Recovery Options

Just increased in Colorado

Good news for folks in Colorado who find themselves on parole for substance misuse violations. The State of Colorado recently ceased requiring religious 12-step programs for individuals on parole. Instead, secular options like LifeRing Secular Recovery and SMART Recovery are now explicitly included.

No bill was needed: the Colorado Secular Advocacy Team (COSAT), coalition partners throughout Colorado including LifeRing, and state Representative Lori Goldstein worked directly with the Department of Corrections to implement the core protections of the Recovery Options legislation immediately. Additionally, sober housing providers must now disclose any faith-based requirements, and anyone whose placement conflicts with their beliefs must be told about alternative options and be referred to them. If no secular group is nearby, parolees can use an online option instead.

All of this took some time, however. The Colorado Secular Advocacy Team (COSAT) is a state-level advocacy group sponsored by American Atheists in partnership with local organizations like the Boulder Atheists and the Secular Hub. COSAT started working on this initiative in 2024.

Take a peek behind the scenes at a few points for LifeRing groups that want to replicate this win in their own state:

• Awareness of varying nomenclature. For example, a legislative liaison with the Department of Corrections polled 130 SUD treatment providers, asking parole staff to confirm if they have a religious requirement to complete the program. Only one provider said that attending church was a requirement to complete treatment. (Vendors at September’s National Recovery Month events proved otherwise.)

• A provider’s description of itself as “secular,” “not faith-based,” or “no church required” does not, by itself, establish that the program offered to a parolee is free from religious or higher-power-based treatment content.

• Many Alcohol and Narcotics Anonymous programs do not claim to be religious. Regardless of this claim, many participants in these have experienced religious pressure while attending meetings.

• Some licensed providers recommend or require adjunctive meetings that include higher power / 12-step content even if their clinical programs claim to be non-faith-based.

• Providers sometimes self-report as “non-faith-based” due to differing interpretations of what qualifies as faith-based, or because the terminology leads them to incorrectly believe that their curricula are non-faith-based, i.e., “Creator” vs. “God.”

• Twelve-step programs have specific steps (8 of the 12) that are fundamentally religious.

• Parolees may be reluctant to disclose nonbelief or atheism to supervising officers. They need information provided upfront so they can choose without “outing” themselves or risking supervision consequences

LifeRing Secular Recovery and SMART Recovery were named as secular programs that have partner handbooks and materials that could be used in correctional settings such as the Division of Adult Parole. There will be opportunities for LifeRing to provide training to facilitators (convenors) that will benefit these parolees beyond simply providing the manuals.

The parole board agreed to stop naming AA and NA when recovery support is indicated and instead use language like “sobriety support group” or “peer recovery group” to avoid mandating religious programs.

The Department of Corrections associate offered to assist with introductions to DORA (Department of Regulatory Agencies) and Judiciary Probation Agencies for further discussion.

Individuals in Colorado who are currently on parole or are granted conditional early release in the future who come to LifeRing Secular Recovery will benefit from this legislative change.

Check the American Atheists post from October 15, 2026.

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