Date Sequencing

Chronological ordering rules across the treatment episode lifecycle

CoBHRM enforces chronological ordering rules across the lifecycle of a client’s treatment episode. Submitting records with dates out of sequence will produce validation errors.

Client-Level Date Rules

Rule	Constraint
DOB before record creation	Client must be born before the record is created
DOB within 120 years	Age at admission cannot exceed 120 years

Admission Timeline

The core admission timeline follows this required sequence:

FIRST_CONTACT_DATE  ≤  FIRST_APPOINTMENT_OFFERED_DATE  ≤  ADMISSION_DATE

Rule	Constraint
FIRST_CONTACT_DATE <= ADMISSION_DATE	First contact must be on or before admission
FIRST_APPOINTMENT_OFFERED_DATE <= ADMISSION_DATE	First appointment offered must be on or before admission
FIRST_APPOINTMENT_OFFERED_DATE >= FIRST_CONTACT_DATE	Cannot offer an appointment before first contact

The admission date anchors the timeline. Both the first contact and first appointment offered must precede or equal it, and the appointment offer cannot come before the first contact.

Discharge Timeline

ADMISSION_DATE  ≤  LAST_CONTACT_DATE  ≤  DISCHARGE_DATE

Rule	Constraint
LAST_CONTACT_DATE >= ADMISSION_DATE	Last contact must be on or after admission
LAST_CONTACT_DATE <= DISCHARGE_DATE	Last contact must be on or before discharge
DISCHARGE_DATE >= ADMISSION_DATE	Discharge must be on or after admission

Effective Date Rules

Rule	Constraint
For TRANSACTION_TYPE = A	LAST_UPDATED_DATE must equal CREATED_DATE
For all records	EFFECTIVE_DATE determines the “most recent” record when combined with identifiers

See Transaction Types for details on how EFFECTIVE_DATE interacts with Add, Update, and Replace operations.

ACT Survey Date Constraints

2000-01-01  ≤  Admission Date  ≤  ASSESSMENT_COMPLETION_DATE

ACT_DISCHARGE_DATE must be in the same FY quarter as ASSESSMENT_COMPLETION_DATE

Rule	Constraint
ASSESSMENT_COMPLETION_DATE >= 2000-01-01	Floor date
ASSESSMENT_COMPLETION_DATE >= Admission Date	Assessment must be on or after admission
ACT_DISCHARGE_DATE >= Admission Date	Discharge must be after admission
ACT_DISCHARGE_DATE within same FY Quarter as Assessment Date	Must be in the same reporting quarter

If ACT_DISCHARGE_DATE is not null, then ACT_DISCHARGE_OUTCOME is required. If ACT_DISCHARGE_DATE is null, then ACT_DISCHARGE_OUTCOME must also be null.

Ascent Survey Date Constraints

The Ascent (First Episode Psychosis) program has additional date requirements tied to the client’s age and the program start date.

2016-01-01          ≤  ASCENT_ADMISSION_DATE
Client DOB + 13y   ≤  ASCENT_ADMISSION_DATE
FIRST_EPISODE_DATE  <  ASCENT_ADMISSION_DATE

ASCENT_ADMISSION_DATE  ≤  ASSESSMENT_COMPLETION_DATE  ≤  DISCHARGE_DATE

Rule	Constraint
ASCENT_ADMISSION_DATE >= 2016-01-01	Program start floor
ASCENT_ADMISSION_DATE >= Client DOB + 13 years	Client must be at least 13 years old at Ascent admission
FIRST_EPISODE_DATE >= 1980-01-01	BHA-determined cutoff
FIRST_EPISODE_DATE > Client DOB	Must be after birth (but can be before age 13)
FIRST_EPISODE_DATE < ASCENT_ADMISSION_DATE	Episode must precede program enrollment
ASSESSMENT_COMPLETION_DATE >= 2016-01-01	Program start floor
ASSESSMENT_COMPLETION_DATE >= ASCENT_ADMISSION_DATE	Assessment must be after admission
DISCHARGE_DATE >= 2016-01-01	Program start floor
DISCHARGE_DATE >= ASCENT_ADMISSION_DATE	Discharge must be after admission
DISCHARGE_DATE >= ASSESSMENT_COMPLETION_DATE	Discharge must be on or after assessment

For Ascent Admission records (Record Type = ASA), the ASCENT_ADMISSION_DATE must be within the same fiscal year quarter as the ASSESSMENT_COMPLETION_DATE. The same applies to discharge — the DISCHARGE_DATE must be within the same FY quarter as the assessment date.

Pregnancy Risk Screening Dates

Rule	Constraint
EVALUATION_DATE <= CREATED_DATE	Evaluation cannot be in the future relative to record creation

Fiscal Year Quarter Definitions

ACT and Ascent surveys use the ASSESSMENT_COMPLETION_DATE to determine the fiscal year and quarter. Colorado’s state fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30.

Quarter	Months	Example (FY2026)
Q1	July - September	Jul 1, 2025 - Sep 30, 2025
Q2	October - December	Oct 1, 2025 - Dec 31, 2025
Q3	January - March	Jan 1, 2026 - Mar 31, 2026
Q4	April - June	Apr 1, 2026 - Jun 30, 2026

When troubleshooting date validation errors, check the full chain from DOB through discharge. A single out-of-order date can cascade into multiple validation failures.