Circle program bill fails in State Senate committee

It was following a staff shortage more than seven months ago when the Department of Human Services temporarily closed the Circle Program, a dual-diagnosis, inpatient treatment program at the state hospital in Pueblo.

State Senator Leroy Garcia from Pueblo introduced a bill to re-establish the program, but it died in committee.

Garcia said he will not introduce a new bill for the program but instead said The Department of Human Services will turn to the State’s Joint Budget Committee to continue the program outside the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo.

A graduate of the Circle Program, Jeff Riley, said though the effectiveness of the program will be hard to match.

“I do believe that leaving it with the state so people can know what’s going on would be the best opportunity for us moving forward,” Riley said.

Right now, it’s uncertain when the Circle Program could return or what it will look like when it does.