Colorado has kept hundreds of young people in detention facilities even after judges deem them releasable because the state doesn’t have anywhere to send them, a new proposed class-action lawsuit alleges.
The 56-page complaint, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Denver, alleges children as young as 10 are being confined to prison-like conditions for weeks or months after judges determine they can return to the community, in violation of their constitutional rights.
Colorado officials “warehouse… children in dangerous and harmful detention facilities only because the state fails to provide them with the processes, placements and services to which they are legally entitled,” the lawsuit states.
In fiscal year 2024-2025, Colorado’s kept more than 140 youths in detention for more than 30 days after judges deemed them releasable, the complaint alleges.
Many of these young people remained in detention solely because they were waiting for the state to find them a foster placement. The majority of these kids also have disabilities and require therapeutic care, the lawsuit says.
DYS officials, in a statement Thursday night, said they could not comment on specifics outlined in the complaint due to the pending litigation.
The division said youths accused of committing crimes can only be released when the necessary court-mandated placements or services are available. Until those are fulfilled and a court authorizes their release, youths must stay in their care.
The complaint was filed on behalf of two young people — referred to only as Isaac N. and Tony S — by a group of civil rights organizations, including , the , , a national advocacy organization dedicated to children navigating the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and , a global law firm.
Isaac, a 17-year-old suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and ADHD, has been charged with juvenile delinquency offenses and is being held in a state youth detention facility, according to the lawsuit. He has not been convicted of a crime.
A judge has determined that Isaac is releasable, yet he has remained in detention for almost two additional months because the state hasn’t found him a placement, the complaint alleges.
A treatment provider who assessed Isaac found that he could benefit from a community-based placement with trauma-focused therapy.
He’s currently working on his high school diploma and hopes to pursue a trade, such as HVAC repair, the lawsuit states. He yearns to be released so he can enjoy being a regular teenager and go to the movies.
Isaac “does not understand why he is ‘stuck’ in the detention facility,” according to the complaint.
Tony, a 12-year-old with autism spectrum disorder and cognitive impairments, has remained in detention six months after a judge deemed him releasable, the lawsuit states. He also has not been convicted of a crime.
The is Tony’s legal custodian and is responsible for finding him a placement outside of detention, the complaint says. The state has failed to do so.
State officials have known for decades about this crisis but have refused to address it, the lawsuit alleges. The waitlists for community-based programs remain long. County officials say there are no local placement options, with some sending children to other states that have openings.
The problem is getting worse, the complaint contends.
In 2022-2023, the first year of public state reporting, the Division of Youth Services detained 540 releasable youths. That number increased to 693 the following year.
The most recent reports show the state detained 177 releasable youths in December 2025. More than half of all young people detained in Colorado have been deemed fit to return to the community, according to the lawsuit.
The consequences, advocates say, are severe.
“When the state locks up children after a court has said they may be released, it sends a devastating message that they are problems to be contained rather than young people deserving care, support, and a real chance to thrive,” Nancy Rosenbloom, senior litigation adviser at the ACLU’s , said in a news release. “Instead of locking up releasable kids away from their families, teachers and peers, the state must commit to programs and services that nurture young people and give every child the opportunity to succeed.”
Not only are these young people being housed unconstitutionally, advocates say, but they’re also being kept in facilities with extensive allegations of excessive force, fights and drugs.
The complaint cited several Denver Post stories from the past few years, which documented rampant allegations of excessive force by staff members at the state’s youth detention and commitment facilities, serious injuries sustained by teens while being physically restrained, illicit drugs entering secure facilities, and several allegations of staff members engaging in sexual relationships with youths in their care.
One youth in 2024 died from a fentanyl overdose at a facility in Greeley, while other young people have been hospitalized following drug use inside these facilities.
Staff, meanwhile, have been leaving the department due to unsafe working conditions and, they say, little support from management.
