(1) The general assembly finds and declares that:

(a) Colorado families and youth have difficulties navigating the mental and behavioral health, physical health, substance abuse, intellectual and developmental disabilities, education, juvenile justice, child welfare, and other state and local systems that are compounded when the youth has a behavioral, mental health, or co-occurring disorder;

(b) Preliminary research demonstrates that family advocates and family systems navigators increase family and youth satisfaction, improve family participation, and improve services to help youth and families succeed and achieve positive outcomes. One preliminary study in Colorado found that the wide array of useful characteristics and valued roles performed by family advocates and family systems navigators, regardless of where they are located institutionally, provided evidence for continuing and expanding the use of family advocates and family systems navigators in systems of care.

(c) Input from families, youth, and state and local community agency representatives in Colorado demonstrates that family advocates and family systems navigators help families get the services and support they need and want, help families to better navigate complex state and local systems, improve family and youth outcomes, and help disengaged families and youth to become engaged families and youth;

(d) State and local agencies and systems need to develop more strengths-based, family-centered, individualized, culturally competent, and collaborative approaches that better meet the needs of families and youth;

(e) A family advocate or a family systems navigator helps state and local agencies and systems adopt more strengths-based-targeted programs, policies, and services to better meet the needs of families and their youth with behavioral, mental health, or co-occurring disorders and improve outcomes for all, including families, youth, and the agencies they utilize;

(f) The use of family advocates or family systems navigators as full partners in systems of care is a relatively new approach to helping meet the needs of families and youth in the state. It is essential that communities have the support to implement and sustain programs in a manner that best meets the needs of youth, families, and communities.

(2) It is therefore in the state's best interest to develop rules and standards and provide technical assistance and coordination for the family advocacy mental health juvenile justice programs for system-of-care family advocates and family systems navigators for behavioral or mental health juvenile justice populations who navigate across behavioral or mental health, physical health, substance abuse, intellectual and developmental disabilities, juvenile justice, education, child welfare, and other state and local systems to ensure sustained and thoughtful family participation in the planning processes of the care for their children and youth.