C.R.S. § 18-1.3-407: Sentences - powers and duties of district court - authorization for youthful offender system - system participants - powers and duties of department of corrections - youthful offender system study - report - legislative intent - definitions.

(1) (a) It is the intent of the general assembly that the youthful offender system established pursuant to this section benefit the state by:

(I) Providing a sentencing option in a secure and trauma-informed environment that affirms dignity of self and others for certain juveniles and young adults who have been convicted of a crime;

(II) Increasing public safety by providing evidence-informed rehabilitative treatment to help juveniles and young adults in the youthful offender system's care make lasting behavioral changes to prepare themselves for a successful transition back to the community;

(III) Promoting the physical safety of juveniles, young adults, and staff within the youthful offender system;

(IV) Promoting a seamless continuum of care from the time of incarceration to release from confinement, in which system participants' needs are met in a safe, structured environment with well-trained, caring staff who help system participants identify and address criminogenic risk factors, be accountable, and accept responsibility for the participants' actions;

(V) Enabling participants to develop healthy, supportive relationships with peers, adults, family, and neighborhood and community members; and

(VI) Providing participants with the tools necessary to become law-abiding, contributing members of the community upon release.

(b) (I) It is the further intent of the general assembly in enacting this section that all juveniles and young adults who are eligible for sentencing to the youthful offender system pursuant to section 18-1.3-407.5, 19-2.5-801 (5), or 19-2.5-802 (1)(d)(I)(B) receive equitable treatment, regardless of gender, in sentencing, particularly in regard to the option of being sentenced to the youthful offender system. Accordingly, it is the general assembly's intent that the department establish separate housing for female and male juveniles and young adults who are sentenced to the youthful offender system without compromising equitable treatment.

(II) It is the intent of the general assembly that juveniles and young adults with physical, intellectual, developmental, mental, or behavioral health disabilities or conditions who are eligible for sentencing to the youthful offender system pursuant to section 18-1.3-407.5, 19-2.5-801 (5), or 19-2.5-802 (1)(d)(I)(B) receive equitable treatment in sentencing, particularly in regard to the option of being sentenced to the youthful offender system. Accordingly, it is the general assembly's intent that the department take all reasonable measures to accommodate and promote effective communication with juveniles and young adults with physical, intellectual, developmental, mental, or behavioral health disabilities or conditions who are sentenced to the youthful offender system.

(III) It is the intent of the general assembly that juveniles and young adults sentenced to the youthful offender system be sentenced as adults and be subject to all laws and department rules, regulations, and standards pertaining to adult inmates, except as otherwise provided in this section.

(c) It is the intent of the general assembly that participants sentenced to the youthful offender system be housed and serve their sentences in a facility specifically designed and programmed for the youthful offender system and that participants so sentenced be housed separately from and not brought into daily physical contact with inmates twenty-five years of age or older who are sentenced to the department and who have not been sentenced to the youthful offender system, except as specifically provided pursuant to subsection (5) of this section.

(1.3) (a) For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(I) "Department" means the department of corrections.

(II) "Executive director" means the executive director of the department of corrections.

(III) "Juvenile" means a person who is under eighteen years of age when the crime is committed and under twenty-one years of age at the time of sentencing pursuant to this section.

(IV) "System participant" or "participant" means a juvenile or a young adult who has been sentenced to the youthful offender system.

(V) "Trauma-informed" means an approach that involves an understanding of adverse childhood experiences and that responds to symptoms of chronic interpersonal trauma and traumatic stress across the lifespan of an individual.

(VI) "Young adult" means a person who is at least eighteen years of age but under twenty years of age when the crime is committed and under twenty-one years of age at the time of sentencing pursuant to this section.

(b) As used in this section, "community supervision" does not mean a community corrections program, as defined in section 17-27-102.

(1.5) (a) (I) For the purposes of public safety, academic achievement, rehabilitation, the development of prosocial behavior, or reentry planning for juveniles and young adults, the executive director or the executive director's designee may exercise discretion in the transfer of a juvenile or young adult twenty-four years of age or younger and sentenced to the department into and out of the youthful offender system.

(II) The department shall develop policies and procedures for decision-making regarding the transfer of a juvenile or young adult who is not sentenced to the youthful offender system into the youthful offender system to ensure that the goals of the youthful offender system, as described in this section; the operations of the rehabilitative program within the youthful offender system; and the delivery of services to those juveniles and young adults directly sentenced to the youthful offender system are not compromised in any way by the commingled population.

(III) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the contrary, the department shall not initiate any transfers of juveniles or young adults to the youthful offender system until the department has developed the policies and procedures described in subsection (1.5)(a)(II) of this section.

(b) The facility that houses participants sentenced to the youthful offender system is limited to two hundred fifty-six beds.

(c) The department shall include in its annual report to the judiciary committees of the house of representatives and senate, or to any successor committees, pursuant to section 2-7-203, and in any annual youthful offender system report produced by the department, information regarding the policies and procedures developed by the department pursuant to subsection (1.5)(a)(II) of this section, the characteristics of the population of juveniles and young adults transferred pursuant to this subsection (1.5), and the impact, if any, of transferred inmates on youthful offender system programming or department programming. Beginning in January 2027, and in January every year thereafter, the department shall include, as part of its presentation during its "SMART Act" hearing required by section 2-7-203, information concerning how many juveniles and young adults completed a commitment to the division of youth services prior to a commitment to the youthful offender system, how many juveniles and young adults successfully complete their sentence to the youthful offender system, and how many juveniles and young adults fail to complete a sentence to the youthful offender system program due to the filing of new criminal charges.

(2) (a) (I) A juvenile may be sentenced to the youthful offender system created pursuant to this section under the circumstances set forth in section 19-2.5-801 (5)(a)(II) or 19-2.5-802 (1)(d)(I)(B). A young adult may be sentenced to the youthful offender system created pursuant to this section under the circumstances set forth in section 18-1.3-407.5. In order to sentence a juvenile or young adult to the youthful offender system, the court shall first impose upon the juvenile or young adult a sentence to the department in accordance with section 18-1.3-401. The court shall thereafter suspend the sentence conditioned on completion of a sentence to the youthful offender system, including a period of community supervision. The court shall impose a sentence to the youthful offender system for a determinate period of not fewer than two years nor more than six years; except that a juvenile or young adult convicted of a class 2 felony may be sentenced for a determinate period of up to seven years. In imposing the sentence, the court shall grant authority to the department to place the juvenile or young adult under a period of community supervision for a period of not fewer than six months and up to twelve months any time after the date on which the juvenile or young adult has twelve months remaining to complete the determinate sentence. The court may award a juvenile or young adult sentenced to the youthful offender system credit for presentence confinement; except that such credit does not reduce the juvenile's or young adult's actual time served in the youthful offender system to fewer than two years. The court shall order a presentence investigation conducted before sentencing a juvenile or young adult pursuant to this section. Upon the request of either the prosecution or the defense, the presentence report must include a determination by the warden of the youthful offender system whether the juvenile or young adult is acceptable for sentencing to the youthful offender system. When making a determination, the warden shall consider the nature and circumstances of the crime; the age, circumstances, risk factors and protective factors, treatment needs, and criminal history of the juvenile or young adult; the available bed space in the youthful offender system; and any other appropriate considerations.

(II) Upon the successful completion of the determinate sentence to the youthful offender system, including the mandatory period of community supervision, the suspended sentence pursuant to section 18-1.3-401 is completed. Whenever a juvenile or young adult is returned to the district court for revocation pursuant to subsection (5) of this section, the court shall impose the original sentence following the revocation of the sentence to the youthful offender system, except as otherwise provided in subsection (5)(b) of this section.

(a.5) Repealed.

(b) Article 22.5 of title 17, concerning time credits, applies to any person sentenced to the youthful offender system; except that a system participant whose sentence to the youthful offender system is revoked pursuant to subsection (5) of this section may receive one day of credit against the suspended sentence imposed by the court following revocation of the sentence to the youthful offender system for each day the participant served in the youthful offender system, excluding any period of time during which the offender was under community supervision but including credit for presentence confinement authorized pursuant to section 18-1.3-405.

(2.1) (a) As originally enacted, this section applied only to offenses committed by juveniles on or after September 13, 1993. For purposes of extending the availability of sentencing options, a juvenile who meets the criteria set forth in section 19-2.5-801 (5)(a)(II) may be sentenced to the youthful offender system pursuant to this section under the following circumstances:

(I) The juvenile is sentenced on or after June 3, 1994, for an offense committed prior to, on, or after September 13, 1993;

(II) The juvenile committed an offense prior to September 13, 1993, and was sentenced for the offense on or after September 13, 1993, but prior to June 3, 1994. Such a juvenile may only be resentenced to the youthful offender system if a court, in its discretion, so orders in response to a motion filed in accordance with rule 35 of the Colorado rules of criminal procedure.

(b) A juvenile who committed an offense prior to September 13, 1993, and who was sentenced prior to September 13, 1993, shall not be eligible to be sentenced to the youthful offender system.

(c) A juvenile described in paragraph (a) of this subsection (2.1) may be sentenced pursuant to this section only if the juvenile meets the age requirement set forth in subparagraph (III) of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section.

(3) The department shall develop and implement a youthful offender system for juveniles and young adults sentenced in accordance with subsection (2) of this section. The youthful offender system is under the direction and control of the executive director. The youthful offender system is based on the following principles:

(a) The system must teach participants self-discipline by providing clear appropriate consequences for designated inappropriate behavior, which may include intermediate sanctions imposed by the department;

(a.5) The system must provide evidence-informed rehabilitative treatment, as indicated through assessment, to help participants make lasting behavioral changes to prepare themselves for successful transition back into the community;

(b) The system must include a daily regimen that involves participants in activities designed to meet their individual needs, which may include therapy, family therapy, or substance use disorder treatment; self-discipline exercises; educational and work programs; and meaningful interaction, with a component for a tiered system for positive skill development, including life skills programming;

(c) The system must use staff models and mentors to promote within a participant the development of socially accepted attitudes and behaviors;

(d) The system must provide participants with instruction on problem-solving skills and incorporate methods to reinforce the use of cognitive behavior strategies that change participants' orientation toward criminal thinking and behavior;

(e) The system must promote among participants the creation and development of new group cultures that result in a transition to prosocial behavior; and

(f) The system must provide participants the opportunity to gradually reenter the community.

(3.3) The youthful offender system consists of the following components, and the department has the authority described in this subsection (3.3) to administer the components:

(a) An intake, diagnostic, and orientation phase. During the intake, diagnostic, and orientation phase, the department shall facilitate an evaluation process that includes an evaluation of each participant for criminogenic risks or needs and an evaluation of possible physical, intellectual, developmental, and mental and behavioral health needs. Evaluators must be trained to conduct assessments of juveniles and young adults and to identify needs and targeted goals for treatment. The evaluator shall complete a written report documenting recommendations. After receiving the evaluator's written report, the department shall create a plan that must address criminogenic risk or needs, therapeutic needs, education, vocational skills, life skills, and reentry into the community. The plan must be consistent with a participant's individualized education program developed pursuant to section 22-20-108 or plan developed pursuant to section 504 of the federal "Rehabilitation Act of 1973", 29 U.S.C. sec. 701 et seq., if such a plan exists. The department shall assign a case manager to the participant. The case manager shall meet monthly with the participant, ensure that the participant receives the treatment or services necessary to implement the participant's plan, and record the participant's progress throughout the youthful offender system program.

(b) Phase I, during which time a range of core programs, supplementary activities, and educational and prevocational programs and services are provided to each participant. A participant's plan must be reviewed with the participant and a multidisciplinary team on a monthly basis. If the department determines that modifications to the plan for treatment or services are necessary for the participant's successful rehabilitation, then the department shall modify the participant's plan accordingly.

(c) (I) Phase II, which may be administered during the last three to six months of the period of institutional confinement and during which time the department is authorized to transfer a participant to a twenty-four-hour custody residential program that serves participants.

(II) In connection with the component described in subsection (3.3)(c)(I) of this section, the department is authorized to operate or to contract with a prerelease residential program for participants. The department or the contract provider shall provide for twenty-four-hour custody of a participant in phase II.

(d) (I) Phase III, which is to be administered for the period of community supervision that remains after the completion of phase II and during which the participant is monitored during reintegration into society.

(II) After the department determines appropriate phase III placement, the department shall notify, no later than thirty days prior to placement, the local law enforcement agency for the jurisdiction in which the participant is being placed for phase III. The notice must include the participant's name, crime committed, case disposition, and the basis for the placement. If the placement is in a jurisdiction other than the jurisdiction where the participant was convicted, the local law enforcement agency may appeal the placement to the executive director at least fifteen days prior to the placement; except that the local law enforcement agency may not appeal if the placement is in the jurisdiction where the participant was residing at the time the offense was committed. If there is an appeal, after considering the department's basis for placement and the local law enforcement's basis for appeal, the executive director shall make the final determination of the placement.

(3.4) In addition to the powers granted to the department in subsection (3.3) of this section, the department may:

(a) Transfer a system participant to an appropriate facility to further the participant's identified treatment, rehabilitation, or reentry goals, as long as the transfer does not jeopardize the safety and welfare of the participant or isolate the participant because of the participant's disability needs;

(b) Operate an emancipation program and provide additional support or monitoring services and residential placement for a participant in phase II and phase III under the youthful offender system for whom family reintegration poses difficulties. The department shall provide reintegration support services at a level and of a type consistent with the participant's needs.

(c) Contract with any public or private entity, including, but not limited to, a school district, for provision or certification of educational services, including, but not limited to, a general educational development program or a high school diploma pathway. The department or the contracted entity shall determine the number and type of educational credits a participant had earned prior to entering the youthful offender system. A participant receiving educational services or diplomas from a school district under an agreement entered into pursuant to this subsection (3.4)(c) is not included in computing the school district's student performance on statewide assessments pursuant to section 22-7-1006.3, or the school district's levels of attainment of the performance indicators pursuant to article 11 of title 22.

(3.5) (a) The executive director or the executive director's designee has final approval on the hiring and transferring of staff for the youthful offender system. In staffing the youthful offender system, the executive director or the executive director's designee shall select persons who possess knowledge, experience, and a passion for the treatment of juveniles and young adults or will be trained in the treatment of juveniles and young adults; are trained to act as role models and mentors pursuant to subsection (3)(c) of this section; and are best equipped to enable the youthful offender system to meet the principles specified in subsection (3) of this section. All staff members must be trained in the treatment of juveniles and young adults within forty-five days after their first day at the youthful offender system. Prior to receiving this training, a staff member shall not work directly with juveniles and must be supervised by a trained staff member when working with a participant in the youthful offender system. The executive director or the executive director's designee shall make a recommendation to the department of personnel regarding the classification of positions with the youthful offender system, taking into account the level of education and training required for the positions.

(b) To support youthful offender system behavioral health staffing, the director of clinical services at the department may, with the final approval of the executive director or the executive director's designee, hire unlicensed behavioral health professionals or paraprofessionals to supplement, as appropriate, the work of licensed behavioral health providers authorized to provide supervision within the licensed behavioral health providers' scope of practice.

(4) The youthful offender system must provide for community supervision that consists of highly structured supervision, educational programs, and evidence-informed treatment programs that are individually tailored to meet the system participants' needs and goals. Community supervision must be administered by the department, and revocation of a participant's supervision status is subject to the provisions of subsections (2) and (5) of this section.

(4.3) The youthful offender system must provide sex offender treatment services for a participant who is sentenced to the youthful offender system and who has a history of committing a sex offense, as defined in section 16-11.7-102 (3), or who has a history of committing any other offense, the underlying factual basis of which includes a sex offense. The sex offender treatment services provided pursuant to this subsection (4.3) must comply with the sex offender treatment standards adopted by the sex offender management board pursuant to section 16-11.7-103.

(4.5) The consent of the parent, parents, or legal guardian of a juvenile participant who has been sentenced to the youthful offender system pursuant to this section is not necessary in order to authorize hospital, medical, mental health, substance use, dental, emergency health, or emergency surgical care. In addition, neither the department nor any hospital, physician, surgeon, mental or behavioral health-care provider, dentist, trained emergency health-care provider, or agent or employee thereof who, in good faith, relies on a juvenile participant's consent is liable for civil damages for failure to secure the consent of the participant's parent, parents, or legal guardian prior to rendering the care. The parent, parents, or legal guardian of a juvenile participant described in this subsection (4.5) is not liable to pay the charges for the care provided the participant based on the participant's consent.

(5) (a) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (5)(b) of this section, the department shall implement a procedure for the transfer of a system participant to another facility when the system participant poses a danger to themself or others. The executive director shall review any transfer determination by the department prior to the actual transfer of a participant, including a transfer back to the district court for revocation of the sentence to the youthful offender system. A transfer pursuant to this subsection (5)(a) is limited to a period not to exceed sixty days, at which time the participant shall be returned to the youthful offender facility to complete the sentence or returned to the district court for revocation of the sentence to the youthful offender system. In no case shall a participant initially sentenced to the youthful offender system be held in isolation or segregation or in an adult facility for longer than sixty consecutive days without action by the sentencing court.

(b) (I) A participant who is determined by a mental health clinician to have a behavioral or mental health condition or an intellectual and developmental disability, as defined by regulation of the department, may be transferred to another facility for a period not to exceed sixty days for diagnostic validation of the condition or disability. At the conclusion of the sixty-day period, the appropriate professionals making the diagnosis shall forward to the executive director their findings, including information about how the participant's condition or disability can be accommodated in the youthful offender system. If the diagnosis determines that the participant is incapable of completing the sentence to the youthful offender system due to a behavioral or mental health condition or an intellectual and developmental disability, the executive director shall forward the determination to the sentencing court. Based on the determination, the sentencing court shall review the participant's sentence to the youthful offender system and may reconsider and reduce the participant's sentence to the department in consideration of the behavioral or mental health condition or intellectual and developmental disability.

(II) A juvenile or young adult who is resentenced pursuant to this subsection (5)(b) shall continue to be treated as an adult for purposes of sentencing and shall not be sentenced pursuant to article 2.5 of title 19.

(III) In no event shall the sentencing court, after reviewing the juvenile's or young adult's sentence to the youthful offender system pursuant to this subsection (5)(b), increase the sentence to the department due to the diagnosis of a behavioral or mental health condition or determination of an intellectual and developmental disability.

(IV) A participant who is diagnosed as having a behavioral or mental health condition or determined to have an intellectual and developmental disability and is therefore incapable of completing their sentence to the youthful offender system may be housed in any department facility deemed appropriate by the executive director or transferred in accordance with procedures set forth in section 17-23-101 pending action by the sentencing court with regard to the sentence.

(c) The department shall implement a procedure for a returning juvenile or young adult who cannot successfully complete the sentence to the youthful offender system, or who fails to comply with the terms or conditions of the youthful offender system, to the district court. A juvenile or young adult returned to the district court pursuant to subsection (5)(a) of this section or because the juvenile or young adult cannot successfully complete the sentence to the youthful offender system for reasons other than a behavioral or mental health condition or an intellectual and developmental disability, or because the juvenile or young adult fails to comply with the terms or conditions of the youthful offender system, must receive imposition of the original sentence to the department. The department must first make a determination that the failure to comply with the terms or conditions of the youthful offender system did not result from a mental or behavioral health condition or an intellectual and developmental disability or the department's failure to provide reasonable accommodations for a mental or behavioral health condition or an intellectual and developmental disability. After the executive director upholds the department's transfer decision, the participant may be held in any correctional facility deemed appropriate by the executive director; except that a participant who cannot successfully complete the sentence to the youthful offender system for reasons other than a behavioral or mental health condition or an intellectual and developmental disability, or because of a failure to comply with the terms or conditions of the youthful offender system, shall be transferred, within thirty-five days after the executive director upholds the department's decision, to a county jail for holding prior to resentencing. The department shall notify the district attorney of record, and the district attorney of record is responsible for seeking the revocation or review of the participant's sentence and the imposition of the original sentence or modification of the original sentence pursuant to subsection (5)(b)(I) of this section. The district court shall review the participant's sentence within one hundred twenty-six days after notification to the district attorney of record by the department that the participant is not able to complete the sentence to the youthful offender system or fails to comply with the terms or conditions of the youthful offender system.

(d) (I) Except as provided in subsection (5)(d)(II) of this section, the department may house a system participant in a youthful offender facility that also houses inmates twenty-five years of age or older sentenced to the department who are of a lower than close custody level if the inmates are housed in the youthful offender facility for the purpose of participating in a program to mentor system participants that is authorized by the executive director.

(II) The department shall not house a participant in a youthful offender facility that also houses any inmates twenty-five years of age or older sentenced to the department who have been convicted of a sex offense, as described in section 16-11.7-102 (3).

(6) The department shall establish and enforce standards for the youthful offender system consistent with the goals stated in subsection (1) of this section. A participant in the youthful offender system, including a participant under community supervision, is considered an inmate for the purposes of section 17-1-111.

(7) The number of offenders in any program element under the youthful offender system shall be determined by the department within available appropriations.

(8) The department of corrections may and is encouraged to contract with any private or public entity for the provision of services and facilities under the youthful offender system.

(9) On or before November 1, 1993, the department, in conjunction with the division of criminal justice, shall develop and the department shall implement a process for monitoring and evaluating the youthful offender system. In implementing such system, the department may contract with a private agency for assistance.

(10) (a) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2002, p. 881, § 19, effective August 7, 2002.)

(b) The division of criminal justice shall independently monitor and evaluate, or contract with a public or private entity to independently monitor and evaluate, the youthful offender system. Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), on or before November 1, 2002, and on or before November 1 every two years thereafter, the division of criminal justice shall report its findings, or the findings of the contract entity, to the judiciary committees of the senate and the house of representatives. The department of corrections shall cooperate in providing the necessary data to the division of criminal justice or an entity designated by the division of criminal justice to complete the evaluation required in this section.

(11) Repealed.

(11.5) (a) (I) A juvenile or young adult who is sentenced to the youthful offender system must submit to collection and a chemical testing of a biological substance sample from the juvenile or young adult to determine the genetic markers thereof.

(II) Collection of the biological substance sample shall occur as soon as possible after being sentenced to the youthful offender system, and the results thereof shall be filed with and maintained by the Colorado bureau of investigation. The results of such tests shall be furnished to any law enforcement agency upon request.

(b) The department of corrections or its designee or contractor may use reasonable force to obtain biological substance samples in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subsection (11.5).

(c) Repealed.

(d) The Colorado bureau of investigation is directed to conduct the chemical testing of the biological substance samples obtained pursuant to this subsection (11.5).

(12) The general assembly recognizes that the number of violent crimes committed by juveniles and young adults is a problem faced by all the states of this nation. By creating the youthful offender system, Colorado stands at the forefront of the states in creating a new approach to addressing this problem. The general assembly also declares that the cost of implementing and operating the youthful offender system creates a burden on the state's limited resources. However, the general assembly shall appropriate to the department sufficient funds to manage the youthful offender system in a manner consistent with the requirements and principles contained in this section, including the requirements and principles related to the treatment of mental and behavioral health conditions or intellectual and developmental disabilities. To supplement the appropriation, the general assembly directs the department to seek out and accept available federal, state, and local public funds, including project demonstration funds, and private money and private systems for the purpose of conducting the youthful offender system.

(13) Repealed.

(14) The department of corrections shall consult with one or more external experts to conduct a study of the effectiveness of the current youthful offender system, as designed by the enabling statute and as implemented by the department of corrections. The department shall consider all relevant research on effective programming for young adults and alternative management and program models for the youthful offender system. Additionally, the study must assess the potential expansion of the youthful offender system to serve offenders up to the age of twenty-five years who commit felony offenses, including the offenses that currently make a younger offender eligible for youthful offender sentencing by the court, and how that expansion could be implemented. The department shall seek alternative funding sources for this study through gifts, grants, and donations or fund the study through current appropriations. A report of findings must be completed by the external experts, in conjunction with the department, by December 1, 2021, and the report must be made available to the public.

(15) (a) The department shall consult a diverse group of relevant experts to formulate recommendations for integrating a trauma-informed standard of care with current practices to promote the health and safety of participants in the youthful offender system. The relevant experts' views must guide the recommendations on appropriate programming and therapeutic interventions to address symptoms of trauma that system participants exhibit. The recommendations must include, but are not limited to, necessary modifications to youthful offender system programming and procedures, participant treatment, participant housing arrangements, and staff training to reflect a trauma-informed approach to care. Implementation of the recommendations is subject to available appropriations, department capacity, facility infrastructure, and available staffing.

(b) In January 2028, the department shall include, as part of its presentation during its "SMART Act" hearing required by section 2-7-203, information concerning the recommendations developed pursuant to subsection (15)(a) of this section. The department shall publish the recommendations on the department's website.