Colorado Revised Statutes state that offenders shall be referred to Community Corrections. ‘Shall’ means unless an offender waives (using form AR 550-01A), the referral will be made by their case manager. Referrals are typically to the county where the offender wants to reside, or to the county of conviction for the crime for which they are currently serving. Once the referral has been submitted by the Case Manager/Community Parole Officer, the offender will have to be approved by the local Community Corrections Board before placement can occur.
Per DOC Administrative Regulation (AR) # 550-01, Integrated Case Management System, IV, C:
1) Offenders who have been convicted of a violent offense, as identified in AR 600-01, Offender Classification, shall be electronically referred to Adult Parole and Community Corrections nine (9) months prior to the estimated parole eligibility date (PED). Placement at a Community Corrections center may occur six (6) months prior to estimated PED.
2) Offenders who have not been convicted of a violent offense shall be electronically referred to Adult Parole and Community Corrections at 19 months prior to the estimated PED. Placement at a Community Corrections center may occur at 16 months prior to the estimated PED.
3) A Community Corrections regressed offender is not eligible to be referred until he or she has completed three (3) months in a DOC facility and maintains eligibility criteria.
4) Offenders who were regressed due to a Class I Code of Penal Discipline (COPD) conviction will complete one (1) year in a DOC facility, and maintain eligibility criteria and acceptable institutional behavior.
Additional information may be found in Administrative Regulation 250-03, Community Corrections Referral and Placement Process
A list of Community Corrections Boards and contacts can be found here.