Parent and Child

C.R.S. tit. 14, art. 7
in effect

C.R.S. § 14-7-101 Commitment of child - parent liable for support

14-7-101. Commitment of child - parent liable for support. The commitment of any child, under any law of this state, to any state institution shall not relieve the parents or legal guardian of such child from responsibility for the support of the child. It is the duty of any court committing any child to any state institution or any private institution where such child is kept at the expense of the county or state, at the time of the commitment, to forthwith notify the district attorney, if a state expense, and the county attorney, if a county expense, of the name and address of such parents and such other information as may be adduced at any hearing of such case concerning the financial responsibility of the parents to care for such child. In order to obtain such information, any court committing any child, at the time of commitment or at any convenient time to be designated by the court, is authorized to require the attendance of the parents or legal guardian upon such court to be examined under oath concerning the property, possessions, and financial responsibility of such parents or legal guardian.

C.R.S. § 14-7-102 Action by state or county for support of child

14-7-102. Action by state or county for support of child. The state of Colorado or the county, as the case may be, at whose expense such child is kept shall be entitled to recover from the parent, legal guardian, or other person responsible for the support of such child such sum for the care, support, and maintenance of the child as may be reasonable therefor, and in no case shall such sum be less than the per capita monthly or yearly amount of expense in the institution in which the child is confined or the actual expense incurred by the state or county for the care and maintenance of such child. Any action or proceeding by the state or county against any parent shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure in civil cases. In case any action is maintained by the state, it shall be brought in the name of the people of the state of Colorado, and any moneys recovered in any action shall be paid to the state treasurer and credited to the particular fund for the benefit of the institution having the custody and care of such child. If an action is maintained by the county in cases where the county pays the expense of the care and maintenance of such child, such action shall be in the name of the board of county commissioners of such county or other body performing the functions of a board of county commissioners, and any amount collected in any such action shall be paid to the county treasurer of such county. When such action is prosecuted to a final judgment and judgment is rendered in favor of the people of the state of Colorado or the board of county commissioners of the county prosecuting such action, as the case may be, an execution may issue against the property of the defendant as in other civil cases.

C.R.S. § 14-7-103 District and county attorneys to report actions

14-7-103. District and county attorneys to report actions. On or before December 1 of each year, the district attorney and the county attorney shall make a written report to the judiciary committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or their successor committees, stating the number of reports, provided for in section 14-7-101, received from the courts of the county or state and the nature and result of any action directed in this article 7 by such officers respectively to recover from such parents the expenses of the care and maintenance of such children. If no action has been taken, such report shall detail the reason for the failure of the officer to take action. The county commissioners shall pay any court costs or other expenses necessary for the prosecution of any suit provided for in this article 7. Nothing in this article 7 shall be construed to repeal any law of this state concerning the responsibility of parents to support their children, providing for the punishment of parents or other persons responsible for the delinquency or dependency of children, or providing for the punishment of any parents for the nonsupport of their children; and nothing in such law shall prevent proceedings under this article 7 in any proper case.

C.R.S. § 14-7-104 Application of article

14-7-104. Application of article. This article 7 does not apply to liability for the support of children admitted, certified, committed, or transferred to any public institution of this state supervised by the department of human services for the care, support, maintenance, education, or treatment of a person with a behavioral or mental health disorder or a person with an intellectual and developmental disability.

C.R.S. § 14-7-105 Recovery for child support debt

14-7-105. Recovery for child support debt. (Repealed)
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-14.docxFetched: 10/6/2026

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