Colorado Population in Need 2009

The Colorado Population in Need (COPIN) 2009 generated indicators of unmet need and penetration rates for behavioral health services for low income Coloradans with serious behavioral health disorders (SBHD). SBHD includes children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance (SED), and adults with serious mental illness (SMI), substance use disorders (SUD), and co-occurring disorders (SUD and SMI). Children and adolescents with co-occurring disorders are included with  SED. “Unmet need” is defined as the estimated number of individuals who have a SBHD minus the number of individuals who have accessed services. The difference represents those who “need” but have not accessed any type of behavioral health service. Penetration rates are calculated by dividing by the number of  individuals  utilizing behavioral health services by the number of individuals with a SBHD. This represents the percent of the population in need who have received services and conversely the percent who have not received services. These indictors provide standardized data that may be used to inform policy planning decisions.