Behavioral health tax funding helps transform lives through trauma, accountability, and community support
By Blaine Howerton | North Forty News
On August 30, 2024, a Larimer County family of seven sat down for a home-cooked meal together — for the first time in over a year. The dinner itself wasn’t fancy, but for “Isabelle” and her husband “Paul” (names changed for privacy), it marked a turning point: healing, reconciliation, and the return of peace to their home.
Their journey began with unimaginable trauma. The couple made the difficult choice to separate their five children across two households after discovering disturbing sexual behavior between the older siblings and the youngest child. Isabelle feared calling Child Protection Services — not knowing what would happen — but when she did, she was met not with punishment, but with support, resources, and hope.
At the heart of that support was the Larimer County Juvenile Diversion Program, part of the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, funded in part by the Larimer County Behavioral Health Services Impact Fund. This fund, fueled by a voter-approved sales-and-use tax in 2018, has distributed more than $14.7 million in grants to local organizations helping families in crisis.
How Diversion Works
The program offers youth (ages 10–18) facing criminal charges — particularly for complex offenses like teen dating violence and sexting — a path to rehabilitation outside of the court system. Juveniles must accept accountability, engage in therapy, and commit to a personalized, often months-long plan to rebuild trust, safety, and emotional health.
In Isabelle’s case, that path included hundreds of hours of legal work, therapy, and home restructuring. “To say 2024 was a crazy hard year is an understatement,” she said. “But we had no choice but to go through it.”
With the support of a diversion specialist like Audra Eakins, the family not only avoided long-term legal consequences — they gained tools to reconnect and move forward.
“They transformed seven people’s lives for the better,” Isabelle said.
A Community Investment in Healing
Without the Behavioral Health Impact Fund, diversion specialists like Eakins might not exist — and programs like this wouldn’t be available. Larimer County also used the tax revenue to build the Longview Acute Care Campus, open 24/7 for crisis stabilization, substance use treatment, and mental health care for all ages.
“What benefits society is a model that addresses accountability and underlying causes,” said Robert “Ax” Axmacher, Chief Deputy District Attorney. “It’s not the easy path. But it’s the one that works.”
Today, Isabelle’s family is whole again. The trauma hasn’t vanished, but the eldest children are thriving, the siblings are getting along, and snow-day playtime ends with fresh bread and butter by the fire.
To learn more about Larimer County’s Juvenile Diversion program, visit larimer.gov/da/diversion.