(1) Short title. This section shall be known and may be cited as the Family-friendly Courts Act.
(2) Legislative declaration. (a) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that many families experience challenges and transitions with legal ramifications that often necessitate court involvement. Frequently individuals and family members attend court or visit other governmental offices for juvenile delinquency proceedings, domestic relations proceedings, protective proceedings related to domestic abuse or domestic violence, child protection proceedings, meetings with probation officers, and other matters. Many persons who attend court proceedings are responsible for the care of young children. For many such individuals, child care issues can distract from, if not present obstacles or even barriers to, effective and complete participation in ongoing court proceedings. The general assembly finds that these issues were acknowledged and addressed in the 1999 report entitled Creating Family Friendly Courts in Colorado: Children's Centers for the Courthouse, which report was submitted by the Colorado supreme court family friendly facilities task force and which report recommended the establishment of children's centers in courthouses.
(b) The general assembly further finds that the same individuals who are in need of child care services when they are participating in court proceedings may also benefit from the availability of information and resource referrals relating to certain types of services within the community, including services addressing at-risk youth, employment counseling, employment training and placement, health education and counseling, financial management, education, legal counseling and referral, mediation, domestic abuse and domestic violence, fatherhood programs, and substance abuse.
(c) The general assembly further finds that individuals who are involved in court proceedings may have additional court-ordered service needs involving their children, including, but not limited to, supervised parenting time and the transfer of the physical custody of a child from one parent to the other.
(d) The general assembly therefore determines and declares that the creation of family-friendly court programs is beneficial to and in the best interests of the citizens of Colorado. The general assembly further finds that the goal of such programs shall primarily be providing quality child care in or near courthouses to the children of individuals and families who attend court-related proceedings but that such programs may also provide additional court-related family services at the facility and serve as a clearinghouse of information and resource referrals for program patrons concerning the wide variety of available services in the community, including services that provide help to at-risk youth; educational services; health services; behavioral, mental health, and substance use disorder services; legal services; and domestic abuse information.
(3) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
(a) At-risk youth means a person who is five years of age or older but under twenty-five years of age and who is experiencing poverty, exposure to substance use, family conflict, association with peers who are justice-involved, disciplinary issues, or child abuse or neglect.
(b) Domestic abuse shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 13-14-101 (2).
(c) Domestic violence shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 18-6-800.3 (1), C.R.S.
(d) Family-friendly court services means child care and court-related family services provided in the courthouse or courthouse complex or in reasonable proximity to the courthouse.
(e) Program means the family-friendly court program established pursuant to this section.
(4) Provision of family-friendly court services. There is hereby created the family-friendly court program. The purpose of the program shall be to provide quality family-friendly court services to families and the children of individuals who are attending court proceedings or related matters and to serve as a central location for the dissemination of information to families about resources and services relating to at-risk youth, employment counseling, employment training and placement, health education and counseling, financial management, education, legal counseling and referral, mediation, domestic abuse and domestic violence, fatherhood programs, and substance abuse. Grants awarded pursuant to this section shall be used to establish and maintain new family-friendly court programs in judicial districts throughout the state that do not have comparable existing programs, as well as to enhance existing family-friendly court programs.
(5) Grant applications - duties of judicial districts. (a) To be eligible for moneys from the family-friendly court program cash fund, created in subsection (6) of this section, for the provision of family-friendly court services, a judicial district shall apply to the state court administrator in accordance with the timelines and guidelines adopted by the state court administrator, using an application form provided by the state court administrator.
(b) The state court administrator, in determining which judicial districts may receive grant money pursuant to this section, shall consider the extent that a judicial district is responsible for:
(I) Actively recruiting qualified and skilled child care providers to provide quality child care services to families and children of individuals who are attending court proceedings or related matters;
(II) Conducting the necessary criminal history checks through the Colorado bureau of investigation and hiring qualified and appropriate child care providers;
(III) Selecting and establishing a safe physical location in the courthouse or in the courthouse complex or in reasonable proximity to the courthouse, for the provision of child care services;
(IV) When reasonably practicable in consideration of funding, staffing, and assistance from other public and private organizations, providing additional court-related family services to families and children experiencing the challenges and transitions that necessitate court involvement, including, but not limited to, supervised parenting time and transfer of the physical custody of a child from one parent to the other;
(V) Soliciting information from community-based organizations, faith communities, governmental entities, schools, community mental health centers, local nonprofit or not-for-profit agencies, local law enforcement agencies, businesses, and other community service providers about the following services and resources for the purpose of providing such information to patrons of the family-friendly court services:
(A) Youth services, including but not limited to youth mentoring services, services to prevent or reduce youth crime and violence, student dropout prevention and intervention services, and any other services that may be available in the community, the goal and purpose of which are to assist at-risk youth;
(B) Multipurpose service centers for displaced homemakers pursuant to article 15.5 of title 8, C.R.S., and other information to assist displaced homemakers, which information shall relate to employment counseling, employment training, employment placement, health education and counseling services, financial management services, educational services, and legal counseling and services;
(C) Information related to health insurance and health-care coverage, including but not limited to the children's basic health plan and dental health plan, established pursuant to article 8 of title 25.5, C.R.S., and children eligible for the medical assistance program pursuant to article 5 of title 25.5, C.R.S.;
(D) Substance use disorder programs that are available in the community;
(E) Services and potential financial resources that may be available for victims of domestic abuse or domestic violence, including but not limited to counseling for persons who are victims of domestic abuse and their dependents, advocacy programs that assist victims in obtaining services and information, and educational services for victims of domestic violence;
(F) Fatherhood programs that are available in the community; and
(G) Any other services that would be beneficial to families experiencing challenges and transition necessitating court involvement, including but not limited to family stabilization services as provided in section 19-1-125, C.R.S., and mediation services; and
(VI) Providing to persons staffing the program training and ongoing support with regard to the available resources and additional referrals provided through the program at each court location.
(c) The judicial districts that are selected by the state court administrator to provide family-friendly court services shall be responsible for:
(I) Implementing a method of evaluating the effectiveness of the family-friendly court program and assessing the impact of the child care and informational services provided through the program; and
(II) Reporting annually to the state court administrator concerning the results of the judicial district's evaluation of the family-friendly court program as well as an accounting of fiscal contributions received and expenditures made by the judicial district for the implementation, administration, and maintenance of the program and such other information that the state court administrator may require or that the judicial district determines to be relevant and informative.
(d) The judicial districts that are selected by the state court administrator to provide family-friendly court services that provide child care services shall meet the licensing requirements for child care facilities set forth in part 3 of article 5 of title 26.5, and all child care licensing rules promulgated by the executive director of the department of early childhood.
(e) In addition to grants received from the state court administrator pursuant to this section, judicial districts implementing or enhancing existing family-friendly court programs pursuant to this section are authorized to accept any funds, grants, gifts, or donations from any private or public source for the purpose of implementing this section; except that no grant or donation shall be accepted if the conditions attached to the grant or donation require the expenditure thereof in a manner contrary to law. Any such moneys received by a judicial district shall be credited to the family-friendly court program cash fund created in subsection (6) of this section for grants awarded by the board pursuant to this section.
(6) Family-friendly court program cash fund. (a) There is hereby created in the state treasury the family-friendly court program cash fund. The moneys in the family-friendly court program cash fund shall be subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly for the implementation of this section. The state court administrator is authorized to accept on behalf of the state any grants, gifts, or donations from any private or public source for the purpose of this section. All private and public funds received through grants, gifts, or donations shall be transmitted to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the family-friendly court program cash fund in addition to any moneys that may be appropriated to the cash fund directly by the general assembly. In addition, commencing July 1, 2002, the one-dollar surcharge set forth in section 42-4-1701 (4)(a)(VI), C.R.S., shall be transmitted to the state treasurer who shall credit the same to the family-friendly court program cash fund created in this subsection (6). All investment earnings derived from the deposit and investment of moneys in the fund shall remain in the fund and shall not be transferred or revert to the general fund of the state at the end of any fiscal year.
(b) All moneys in the family-friendly court program cash fund, created in paragraph (a) of this subsection (6), shall be available for grants awarded by the state court administrator to judicial districts seeking to implement or enhance existing family-friendly court programs and administrative costs associated with the implementation and administration of this section. The state court administrator, subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, is hereby authorized to expend moneys appropriated to the judicial department from the family-friendly court program cash fund to judicial districts seeking to establish or enhance family-friendly court programs pursuant to this section.
(6.5) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (6) of this section to the contrary, on April 20, 2009, the state treasurer shall deduct two hundred thousand dollars from the family-friendly court program cash fund and transfer such sum to the general fund.
(7) The state court administrator shall announce to all judicial districts the availability of grants pursuant to this section for the establishment and maintenance or enhancement of family-friendly court services programs in the judicial districts.
(8) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2005, p. 1000, � 1, effective June 2, 2005.)
Source: L. 2002: Entire section added, p. 627, � 1, effective July 1. L. 2004: (3)(b) amended, p. 554, � 6, effective July 1. L. 2005: (5)(b)(V)(C) amended, p. 764, � 19, effective June 1; (2), (3)(d), (4), (5), and (8) amended, p. 1000, � 1, effective June 2. L. 2006: (5)(b)(V)(C) amended, p. 2001, � 45, effective July 1. L. 2009: (6.5) added, (SB 09-208), ch. 149, p. 620, � 8, effective April 20. L. 2013: (3)(a) amended, (HB 13-1117), ch. 169, p. 588, � 18, effective July 1. L. 2014: (5)(b)(V)(C) amended, (SB 14-067), ch. 12, p. 115, � 9, effective February 27. L. 2017: (2)(d), IP(5)(b), and (5)(b)(V)(D) amended, (SB 17-242), ch. 263, p. 1292, � 104, effective May 25. L. 2022: (3)(a) amended, (SB 22-037), ch. 23, p. 155, � 7, effective March 17; (5)(d) amended, (HB 22-1295), ch.123, p. 827, � 25, effective July 1. L. 2025: (3)(a) amended, (SB 25-197), ch. 256, p. 1287, � 8, effective August 6.
Editor's note: Amendments to subsection (5)(b)(V)(C) by House Bill 05-1337 and Senate Bill 05-030 were harmonized.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration in the 2013 act amending subsection (3)(a), see section 1 of chapter 169, Session Laws of Colorado 2013. For the legislative declaration in SB 17-242, see section 1 of chapter 263, Session Laws of Colorado 2017. For the legislative declaration in SB 25-197, see section 1 of chapter 256, Session Laws of Colorado 2025.
13-3-114. State court administrator - compensation for exonerated persons - definitions - annual payments - child support payments - financial literacy training - qualified health plan - damages awarded in civil actions - reimbursement to the state. (1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) Annual payment means a payment of monetary compensation made by the state court administrator or his or her designee to an exonerated person pursuant to this section. An annual payment shall be in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars, which amount shall be adjusted annually by the state auditor to account for inflation; except that:
(I) If the remaining amount of the state's duty of monetary compensation owed to the exonerated person is less than one hundred thousand dollars, the amount of the annual payment shall be equal to the remaining amount; and
(II) The amount of an annual payment may be reduced as described in subsection (5) of this section.
(b) Exonerated person means a person who has been determined by a district court pursuant to section 13-65-102 to be actually innocent, as defined in section 13-65-101 (1).
(c) Incarceration means a person's custody in a county jail or a correctional facility while he or she serves a sentence issued pursuant to the person's conviction of a felony or pursuant to the person's adjudication as a juvenile delinquent for the commission of one or more offenses that would be felonies if committed by a person eighteen years of age or older. For the purposes of this section, incarceration includes placement as a juvenile to the custody of the state department of human services or a county department of human or social services.
(d) Personal financial management instruction course means a personal financial management instruction course that has been approved by the United States trustee's office pursuant to 11 U.S.C. sec. 111.
(e) State's duty of monetary compensation means the total amount of monetary compensation owed by the state to an exonerated person.
(2) Not more than fourteen days after the state court administrator receives directions from a district court pursuant to section 13-65-103 to compensate an exonerated person, the state court administrator shall:
(a) Issue an annual payment to the exonerated person. Annually thereafter, on or before the date that such payment was made, until the state's duty of monetary compensation is satisfied, the state court administrator or his or her designee shall issue an annual payment to the exonerated person.
(b) Pay on the exonerated person's behalf any amount of compensation for child support payments owed by the exonerated person that became due during his or her incarceration, or any amount of interest on child support arrearages that accrued during his or her incarceration but which have not been paid, as described in section 13-65-103 (2)(e)(III). The state court administrator, or his or her designee, shall make such payment in a lump sum to the appropriate county department of human or social services or other agency responsible for receiving such payments not more than thirty days after the state court administrator receives directions from a district court to compensate an exonerated person pursuant to section 13-65-103.
(c) Pay on the exonerated person's behalf the amount of reasonable attorney fees awarded to the exonerated person pursuant to section 13-65-103 (2)(e)(IV).
(3) The amount of any payment made to, or on behalf of, an exonerated person pursuant to this section shall be deducted from the state's duty of monetary compensation to the exonerated person.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section, after the state court administrator has issued one annual payment to an exonerated person, the state court administrator shall not issue another annual payment to the exonerated person until the exonerated person has completed a personal financial management instruction course.
(5) In each year in which the state court administrator issues an annual payment to an exonerated person, the person's annual payment shall be reduced by ten thousand dollars if the person fails to present to the state court administrator a policy or certificate showing that the person has purchased or otherwise acquired a qualified health plan for himself or herself and his or her dependents that is valid for at least six months. Such amount shall be deducted from the state's duty of monetary compensation to the exonerated person as if such amount had been issued to the exonerated person.
(6) (a) An exonerated person who receives monetary compensation pursuant to this section shall reimburse the state for the total amount of annual payments made to the exonerated person pursuant to this section if:
(I) The exonerated person prevails in or settles a civil action against the state or against any other government body in a civil action concerning the same acts that are the bases for the petition for compensation; and
(II) The judgment rendered in the civil action or the settlement of the civil action includes an award of monetary damages to the exonerated person.
(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection (6), in any proceeding that satisfies the description set forth in said paragraph (a), upon a satisfactory showing by the state that the exonerated person has received monetary compensation pursuant to this section, the court shall offset a sufficient amount of moneys from the exonerated person's award of monetary damages to reimburse the state for such monetary compensation. The court shall transfer such moneys to the state treasurer, who shall credit the moneys to the general fund.
(7) Notwithstanding any provision of this section, the state court administrator shall not issue an annual payment to an exonerated person if:
(a) (I) The exonerated person has prevailed in or settled a civil action for monetary damages as described in subsection (6) of this section; and
(II) The amount of the monetary damages awarded by the court in the civil action, or stipulated in the settlement of the action, and collected by the exonerated person equals or exceeds the remaining amount of the state's duty of monetary compensation to the exonerated person;
(b) The exonerated person is convicted of a class 1 or class 2 felony, or of an offense that would be considered a class 1 or class 2 felony in Colorado, after the date upon which a court issues an order of compensation on the person's behalf; or
(c) The person has not yet completed a personal financial management instruction course, as required by subsection (4) of this section.
(8) (a) At any point after the state court administrator makes an annual payment to an exonerated person pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, the exonerated person may elect to receive the remaining balance of the state's duty of monetary compensation in a lump sum by:
(I) Notifying the state court administrator, the governor, and the general assembly of such election, which notification must be provided in writing;
(II) Completing a personal financial management instruction course; and
(III) Acquiring and committing to maintain a qualified health insurance plan.
(b) Upon receiving written documentation that an exonerated person has satisfied the requirements described in subsection (8)(a) of this section, the state court administrator shall pay to the exonerated person the balance of the state's duty of monetary compensation not later than one year after receiving such written documentation.
Source: L. 2013: Entire section added, (HB 13-1230), ch. 409, p. 2423, � 3, effective June 5. L. 2017: (8) added, (SB 17-125), ch. 109, p. 395, � 1, effective April 4. L. 2018: (1)(c) and (2)(b) amended, (SB 18-092), ch. 38, p. 398, � 6, effective August 8.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration in the 2013 act adding this section, see section 1 of chapter 409, Session Laws of Colorado 2013. For the legislative declaration in SB 18-092, see section 1 of chapter 38, Session Laws of Colorado 2018.
13-3-114.5. State court administrator - reimbursement of monetary amounts paid following a vacated conviction or amended order of restitution. Within twenty-eight days after receipt of an order from a district or county court for payment of a refund of monetary amounts paid, the state court administrator shall issue a refund payment to the person who established eligibility under section 18-1.3-703.
Source: L. 2017: Entire section added, (HB 17-1071), ch. 70, p. 220, � 2, effective September 1.