By 2025, approximately 99% of people leaving Colorado state prisons had a form of valid identification -- a driver's license or state ID. That number was 74% just one year earlier. The jump reflects what Colorado has been building since 2014: a State ID Program inside CDOC facilities, a Benefits Acquisition Team that processes Medicaid applications before release, and a Medicaid reentry waiver that adds 90 days of pre-release services starting January 1, 2026.
The infrastructure is there. The question is whether it has been activated for you. Here is what Colorado provides, what you are entitled to, and what you do if any of it was not started.
The CDOC State ID Program
Colorado launched its in-prison State ID Program in December 2014 under House Bill 14-1336, in collaboration with the Colorado Department of Revenue. Driver's license offices are located at the Denver Reception and Diagnostic Center and at the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility.
Through this program, eligible people can apply for and receive a Colorado state ID or driver's license before or at release from CDOC custody. Your case manager should initiate this process as part of transition planning. If it has not been offered, ask specifically about the State ID Program and whether your application has been submitted.
Under current CDOC policy, individuals being discharged or paroled are eligible for a release allowance of $100 -- the "monetary consideration for departure" intended to assist with immediate needs during the first days of reintegration. Confirm with your case manager that this will be available on your release date.
If you are releasing from a county jail rather than a state CDOC facility, the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) and Department of Revenue have partnered to bring ID services directly to jails through the Jail-Based Behavioral Health program. Ask your jail case manager or behavioral health provider about ID assistance.
Getting Your Colorado State ID After Release
If you release without a Colorado state ID, apply at any Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office. Find locations and information at dmv.colorado.gov. Standard state ID fee is currently $13.62 for most applicants.
To obtain a Colorado state ID you will need documents establishing your identity, Social Security number, and Colorado residency. Bring your birth certificate or passport, Social Security card, and proof of a Colorado address. Your CDOC release documents can serve as a supporting identity document.
Getting Your Social Security Card
If you do not have your Social Security card at release, contact the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213, apply online at ssa.gov, or visit your nearest SSA office. Replacement cards are free. Bring your state ID and birth certificate to the SSA office if applying in person.
Ask your case manager whether the SSA prerelease process was initiated -- SSA allows facilities with prerelease agreements to start card replacement and benefit applications up to 90 days before your scheduled release.
Getting Your Birth Certificate
If you were born in Colorado, request a certified copy from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Vital Records office at cdphe.colorado.gov or by calling (303) 692-2200. Fees are currently $20 for the first copy.
If you were born in another state, contact that state's vital records office. Your CDOC case manager or a community reentry organization can help identify the correct contact.
Health First Colorado: Medicaid
Colorado's Medicaid program is called Health First Colorado. Colorado expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, making it available to low-income adults regardless of family status or disability.
Health First Colorado applications can be completed, submitted, and processed during incarceration. The CDOC Benefits Acquisition Team is specifically tasked with offering Medicaid application support to people prior to release from a CDOC facility. Ask your case manager whether your Health First Colorado application has been submitted and whether your Medicaid status is active.
Full Health First Colorado benefits -- physical and behavioral health, including inpatient substance use treatment -- are available beginning the day you are released, at no cost. If your Medicaid case shows an INCAR status after your release, contact your county human services department and report your release date. Counties have 30 days to process change requests, but the status will be backdated to your actual release date once corrected. Community corrections (halfway house) residents are eligible for Health First Colorado benefits while residing at the facility.
M-REACH: Medicaid Reentry Services Starting January 2026
Colorado received CMS approval on January 13, 2025 for a Medicaid reentry waiver called M-REACH (Medicaid Reentry and Community Health). Starting January 1, 2026, M-REACH adds a targeted benefit package for people in state-run correctional facilities -- the first phase. Local correctional facilities follow in January 2027.
The M-REACH benefit package includes: case management for up to 90 days before your expected release date, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for substance use disorders, and a 30-day supply of all prescription medications provided immediately upon release.
If you are releasing from a CDOC facility on or after January 1, 2026, ask your case manager whether M-REACH pre-release services have been initiated and whether MAT and medication supply will be arranged for your release date.
Colorado also received a CMS Medicaid continuity of care planning grant in 2025, building the infrastructure for the January 1, 2026 federal requirement that Medicaid be suspended rather than terminated during incarceration, with reinstatement upon release.
SNAP: Food Assistance
Colorado's SNAP program is administered by the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). Colorado does not impose a lifetime ban on SNAP for people with felony drug convictions.
Apply for SNAP at your local county department of human services office or online at colorado.gov/pacific/cdhs/apply-benefits. Benefits are typically issued on an EBT card within 30 days of a completed application. Expedited SNAP for households with urgent need can be issued within 7 days.
If your Health First Colorado Medicaid application is already in process, ask your county caseworker whether you can be screened for SNAP at the same appointment.
SSI and SSDI
SSI (Supplemental Security Income) and SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) are federal programs available if you have a qualifying disability.
SSI payments are suspended after one full calendar month of incarceration. If you were incarcerated for less than 12 consecutive months, SSI can be reinstated the month you are released -- contact SSA immediately. If incarcerated 12 or more consecutive months, file a new application.
SSDI payments are suspended after 30 continuous days of incarceration following conviction. Contact SSA with your release documents for reinstatement.
Health First Colorado eligibility and SSI eligibility are connected in Colorado -- contact CDHS or your county human services office as well as SSA when you apply.
Veterans Benefits
If you served in the U.S. military, the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provide benefits after release. Contact the Colorado Division of Veterans Affairs at dva.state.co.us or the nearest VA facility.
The VA Healthcare for Re-Entry Veterans (HCRV) program provides transitional case management specifically for veterans leaving incarceration. VA benefits suspended during incarceration can be reinstated after release -- notify the VA of your release date and bring your DD-214 and release documents to your first appointment.
Colorado has county veteran service officers throughout the state who assist with VA benefits applications at no charge.
Start Before You Leave
Colorado's transition planning process should begin 180 days or more before your release date. Your CDOC case manager is responsible for initiating the State ID Program application, submitting your Health First Colorado Medicaid application through the Benefits Acquisition Team, and connecting you to reentry resources in your receiving community.
If these steps have not happened and your release is approaching, raise them directly. Ask:
Has my State ID application been submitted? Has my Health First Colorado application been submitted? Has M-REACH pre-release case management and medication planning been started (for releases on or after January 1, 2026)?
On release day, your $100 release allowance should be available, your state ID should be in hand or arriving by mail, and your Medicaid should be active. SNAP you apply for at your first county human services appointment after release -- bring your ID, Social Security card, and proof of a Colorado address.
The 99% ID rate Colorado achieved by 2025 means the system is working for most people. Make sure it is working for you.