges that people in Colorado face,” Smith. 

The top five priorities include:

• Launching and continuing the BHA performance hub, which will serve as a bank of information about the current state of access to behavioral health care in Colorado

• Increasing transparency and timelines in the behavioral health grievance and complaint process

• Strengthening and reforming the behavioral health safety net system,  ensuring services for vulnerable, high-needs residents

• Strengthening the coordination system BHA has established to support people who are placed on an involuntary mental health civil certification and in need of ongoing treatment

• Delivering improved access to the Children and Youth Behavioral Youth Implementation Plan