The sheriff of each county shall feed all the prisoners kept in confinement by him with good and sufficient food. The board of county commissioners of such county, at the expense of the county, shall furnish to such sheriff all the groceries, supplies, utensils, equipment, and assistants he requires to perform his duty of properly feeding such prisoners and shall also pay all the costs and expenses incurred therein.
Source: L. 77: Entire title R&RE, p. 936, � 10, effective August 1.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former � 27-26-104 as it existed prior to 1977.
17-26-104.3. Menstrual hygiene products for a person in custody - definitions. (1) A facility, as defined in subsection (2) of this section, whether operated by a governmental entity or a private contractor, shall provide whichever menstrual hygiene products are requested by a person in custody to the person in custody at no expense to the person in custody. The facility shall not impose any condition or restriction on a person in custody's access to menstrual hygiene products.
(2) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) Facility means:
(I) A local jail, as defined in section 17-1-102 (7);
(II) A multijurisdictional jail, as described in section 17-26.5-101; and
(III) A municipal jail, as authorized in section 31-15-401 (1)(j).
(b) Menstrual hygiene products means tampons, menstrual pads, sanitary napkins, and pantiliners.
Source: L. 2019: Entire section added, (HB 19-1224), ch. 131, p. 589, � 4, effective April 25.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 19-1224, see section 1 of chapter 131, Session Laws of Colorado 2019.
17-26-104.4. Incarceration of a person with the capacity for pregnancy - report - definition. (1) A facility incarcerating a person who is capable of pregnancy, whether operated by a governmental entity or a private contractor, shall:
(a) Train the facility's staff to ensure that a pregnant person receives safe and respectful treatment;
(b) Develop administrative policies to ensure a trauma-informed standard of care is integrated with current practices to promote the health and safety of a pregnant person;
(c) Provide each pregnant person, during the person's pregnancy and through the person's postpartum period, with access to:
(I) Perinatal health-care providers with perinatal experience; and
(II) Healthy foods and information on nutrition, recommended activity levels, safety measures, and supplies, including menstrual products as required in section 17-26-104.3, and breast pumps approved by the sheriff or the sheriff's designee;
(d) Provide treatment for pregnant people who have suffered from:
(I) A diagnosed behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorder;
(II) Human immunodeficiency virus; or
(III) Chronic conditions;
(e) Provide educational information materials for pregnant people who have suffered from:
(I) Trauma or violence, including domestic violence;
(II) Sexual abuse; or
(III) Pregnancy loss or infant loss;
(f) Provide evidence-based pregnancy and childbirth education, parenting support, and other relevant forms of health literacy;
(g) Develop administrative policies to identify and offer opportunities for postpartum persons to maintain contact with the person's newborn child to promote bonding, including enhanced visitation policies, access to prison nursery programs, and breastfeeding support, when appropriate;
(g.5) Develop administrative policies, including a system for human milk storage, to ensure a newborn can receive the human milk that the newborn's postpartum parent has pumped for the newborn's nourishment;
(h) In accordance with the requirements of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended, Pub.L. 104-191, transfer health records to community providers if a pregnant person exits the criminal justice system during the person's pregnancy or during the person's postpartum period;
(i) Connect a person exiting the criminal justice system during the person's pregnancy or postpartum period to community-based resources, such as referrals to health-care providers, substance use disorder treatment, and social services that address social determinants of maternal health;
(j) Establish partnerships with local public entities, private community entities, community-based organizations, Indian tribes and tribal organizations as defined in the federal Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, 25 U.S.C. sec. 5304, as amended, or urban Indian organizations as defined in the federal Indian Health Care Improvement Act, 25 U.S.C. sec. 1603, as amended; and
(k) By February 15, 2022, and by February 15 each year thereafter, report to the judiciary committees of the senate and house of representatives, or their successor committees, on the number of births by pregnant people who are in the custody of the facility, including the location of the births, that occurred in the prior calendar year.
(2) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, facility means:
(a) A local jail, as defined in section 17-1-102 (7);
(b) A multijurisdictional jail, as described in section 17-26.5-101; or
(c) A municipal jail, as authorized in section 31-15-401 (1)(j).
Source: L. 2021: Entire section added, (SB 21-193), ch. 433, p. 2861, � 5, effective September 7. L. 2024: (1)(g.5) added, (HB 24-1459), ch. 426, p. 2916, � 4, effective June 5.
17-26-104.5. Medical visits - charge to persons in custody - provider charges - state hospital in Pueblo. (1) A county jail may assess a medical treatment charge against any person who receives while being held in custody medical treatment performed by a physician, dentist, nurse, or licensed hospital or as a result of a sick call or for whom a prescription is filled. The county jail may assess any such medical treatment charge against the person's jail account. In addition, the county jail may assess a reasonable medical treatment charge for each visit by a person in custody to an institutional or noninstitutional physician, dentist, or optometrist; except that a medical treatment charge shall not be assessed for any visit required by the county jail during the intake process or an annual physical examination required by the county jail. In no case shall a person's inability to pay be the basis for not providing medical treatment equivalent to the community standard of care. Any medical treatment charge that remains unpaid shall constitute a cost of care that the person shall be ordered to pay pursuant to section 18-1.3-701, C.R.S., and that may be collected by the county pursuant to the provisions of section 16-11-101.6, C.R.S.
(1.3) A provider of medical care that receives any state money, including but not limited to providers that receive money from the medical assistance program established in articles 4, 5, and 6 of title 25.5, shall charge a county for medical care provided to a person in custody in a county jail:
(a) At the same rate that the provider is reimbursed for such services by the medical assistance program; or
(b) If the provider is not reimbursed by the medical assistance program, at the highest rate that the provider is reimbursed in whole or in part with state moneys in any other program.
(1.5) (a) If economical, a county sheriff may transport a person held in custody in a county jail to the Colorado mental health institute at Pueblo for medical treatment. Within the bed and medical capacity of the facility, the Colorado mental health institute at Pueblo shall provide medical care to a person held in custody in a county jail. The county in which the person was held shall be responsible for the payment to the hospital for medical costs incurred by a person in custody, but, if such costs are not repaid to the county by the person in custody, such costs constitute a medical treatment charge that may be collected as provided for in subsection (1) of this section.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1.5), the mental health institute at Pueblo shall charge a county the actual costs of the medical care provided to a person held in custody. The charges shall cover the full direct and indirect costs of the care provided as determined by generally accepted accounting principles. The general assembly shall include within the appropriation for the general medical division of the institute an amount equal to the estimated reimbursements to be received from counties pursuant to this paragraph (b).
(2) The provisions of this section shall apply to any person held in custody in a county jail regardless of whether the person is a juvenile, is being held prior to trial, or is in custody for conviction under a state statute or a county or municipal ordinance.
(3) When a person is held in custody in a county jail, the person shall be primarily responsible for the payment of the cost of medical care provided to the person for a self-inflicted injury or a condition that was preexisting prior to the person's arrest and shall be charged for the medical care by the provider of care. For purposes of this section, preexisting condition means an illness beginning or an injury sustained before a person is in the peaceable custody of the county's officers. This subsection (3) shall not apply to care required by the county jail pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, care paid for by other entities pursuant to section 17-26-120 or 17-26-124, care paid for by any other entity, or medical care provided by the Colorado mental health institute at Pueblo.
(4) A county may seek payment or reimbursement for any medical treatment costs from a person being held in custody and receiving such services, except as otherwise provided in subsection (1) of this section.
Source: L. 97: Entire section added, p. 191, � 1, effective April 1. L. 2002: (1) amended, p. 1507, � 166, effective October 1. L. 2003: Entire section amended, p. 1890, � 1, effective August 6; (1.3) and (1.5) added, p. 1694, � 3, effective August 6. L. 2006: IP(1.3) amended, p. 2005, � 59, effective July 1. L. 2024: IP(1.3) amended, (HB 24-1399), ch. 76, p. 254, � 11, effective July 1, 2025.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration contained in the 2002 act amending subsection (1), see section 1 of chapter 318, Session Laws of Colorado 2002.
17-26-104.7. Prohibition against the use of restraints on pregnant persons in custody. (1) The staff of a county jail, in restraining a woman who is committed, detained, or confined to the county jail, shall use the least restrictive restraints necessary to ensure safety if the staff of the county jail have a reasonable belief that the woman is pregnant. For the use of restraints during labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery, the staff shall comply with the Protection of Individuals from Restraint and Seclusion Act, article 20 of title 26.
(2) (a) Repealed.
(b) The county jail or medical facility staff authorizing the use of restraints on a pregnant person during labor or delivery of the child shall make a written record of the use of the restraints, which record shall include, at a minimum, the type of restraint used, the circumstances that necessitated the use of the restraint, and the length of time the restraint was used. The sheriff shall retain the record for a minimum of five years and shall make the record available for public inspection with individually identifying information redacted from the record unless the person who is the subject of the record gives prior written consent for the public release of the record. The written record of the use of restraint shall not constitute a medical record under state or federal law. No later than February 15, 2022, and each February 15 thereafter, the sheriff shall submit the records created pursuant to this subsection (2)(b) in the prior calendar year to the judiciary committees of the senate and house of representatives, or their successor committees.
(3) Upon return to a county jail after childbirth, the woman shall be entitled to have a member of the county jail's or county's medical staff present during any strip search.
(4) When a woman's pregnancy is determined, the staff of a county jail shall inform a pregnant woman committed, detained, or confined in a county jail in writing in a language and in a manner understandable to the woman of the provisions of this section concerning the use of restraints and the presence of medical staff during a strip search.
(5) Each sheriff shall ensure that staff of the county jail receive adequate training concerning the provisions of this section.
Source: L. 2010: Entire section added, (SB 10-193), ch. 312, p. 1464, � 2, effective January 1, 2011. L. 2021: (2)(b) amended, (SB 21-193), ch. 433, p. 2863, � 6, effective September 7. L. 2024: (1) amended and (2)(a) repealed, (HB 24-1459), ch. 426, p. 2915, � 2, effective June 5.