Colo. Rev. Stat. § 26-6-904, Applicability of part

(1) This part 9 does not apply to:

(a) A child care facility that is approved, certified, or licensed by another state agency or by a federal government department or agency that has standards for operation of the facility and inspects or monitors the facility;

(b) Occasional care of children that has no apparent pattern and occurs with or without compensation;

(d) Nursing homes that have children as residents.

(2) A licensee or governing body for which the license is suspended pursuant to section 24-4-104 or that has received a final agency action resulting in the revocation of a license issued pursuant to this part 9 is prohibited from operating, except when the children being cared for are related to the caregiver.

Source: L. 2022: Entire part added, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 790, � 17, effective July 1.

26-6-904.5. Kinship foster care homes - certification and revocation of certification - financial assistance and supports - training - interagency resource data - report - rules - repeal. (1) (a) A kinship foster care home seeking certification shall follow the application process outlined in section 26-6-910. A county department or child placement agency, upon the successful completion of the background checks required pursuant to section 19-3-406 or 26-6-910, may issue a one-time provisional certificate for a period of six months to an applicant at a specific location who is requesting provisional certification. The applicant may opt out of the provisional certification process. A provisional certification permits the applicant to operate the kinship foster care home if the applicant is temporarily unable to conform to all standards required pursuant to this part 9, upon proof by the applicant that the applicant is attempting to conform to the standards or to comply with any other requirements. If the applicant successfully completes the background checks required pursuant to section 19-3-406 or 26-6-910, the county department or child placement agency shall make payment beginning with the completion of the fingerprint background check. The county department or child placement agency shall complete the certification process within the timelines promulgated by rule of the state board.

(b) The county department or child placement agency to which the kinship foster care home applied for certification shall extend the provisional certification provided for in subsection (1)(a) of this section by an additional sixty days if the applicant can demonstrate that the applicant did not cause the delay in completing all the requirements for certification.

(c) A kinship foster care home may opt out of the provisional certification process and remain eligible for supports through sources other than foster care maintenance.

(d) Prior to transferring temporary legal custody of any child or youth to a relative or kin, the court shall make findings that the relative or kin was advised regarding the differences between kinship foster care and non-certified kinship care, including but not limited to financial assistance, custody requirements, and long-term financial support options.

(e) The applicant has the right to appeal any certification denial that the applicant believes presents an undue hardship or has been applied too stringently by a county department or child placement agency. Upon the filing of an appeal, the applicant, county department, or child placement agency shall proceed in the same manner as prescribed for licensure appeals in section 26-6-909 (4).

(f) (I) The state department, a county department, or a child welfare agency has the authority to investigate and inspect a kinship foster care home pursuant to section 26-6-912 and to take appropriate actions as described in section 26-6-912 (1)(d)(I).

(II) The state department, a county department, or a child placement agency may revoke a kinship foster care home's certification in accordance with section 26-6-913.

(2) Kinship foster care homes are eligible for financial reimbursement and supports at the same rate as foster care homes, as established in rules promulgated by the state board of human services. Non-certified kinship care homes are eligible for financial assistance and supports at thirty percent of the foster care rate, based on the age of the child or youth receiving care. Beginning in state fiscal year 2026-27, non-certified kinship care homes are eligible for financial assistance and support at fifty percent of the foster care rate, based on the age of the child or youth receiving care. Funding to cover financial assistance and supports comes from the revenue stream identified in subsection (3) of this section.

(3) (a) The state department shall reimburse the county departments ninety percent of the amounts expended by county departments for kinship foster care and non-certified kinship care daily rates to support financial assistance. The kinship foster care rate and non-certified kinship care rate are exempt from the close-out process described in section 26-5-104 (3).

(b) For state fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26, the general assembly may appropriate money from the Colorado long-term works reserve, created in section 26-2-721, for the purposes of providing the funding required by subsection (2) of this section.

(4) (a) The state department shall provide training on the certification standards to kinship foster care providers who are applying for certification pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. Whenever possible, the state department shall provide training in an online format.

(b) The state department shall collaborate with the department of education, the department of public health and environment, and the department of health care policy and financing to develop an interagency resource. The state department shall prominently post the interagency resource created pursuant to this subsection (4)(b) on the department's website.

(5) (a) The state department and the judicial department shall collect data on the number of children who are placed with certified and non-certified kin through a dependency and neglect case, regardless of who has custody of the child or youth. The state department and the judicial department shall include data on the permanency outcomes, length of stay, re-entry into care, and all other outcomes collected for children and youth in out-of-home placements. The state department shall make the data available on its website on or before October 1, 2025.

(b) On or before October 1, 2025, the state department shall study and report to the general assembly the feasibility of using federal funds, including but not limited to federal IV-B, IV-E, or TANF funds, or other grant funding to provide or reimburse for the provision of brief legal services or legal representation of relative and kin caregivers.

(6) (a) On or before August 1, 2025, and every August 1 thereafter until August 1, 2030, the state department shall submit a report to the joint budget committee on the implementation of non-certified kinship care homes, the impacts to the number of placements with kinship foster care homes, and the impacts on county departments of human or social services in their ability to support providers. The state department shall submit data provided by county departments of human and social services as a supplement to the report. The report must include:

(I) The impacts of financial assistance on the certification and recruitment of kin families and the trends of kin's choices to become certified or non-certified;

(II) The workload changes for county caseworkers associated with supporting kin pursuant to this section, both certified and non-certified; and

(III) The related impacts of county staff who support kin, as provided by county departments of human and social services.

(b) This subsection (6) is repealed, effective June 30, 2031.

(7) In addition to the rules promulgated pursuant to section 26-6-911, the state board shall promulgate rules as necessary to implement this section with respect to kinship foster care homes.

Source: L. 2024: Entire section added, (SB 24-008), ch. 289, p. 1934, � 8, effective September 1.

26-6-905. Licenses - out-of-state notices and consent - demonstration pilot program - report - rules - definition. (1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1)(b) of this section or elsewhere in this part 9, a person shall not operate a residential or day treatment child care facility or child placement agency without first being licensed by the state department to operate or maintain the facility or agency and paying the prescribed fee. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1)(c) of this section, a license that the state department issues is permanent unless otherwise revoked or suspended pursuant to section 26-6-914.

(b) A person operating a foster care home or kinship foster care home is not required to obtain a license from the state department to operate the foster care home or kinship foster care home if the person holds a certificate issued pursuant to section 26-6-910 to operate the home from a county department or a child placement agency licensed under the provisions of this part 9. A certificate is considered a license for the purpose of this part 9, including but not limited to the investigation and criminal history background checks required under sections 26-6-910 and 26-6-912.

(c) (I) On and after July 1, 2002, and contingent upon the timelines for implementation of the computer trails enhancements, child placement agencies that certify foster care homes and kinship foster care homes must be licensed annually until the implementation of any risk-based schedule for the renewal of child placement agency licenses pursuant to subsection (1)(c)(II) of this section. The state board shall promulgate rules specifying the procedural requirements associated with the renewal of child placement agency licenses. The rules must include the requirement that the state department conduct assessments of the child placement agency.

(II) (A) On and after January 1, 2004, and upon the functionality of the computer trails enhancements, the state department may implement a schedule for relicensing of child placement agencies that certify foster care homes and kinship foster care homes that is based on risk factors such that child placement agencies with low risk factors renew their licenses less frequently than child placement agencies with higher risk factors.

(B) Prior to January 1, 2004, and contingent upon the timelines for implementation of the computer trails enhancements, the state department shall create classifications of child placement agency licenses that certify foster care homes and kinship foster care homes that are based on risk factors as those factors are established by rule of the state board.

(III) On and after July 1, 2021, all residential child care facilities must be licensed annually. The state board shall promulgate rules specifying the procedural requirements associated with the license renewal for residential child care facilities. The rules must include a requirement that the state department conduct assessments of the residential child care facility.

(2) A person shall not receive or accept a child under eighteen years of age for placement, or place a child either temporarily or permanently in a home, other than with persons related to the child, without first obtaining a license as a child placement agency from the department and paying the fee prescribed for the license.

(3) The department may issue a one-time provisional license for a period of six months to an applicant for an original license for a foster care home, permitting the applicant to operate the foster care home if the applicant is temporarily unable to conform to all standards required under this part 9, upon proof by the applicant that the applicant is attempting to conform to the standards or to comply with any other requirements. The applicant has the right to appeal any standard that the applicant believes presents an undue hardship or has been applied too stringently by the department. Upon the filing of an appeal, the department shall proceed in the manner prescribed for licensee appeals in section 26-6-909 (4).

(4) The department shall not issue a license for a residential or day treatment child care facility until the facilities that the applicant or licensee will operate or maintain are approved by the department of public health and environment as conforming to the sanitary standards prescribed by the department pursuant to section 25-1.5-101 (1)(h) and unless the facilities conform to fire prevention and protection requirements of local fire departments in the locality of the facility or, in lieu thereof, of the division of labor standards and statistics.

(5) A person shall not send or bring into this state a child for the purposes of foster care or adoption without sending notice of the pending placement and receiving the consent of the department, or its designated agent, to the placement. The notice must contain:

(a) The name and the date and place of birth of the child;

(b) The identity and address or addresses of the parents or legal guardian;

(d) The name and address of the person to or with whom the sending person proposes to send, bring, or place the child;

(e) A full statement of the reasons for the proposed action and evidence of the authority pursuant to which the placement is proposed to be made.

(6) The state board of human services shall establish rules for the approval of foster care homes, kinship foster care homes, and child care centers that provide twenty-four-hour care of children between eighteen and twenty-one years of age for whom the county department is financially responsible and when placed in foster care or kinship foster care by the county department.

(7) On and after July 1, 2005, and subject to designation as a qualified accrediting entity as required by the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, 42 U.S.C. sec. 14901 et seq., the state department may license and accredit a child placement agency for purposes of providing adoption services for conventional adoptions pursuant to the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, 42 U.S.C. sec. 14901 et seq. The state board of human services may adopt rules consistent with federal law governing the procedures for adverse actions regarding accreditation, which procedures may vary from the procedures set forth in the State Administrative Procedure Act, article 4 of title 24.

(8) (a) (I) The state department shall not issue a license to operate a residential or day treatment child care facility or a child placement agency, and any license or certificate issued prior to August 7, 2006, is revoked or suspended if the applicant for the license or certificate, an affiliate of the applicant, a person employed by the applicant, or a person who resides with the applicant at the facility has been convicted of:

(A) Child abuse, as specified in section 18-6-401;

(B) A crime of violence, as defined in section 18-1.3-406;

(D) Any felony, the underlying factual basis of which has been found by the court on the record to include an act of domestic violence, as defined in section 18-6-800.3;

(E) Any felony involving physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense within the five years preceding the date of application for a license or certificate;

(F) A pattern of misdemeanor convictions, as defined by rule of the state board, within the ten years immediately preceding the date of submission of the application; or

(G) Any offense in any other state, the elements of which are substantially similar to the elements of any one of the offenses described in subsections (8)(a)(I)(A) to (8)(a)(I)(F) of this section.

(II) As used in this subsection (8)(a), convicted means a conviction by a jury or by a court and also includes a deferred judgment and sentence agreement, a deferred prosecution agreement, a deferred adjudication agreement, an adjudication, and a plea of guilty or nolo contendere.

(III) An applicant, licensee, or employee of the applicant or licensee who meets the definition of a department employee or an independent contractor, as those terms are defined in section 27-90-111, or who works for a contracting agency, as defined in section 27-90-111, and who will have direct contact with vulnerable persons, as defined in section 27-90-111 (2)(e), is required to submit to a state and national fingerprint-based criminal history record check in the same manner as required pursuant to section 27-90-111 (9); except that the state department shall not bear the cost of the criminal history record check required by this subsection (8)(a)(III). The state department may also conduct a comparison search on the Colorado state courts public access system to determine the crime or crimes for which the individual having direct contact with vulnerable persons was arrested or convicted and the disposition of such crime or crimes. The criminal history record check required by this subsection (8)(a)(III) must be submitted to the state department prior to the individual having direct contact with vulnerable persons, and an applicant, licensee, or employee of an applicant or licensee must not be allowed to have direct contact with vulnerable persons if he or she does not meet the requirements set forth in this subsection (8) and in section 27-90-111 (9).

(b) The department shall determine the convictions identified in subsection (8)(a) of this section according to the records of the Colorado bureau of investigation, the ICON system at the state judicial department, or any other source, as set forth in section 26-6-912 (1)(a)(II). A certified copy of the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction of a conviction, deferred judgment and sentence agreement, deferred prosecution agreement, or deferred adjudication agreement is prima facie evidence of the conviction or agreement. A license or certificate to operate a residential or day treatment child care facility, foster care home, or child placement agency shall not be issued if the state department has a certified court order from another state indicating that the person applying for the license or certificate has been convicted of child abuse or any unlawful sexual offense against a child under a law of any other state or the United States or the state department has a certified court order from another state that the person applying for the license or certificate has entered into a deferred judgment or deferred prosecution agreement in another state as to child abuse or any sexual offense against a child.

(9) (a) No later than January 1, 2004, the state board shall promulgate rules that require all current and prospective employees of a county department who in their position have direct contact with a child in the process of being placed or who has been placed in foster care to submit a set of fingerprints for purposes of obtaining a fingerprint-based criminal history record check, unless the person has already submitted a set of fingerprints. The check must be conducted in the same manner as provided in subsection (8) of this section and in section 26-6-912 (1)(a). The person's employment is conditional upon a satisfactory criminal background check and subject to the same grounds for denial or dismissal as set forth in subsection (8) of this section and in section 26-6-912 (1)(a). The costs for the fingerprint-based criminal history record check must be borne by the applicant.

(b) When the results of a fingerprint-based criminal history record check performed pursuant to this subsection (9) reveal a record of arrest without a disposition, the state department shall require the person to submit to a name-based criminal history record check, as defined in section 22-2-119.3 (6)(d). The costs for the name-based judicial record check must be borne by the applicant.

(10) The state department shall not issue a license to operate a residential or day treatment child care facility, foster care home, or child placement agency if the person applying for the license or an affiliate of the applicant, a person employed by the applicant, or a person who resides with the applicant at the facility has been determined to be insane or mentally incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction and, if the court enters, pursuant to part 3 or part 4 of article 14 of title 15, or section 27-65-110 (4) or 27-65-127, an order specifically finding that the mental incompetency or insanity is of such a degree that the applicant is incapable of operating a residential or day treatment child care facility, foster care home, or child placement agency, the record of such determination and entry of such order being conclusive evidence thereof.

(11) The state department is strongly encouraged to examine and report to the general assembly on the benefits of licensing any private, nonprofit child placement agency that is dedicated to serving the special needs of foster care children through services delivered by specialized foster care parents in conjunction with and supported by staff of the child placement agency. The child placement agencies examined must be able to:

(a) Offer the following services:

(I) Provision of educated, skilled, and experienced foster care parents;

(II) Social work support for the foster care child and foster care family;

(III) Twenty-four-hour, on-call availability;

(IV) Monthly foster care parent support group meetings;

(V) Ongoing educational and networking opportunities for any foster care family;

(VI) Individualized treatment plans developed through team collaboration;

(VII) Professional and family networking opportunities; and

(VIII) Respite support and reimbursement;

(b) Provide a form of specialized foster care including, but not limited to, the following types of care:

(I) Medical foster care;

(II) Respite foster care;

(III) Therapeutic foster care;

(IV) Developmentally disabled foster care; and

(V) Treatment foster care.

(12) (a) The state department shall collaborate with the department of education, the department of public health and environment, and the department of health care policy and financing to develop an interagency resource guide pursuant to section 22-2-410 to assist facilities to become licensed or authorized as approved facility schools and to recommend changes related to the interagency resource guide to the state department's statute, rule, or administrative procedures.

(b) The state department shall prominently post the interagency resource guide created pursuant to subsection (12)(a) of this section on the department's website.

Source: L. 2022: Entire part added, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 790, � 17, effective July 1. L. 2023: (12) added, (SB 23-219), ch. 88, p. 333, � 14, effective April 20; (10) amended, (HB 23-1301), ch. 303, p. 1832, � 54, effective August 7. L. 2024: (1)(b), (1)(c)(I), (1)(c)(II), and (6) amended, (SB 24-008), ch. 289, p. 1937, � 9, effective September 1.

26-6-906. Compliance with local government zoning regulations - notice to local governments - provisional licensure. (1) The department shall require a residential or day treatment child care facility seeking a license pursuant to section 26-6-905 to comply with any applicable zoning and land use development regulations of the municipality, city and county, or county where the facility is situated. Failure to comply with applicable zoning and land use regulations constitutes grounds for the denial of a license to a facility.

(2) The department shall ensure that timely written notice is provided to the municipality, city and county, or county where a residential or day treatment child care facility is situated, including the address of the facility and the population and number of persons to be served by the facility, when any of the following occurs:

(a) A person applies for a license to operate a facility pursuant to section 26-6-905;

(b) A license is granted to operate a facility pursuant to section 26-6-905; or

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in the event of a zoning or other delay or dispute between a facility and the municipality, city and county, or county where the facility is situated, the department may grant a provisional license to the facility for up to six months pending resolution of the delay or dispute.

(4) (a) Repealed.

(b) On and after July 1, 2024, the provisions of this section do not apply to a foster care home certified pursuant to this part 9 or to a specialized group facility that is licensed to provide care for three or more children pursuant to this part 9 but that is providing care for three or fewer children who are determined to have an intellectual and developmental disability by a case management agency, as defined in section 25.5-6-1702, or who have a serious emotional disturbance.

Source: L. 2022: Entire part added, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 795, � 17, effective July 1.

Editor's note: Subsection (4)(a)(II) provided for the repeal of subsection (4)(a), effective July 1, 2024. (See L. 2022, p. 795.)

26-6-907. Fees - when original applications, reapplications, and renewals for licensure are required - creation of child welfare licensing cash fund. (1) (a) The state department is authorized to establish, pursuant to rules promulgated by the state board, permanent, time-limited, and provisional license fees and fees for continuation or renewal, whichever is applicable, of a license for the following types of child care arrangements:

(I) Secure residential treatment centers;

(II) Residential child care facilities, including any special type of residential child care facility designated by rule of the state board;

(III) Child placement agencies, including any special type of foster care home the child placement agency is authorized to certify by rule of the state board;

(IV) Homeless youth shelters;

(V) Day treatment centers;

(VI) Specialized group facilities; and

(VII) Respite child care centers.

(b) The state department may also establish fees pursuant to rules promulgated by the state board for the following situations:

(I) Issuance of a duplicate license;

(II) Change of license due to an increase in licensing capacity or a change in the age of children served;

(III) Obtaining the criminal record of an applicant and any person living with or employed by the applicant, which may include costs associated with the taking of fingerprints;

(IV) Checking the records and reports of child abuse or neglect maintained by the state department for an owner, employee, or resident of a facility or agency or an applicant for a license to operate a facility or agency;

(V) Filing of appeals;

(VI) Duplication of licensing records for the public;

(VII) Duplication of licensing records in electronic format for the public;

(VIII) Accrediting a child placement agency for purposes of providing adoption services for convention adoptions pursuant to the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, 42 U.S.C. sec. 14901 et seq.;

(IX) Insufficient funds payment and collection of overdue fees and fines; and

(X) Collection of fees for scanning of adoption records pursuant to section 19-5-307.

(c) The fees established pursuant to this subsection (1) must not exceed the direct and indirect costs incurred by the department. The division responsible for licensing facilities and agencies shall develop and implement an objective and systematic approach for setting, monitoring, and revising licensing fees by developing and using an ongoing method to track all direct and indirect costs associated with facility and agency licensing, inspection, and monitoring; developing a methodology to assess the relationship between licensing costs and fees; and annually reassessing costs and fees and reporting the results to the state board. In developing a fee schedule, the department should consider the licensed capacity of facilities and the time needed to license facilities.

(2) (a) An applicant shall pay the fees specified in subsection (1) of this section when applying for issuance, continuance, or renewal of a license. Fees are not subject to refund. An application for a license is required in the situations that are set forth in subsection (2)(b) of this section and must be made on forms prescribed by the state department. Each completed application must set forth the information required by the state department. All licenses continue in force until revoked, surrendered, or expired.

(b) (I) An original application and fee are required:

(A) When an individual, partnership, corporation, or association plans to open a foster care home or a residential or day treatment child care facility or child placement agency;

(B) When a facility or foster care home plans to move to a different building at a different location;

(C) When the management or governing body of a facility or agency is acquired by a different individual, association, partnership, or corporation; and

(D) When a change occurs in the operating entity of a facility or agency resulting in a new federal employee identification number; except that, if the reason for the issuance of a new federal employee identification number is solely due to a change in the corporate structure of the operating facility or agency and either the management or governing body of the facility or agency remains the same as originally licensed and the facility or agency is operating in the same building or buildings as originally licensed, the state department shall treat the facility's or agency's status as a renewal and assess the applicable renewal fee. Only newly hired employees are required to undergo criminal background checks as required in section 26-6-912.

(II) A reapplication and fee are required and must be received by the state department in the manner specified in rules promulgated by the state board. An individual, partnership, corporation, or association seeking to renew a facility or agency license must submit a reapplication and fee to the state department as specified in rules promulgated by the state board.

(3) This section does not prevent a city or city and county from imposing fees in addition to those fees specified in this section.

(4) (a) The department shall transmit all fees collected pursuant to this section to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the child welfare licensing cash fund created in subsection (4)(b) of this section. The general assembly shall make annual appropriations from the child welfare licensing cash fund for expenditures incurred by the department in the performance of its duties pursuant to this part 9.

(b) The balance as of July 1, 2022, in the child care licensing cash fund, created pursuant to section 26-6-105 (4), as it existed prior to July 1, 2022, that is attributable to licensing fees collected by the division in the department that is responsible for child welfare is hereby transferred to the child welfare licensing cash fund, which fund is hereby created in the state treasury. The state treasurer shall credit all interest derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund to the fund. At the end of a fiscal year, all unexpended and unencumbered money in the fund remains in the fund and is not to be credited or transferred to the general fund or any other fund.

Source: L. 2022: Entire part added, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 796, � 17, effective July 1.