Spring Creek Youth Services Center

No bond applies to a commitment. Your child is serving a juvenile court commitment to DYS, and release comes through the juvenile parole board after treatment progress (C.R.S. 19-2.5-1203). If your child has a new or separate pending charge, that court decides release on that case.

After the committed period, every youth serves six months of mandatory parole in the community (C.R.S. 19-2.5-1117). The parole board uses the length-of-stay guide and treatment progress, and DYS can't keep anyone past age 21 (C.R.S. 19-2.5-1203(10)). Ask your child's client manager about the release plan.

In adult court, adult bail rules apply instead of the juvenile detention hearing. A juvenile judge can transfer a case to adult court after an investigation and a hearing: for a 12- or 13-year-old accused of a class 1 or 2 felony or a crime of violence, or for a youth 14 or older accused of any felony (C.R.S. 19-2.5-802(1)). Someone who turns 18 while the case is pending is held in the county jail (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(4)(g)). A district attorney can file charges directly in adult (district) court only if the youth was 16 or 17 at the time and is accused of a class 1 or class 2 felony, certain sexual assaults, or certain crimes of violence after a prior felony adjudication (C.R.S. 19-2.5-801(1)). Under Colorado law, a youth charged as an adult stays in a juvenile facility while the case is pending unless a district judge holds a hearing and decides an adult jail is the right place (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(3)(c)(II)). Ask your child's lawyer about this as early as possible.

A district court juvenile judge committed your child to the Colorado Department of Human Services, and DYS chose this center (C.R.S. 19-2.5-1117). The case stays with the court in the county that committed your child, not with a court near the center.

Find that court on the Colorado Judicial Branch website at coloradojudicial.gov.

For most offenses a judge commits a youth for a set period of up to two years. DYS can ask the court to extend a commitment by up to two more years. For an aggravated juvenile offender the period can be up to five years, or up to seven years for an offense that would be a class 1 felony for an adult (C.R.S. 19-2.5-1117). DYS custody always ends at age 21 (C.R.S. 19-2.5-1203(10)).

Every commitment is followed by a mandatory six-month parole period (C.R.S. 19-2.5-1117). The juvenile parole board decides when a youth is paroled, using the youth's risk assessment, progress in treatment and a length-of-stay guide (C.R.S. 19-2.5-1203). Your child's DYS client manager, who later serves as the parole officer, can answer questions about the plan.

Yes. Approved family members can join treatment team (MDT) meetings, family therapy and education planning. Notice of hearings and reviews for a committed youth goes to the youth and to the foster parent, pre-adoptive parent or relative the youth lives with (C.R.S. 19-2.5-1117).

A juvenile judge can transfer a case to adult court after an investigation and a hearing: for a 12- or 13-year-old accused of a class 1 or 2 felony or a crime of violence, or for a youth 14 or older accused of any felony (C.R.S. 19-2.5-802(1)). Under Colorado law, a youth charged as an adult stays in a juvenile facility while the case is pending unless a district judge holds a hearing and decides an adult jail is the right place (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(3)(c)(II)). Someone who turns 18 while the case is pending is held in the county jail (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(4)(g)). A district attorney can file charges directly in adult (district) court only if the youth was 16 or 17 at the time and is accused of a class 1 or class 2 felony, certain sexual assaults, or certain crimes of violence after a prior felony adjudication (C.R.S. 19-2.5-801(1)). If convicted in adult court, a youth may be sentenced as an adult or to the Youthful Offender System in the Department of Corrections (C.R.S. 19-2.5-802(1)(d)). After a direct filing, your child's lawyer can ask the district court to send the case back to juvenile court (a “reverse transfer”, C.R.S. 19-2.5-801(4)). Ask your child's lawyer about this as early as possible.