Bridges of Colorado

What Bridges of Colorado does

Bridges of Colorado is an independent state office within Colorado's Judicial Branch that places Court Liaisons across Colorado's 23 judicial districts to serve defendants and participants in the criminal justice system who have significant mental health needs. Established by Senate Bill 18-251 in 2018 and codified as an independent state office in April 2023 through Senate Bill 23-229, the program was founded to bridge the long-standing disconnect between criminal justice and mental health systems by having court-appointed Liaisons deliver person-centered wraparound care. Each Liaison identifies participant barriers — mental health treatment, disabilities, housing, transportation — advocates for behavioral health interests before judges and attorneys, attends hearings, and submits regular reports to the court.

The core offering is human-delivered service rather than a technology product: there is no proprietary platform, software suite, or commercial product. The organization runs a Liaison-in-Training workforce pipeline and operates from a single headquarters at 1300 Broadway, Suite 1200 in Denver, with 26 employees distributed across all 23 judicial districts via district-specific email channels. Its revenue mechanic is direct Colorado state appropriation: Bridges submits annual budget requests to the Joint Budget Committee of the General Assembly and is funded through state budget allocations, with no fee-for-service, billing, or third-party commercial pricing. Service volume is described as "thousands of individuals per year," with a 35% release rate reported among participants who were in custody.

The Bridges Commission provides cross-stakeholder oversight, drawing members from judicial, behavioral health, law enforcement, and advocacy backgrounds, and the entity partners with the Colorado Judicial Branch, Behavioral Health Administration, Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health, Colorado Department of Human Services, Mental Health Colorado, and NAMI Colorado to coordinate care. The National Center for State Courts has recognized Bridges as a nationally promising practice and the first program of its kind in the nation, providing external validation that supports continued legislative support, though out-of-state replication is not currently part of its mandate.

Name

Bridges of Colorado

Legal name

Bridges of Colorado

Website

https://bridges.colorado.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bridges of Colorado, an independent state office within Colorado's Judicial Branch, places Court Liaisons across all 23 judicial districts to serve criminal justice participants with significant mental health needs, providing person-centered wraparound care bridging courts and behavioral health.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Court Liaison and Behavioral Health Coordination Services

NAICS

Parole Offices and Probation Offices (922150), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (624310)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Court Services & Operations (Clerks, Records, Jury, Interpreters) (BPAIAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Forensic & Correctional Behavioral Health Services (HLAFACAM), Public Defense & Legal Aid Services (BPAIAFAC)

Keywords

• Court liaison services
• Behavioral health coordination
• Criminal justice advocacy
• Wraparound care services
• Mental health court programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Appropriation: Bridges of Colorado is an independent state office within the Judicial Branch of Colorado, funded through state government appropriations and budget allocations. The organization submits annual budget requests to the Joint Budget Committee of the General Assembly.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Bridges of Colorado places Court Liaisons across Colorado's 22-23 judicial districts to serve defendants (participants) in the criminal justice system who have significant mental health needs. The Court Liaisons facilitate collaboration between the criminal justice and mental health systems by partnering with providers, courts, and families to provide wraparound, person-centered care that addresses barriers such as mental health, disabilities, housing, and transportation. Services are delivered at no cost to participants and funded through state government appropriations.

Product overview

Bridges of Colorado is a government social services program, not a technology product company. It operates as an independent state office within the Colorado Judicial Branch, providing court liaison services to defendants with significant mental health needs in the criminal justice system. The organization places Court Liaisons across Colorado's 22-23 judicial districts to facilitate collaboration between the criminal justice and mental health systems. Its core offering is person-centered advocacy and care coordination services, including wraparound support for participants, coordination with courts and providers, and assistance with barriers such as mental health, disabilities, housing, and transportation. No distinct commercial product, software platform, or technology module was identified in the available source material.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Court Liaison Services Court-appointed liaison services delivered across Colorado's 22-23 judicial districts. Court Liaisons facilitate collaboration between the criminal justice and mental health systems by partnering with providers, courts, and families to provide wraparound, person-centered care for defendants (participants) with significant mental health needs, addressing barriers such as mental health, disabilities, housing, and transportation. Services are provided at no cost to participants.

Quantifiable outcome

• 35% release rate of those who were in custody
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Colorado Courts (Judicial Branch)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Bridges of Colorado places Court Liaisons across Colorado's 23 judicial districts. Liaisons are appointed by the court and work directly with judges and attorneys, providing regular reports and attending hearings. The program is now an independent state office within the Judicial Branch.
• Behavioral Health System/ProviderscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Bridges facilitates collaboration between the criminal justice and mental health systems by partnering with providers to give wraparound care for participants. Liaisons work with community partners and providers that have differing mandates.
• Behavioral Health AdministrationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoy Hart, a Commissioner, serves as the Behavioral Health Judicial and Involuntary Services Integration policy advisor. Bridges collaborates with the Behavioral Health Administration on Jail Based Behavioral Health Treatment Services and care coordination.
• Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health (OCFMH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioner Alan Marschke works with OCFMH as Judicial Liaison, coordinating training on competency and sanity-related topics and supporting interagency communication with court stakeholders.
• Colorado Department of Human ServicessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferenced as a resource partner for benefits assistance including SNAP, Energy, Cash, Disability and Employee Assistance programs.
• Mental Health ColoradosupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as an advocacy resource partner for people with mental health needs.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI Colorado)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a family support resource partner.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law: Legal advocacy organization advancing rights of individuals with mental disabilities, including those in the criminal justice system; comparable in its court-facing advocacy role for justice-involved populations with mental health needs.
• Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) National Support Bureau: Coordinates a pre-booking and post-booking diversion model that redirects justice-involved individuals with behavioral health needs to services; functionally aligned with Bridges' cross-system coordination role.
• Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center: Operates the national Stepping Up Initiative to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in jails; directly comparable to Bridges' mission of bridging behavioral health and criminal justice systems across multiple U.S. jurisdictions.
• Treatment Advocacy Center: National nonprofit focused on eliminating barriers to treatment for individuals with serious mental illness, often at the intersection of mental health and criminal justice; comparable mission and population focus to Bridges.

Direct peers

• Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC): Provides case management and liaison services connecting justice-involved individuals with behavioral health treatment across multiple states; directly parallel to Bridges' court liaison model focused on wraparound care for participants with mental health needs.

Others

• National Center for State Courts (NCSC): Recognized Bridges as a 'nationwide promising practice' and first of its kind; serves as the national convener and standards body for state court innovation, directly relevant as Bridges' benchmark-setter.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): Nation's largest grassroots mental health advocacy organization; Bridges partners directly with NAMI Colorado and is comparable as a stakeholder in the mental health advocacy ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP): National membership and standards body for problem-solving courts, including mental health and veterans courts; comparable as a peer operating in the specialty/problem-solving court space that Bridges sits within.
• National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD): Represents state mental health authorities and works at the intersection of behavioral health and criminal justice policy; comparable as a broader public-sector body whose work frames the environment Bridges operates in.

Regional players

• Miami-Dade County Criminal Mental Health Project (CMHP): Jail-based diversion and linkage program in Miami-Dade County targeting defendants with mental illness; directly comparable in function to Bridges' liaison model but operating in a different jurisdiction.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bridgesofcolorado

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Bridges of Colorado