Child Welfare Services

C.R.S. tit. 26, art. 5
in effect

C.R.S. § 26-5-100.2 Legislative declaration

26-5-100.2. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds and declares that: (a) Each year, for a variety of reasons, more than three hundred youth, ages eighteen to twenty-one, exit Colorado's foster care system without a permanent home or a stable support network; (b) These youth do not have the same safety nets, supportive adults, and support networks as do other youth their age; (c) Many of these youth will face challenges as they search for affordable housing, pursue higher education or training, search for employment, manage tight budgets, take care of their health needs, and much more; (d) Youth in foster care face not only the typical developmental changes and new experiences that are common to youth their age but also the dramatic change from being under the county's care to being on their own, many without any supportive adults or safety net to help them succeed; (e) The array of services and supports available to youth while in the foster care system, including housing, food, medical care, and caseworker support, disappear as soon as the youth exits foster care. Additionally, many of these youth are dealing with the long-term consequences of trauma related to the abuse, neglect, removal, and overall lack of resources that they may have experienced. (f) By leveraging the expertise of youth who have successfully made the transition to adulthood, as well as experts in the field, many states have developed creative approaches to address the needs of these youth; (g) Colorado can start addressing the needs of youth by allowing counties to use existing child welfare money to provide continued supportive services for youth who exit the foster care system; and (h) Although existing child welfare money may enable the state to provide services to some youth, it is insufficient to address all the need, nor is it available consistently across the state. (2) Therefore, the general assembly determines that by coupling the short-term approach of using existing child welfare money with the creation of a steering committee tasked with developing a long-term implementation plan for services for a successful adulthood for youth who were formerly in the state's foster care system, the state can better meet the needs of youth who are making the transition from the foster care system to successful adulthood.

C.R.S. § 26-5-101 Definitions

26-5-101. Definitions. As used in this article 5, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Capped allocation" means a capped amount of funds distributed to counties or a group of counties for the purpose of providing all or a portion of the child welfare services as defined in subsection (3) of this section. (1.5) "Caseload" means the number of children who are eligible for child welfare services that are defined in subsection (3) of this section and who are currently receiving such child welfare services on a regular basis from a county. (2) "Child welfare allocations committee" means a committee that is organized and authorized pursuant to the provisions of section 26-5-103.5. (3) "Child welfare services" means the provision of necessary shelter, sustenance, and guidance to or for children who are or who, if such services are not provided, are likely to become neglected or dependent, as defined in section 19-3-102. "Child welfare services" includes but is not limited to: (a) Child protection; (b) Risk assessment; (c) Permanency planning; (d) Treatment planning; (e) Case management; (f) Core services, as defined in rules promulgated by the state department, as authorized in sections 26-5-102 and 26-5.5-104; (g) Adoption and subsidized adoption; (h) Emergency shelter; (i) Out-of-home placement, including foster care; (j) Utilization review; (k) Early intervention and prevention; (l) Youth-in-conflict functions; (m) Administration and support functions; (n) Services described in section 19-3-208; (o) (I) Provision of verifiable documents to youth who plan to emancipate from foster care. (II) Verifiable documents shall include, but need not be limited to, a certified copy of the youth's birth certificate and a social security card. The cost of providing the verifiable documents shall not be borne by the youth. (p) Foster care prevention services, as defined in section 26-5.4-102 (1). (q) Services that address abuse, neglect, and youth-in-conflict issues for runaway, homeless, and unaccompanied youth, as defined in rules promulgated by the state department pursuant to sections 26-5-102 and 26-5.7-105. (4) "County" means a county or a city and county or any two or more counties. (4.1) "County department" means a county department of human or social services. (4.5) "Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018" means Titles IV-B and IV-E of the federal "Social Security Act", as amended. (4.7) "Former foster care youth" means a youth at least eighteen years of age but younger than twenty-one years of age who was formerly in the legal custody or legal authority of a county department and who was placed in a certified or noncertified kinship care placement, as defined in section 26-6-903, a certified or licensed facility, or a foster care home, as defined in section 26-6-903, and certified pursuant to part 9 of article 6 of this title 26. (5) "Governing body" means the board of county commissioners of a county or the city council and mayor of a city and county. (5.5) "Services for a successful adulthood" means supportive services that help former foster care youth achieve self-sufficiency. "Services for a successful adulthood" may include, but is not limited to, assistance with education, employment, financial management, housing, mental health care, and substance abuse prevention. "Services for a successful adulthood" does not include out-of-home placement, as described in section 26-5-102 (2)(i). (5.8) "Steering committee" means the former foster care youth steering committee established pursuant to section 26-5-114. (6) "Targeted allocation" means a fixed amount of funds from a capped allocation to a group of counties that is designated for a specific county within that group of counties.

C.R.S. § 26-5-102 Provision of child welfare services - system reform goals - out-of-home placements for children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities - reporting - rules - definition

26-5-102. Provision of child welfare services - system reform goals - out-of-home placements for children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities - reporting - rules - definition. (1) (a) The state board shall adopt rules to establish a program of child welfare services, administered by the state department or supervised by the state department and administered by the county departments, and, where applicable, in accordance with the conditions accompanying available federal funds for such purpose. The rules must establish a fee based upon the child support guidelines set forth in section 14-10-115 requiring those persons legally responsible for the child or youth to pay for all, or a portion, of the services provided pursuant to this article 5 when a county department that delivers child welfare services determines that a referral is appropriate in accordance with rules promulgated by the state board of human services. The state board is authorized to promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this article 5 relating to the allocation of funds to counties for the delivery of child welfare services. (b) Upon appropriate request and within available appropriations, child welfare services shall be provided for any child residing or present in the state of Colorado who is in need of such services. Foster care fees shall be considered child support obligations, and all remedies for the enforcement and collection of child support shall apply. Foster care fees established pursuant to section 14-10-115, C.R.S., may be collected pursuant to the administrative procedures to establish child support enforcement set forth in article 13.5 of this title. Due process is guaranteed in all actions regarding any such administrative process concerning foster care fees, and a court hearing of the matter before the district court may be obtained in the manner prescribed in section 26-13.5-105. Nothing contained in article 13.5 of this title shall be construed to deprive a court of competent jurisdiction from determining the duty of support of any obligor against whom an administrative order is issued pursuant to this article. (2) Reforms in child welfare and related delivery systems must be directed at the following objectives: (a) More efficient and responsive service systems for children, youth, and families; (b) Increased flexibility and collaboration across multiple agencies and funding streams to ensure the delivery of services based on the needs of the child or youth; (c) Encouragement and authorization for a truly integrated service system that incorporates blended funding and administration; (d) Focus on quality and outcome-driven services with accountability for an entire array of services that families need, rather than forcing families to be transferred from agency to agency; (e) Development of data systems to support these goals and to allow administrators and policy makers to better manage and evaluate; (f) Authority and incentives for creative solutions at the local level that are not bound by the constraints of current agency barriers and categorical funding streams, including authority for local policy makers to create new entities incorporating blended funding and administration; (g) Successful training efforts directed at county staff, judges, court staff, providers, parents, and families and other appropriate entities that are involved in managed care service systems, which training efforts shall include, but not be limited to, the operation of the child welfare training academy created in section 26-5-109. Notwithstanding any limitation of the "M" notation of the appropriation in the annual appropriation act for child welfare services, the state department is authorized to expend any additional federal or private funding that may be available to support the training efforts identified in this subsection (2). limited to, the operation of the child welfare training academy created in section 26-5-109. Notwithstanding any limitation of the "M" notation of the appropriation in the annual appropriation act for child welfare services, the state department is authorized to expend any additional federal or private funding that may be available to support the training efforts identified in this subsection (2). (h) Promotion of the development of a family-centered, community-based strategy for placement decisions that includes team decision making, family-group decision making, or other agency decision making processes that involve the family and community supports; (i) Promotion of the local placement of children with families by recruiting and supporting foster care homes within the neighborhoods and communities in which identified children reside; (j) Successful transition of individuals eighteen to twenty years of age with intellectual and developmental disabilities to adult services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities pursuant to section 25.5-6-409.5, C.R.S. (3) (a) On or before August 1, 2018, the state department shall develop a program to serve children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are placed by county departments of human or social services in a licensed out-of-home setting, as defined in section 26-6-903, and children or youth committed to or in the custody of the state department. (b) The state department shall promulgate rules concerning the placement of children or youth in the program. The rules must include, but need not be limited to, quality assurance monitoring, admissions, discharge planning, appropriate length of stay, and an appeals process for children or youth who are determined to be ineligible for the program or who are being removed from the program before meeting discharge criteria, as defined by the child's or youth's treatment plan, and without the consent of a parent, legal guardian, or county department. The rules regarding the appeals process must include access to the interdisciplinary appeals review panel, referenced in section 26.5-5-314 (5). For an appeal pursuant to this subsection (3)(b), the panel shall include the members appointed pursuant to section 26.5-5-314 (5) and, at a minimum: (I) A representative from a county department; (II) A treatment director or coordinator for a residential treatment program; (III) A staff member from a program-approved service agency that offers residential habilitation; and (IV) A representative from the department of health care policy and financing with expertise in the children's habilitation residential program, as described in this section. (b.5) All members of the interdisciplinary appeals review panel assembled pursuant to subsection (3)(b) of this section shall not be associated with the child or youth who is the subject of the appeal and the child's or youth's placement provider. If a parent, legal guardian, county department, program provider, or the state department is not satisfied with the interdisciplinary appeals review panel recommendation, that party to the appeal is entitled to a review by an independent hearing officer at a state hearing. (c) On or before December 31, 2018, the state department shall contract with licensed providers for the delivery of services to children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are placed in the program. The state department shall utilize a request for proposal process to define the scope of the contract and to select the licensed providers. The providers must be approved by the department of health care policy and financing as service providers for children eligible for enrollment in the children's habilitation residential program waiver established pursuant to section 25.5-6-903. in the program. The state department shall utilize a request for proposal process to define the scope of the contract and to select the licensed providers. The providers must be approved by the department of health care policy and financing as service providers for children eligible for enrollment in the children's habilitation residential program waiver established pursuant to section 25.5-6-903. (d) A county department that wishes to place a child or youth in the program shall submit an application to the state department for review. Within seven days of making an application to the state department for placement of a child or youth in the program, a county department shall refer the child or youth to be assessed for enrollment in the children's habilitation residential program, or assist the parent or legal guardian who retains legal custody to make the referral. The county department shall provide to the state department evidence that the county department or the child's parent or legal guardian has referred the child or youth for enrollment in the children's habilitation residential program or evidence of either enrollment in or denial of enrollment in the children's habilitation residential program, depending on whether the child or youth is eligible or ineligible for such enrollment. The state department shall approve admissions into the program and determine discharge criteria for each placement. Enrollment of a child or youth in the children's habilitation residential program does not constitute automatic placement with a service provider contracted with pursuant to subsection (3)(c) of this section. A county department that has applied for the admission of a child or youth into the program must be notified in writing of a placement approved by the state department. (e) For the duration of the treatment, as defined in the approval letter from the state department, and for thirty days after the completion of treatment, the state department shall reimburse the provider directly for costs associated with the placement of a child or youth in the program. (f) The state department shall notify the county department that is responsible for the placement of the child or youth of the date on which the reimbursement eligibility will expire. Upon expiration of the reimbursement eligibility, if the child or youth remains in placement at the facility, the county department is responsible for one hundred percent of the placement costs. (g) A county department that has placed a child or youth in the program retains the right to remove the child or youth from the program any time prior to the discharge date specified by the state department. (h) The state department shall reimburse the provider one hundred percent of the cost of unutilized beds in the program to ensure available space for emergency residential out-of-home placements. A county department that has placed a child or youth in the program retains the right to remove the child or youth from the program any time prior to the discharge date specified by the state department. (h) The state department shall reimburse the provider one hundred percent of the cost of unutilized beds in the program to ensure available space for emergency residential out-of-home placements. (i) Entities other than county departments, including but not limited to hospitals, health-care providers, providers of case management services, and case management agencies, as defined in section 25.5-6-1702, may refer a family to voluntarily apply for placement with a service provider contracted with pursuant to subsection (3)(c) of this section and may assist with the application to the state department for admission of the family's child or youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities into the program pursuant to this subsection (3). The applications will be considered if space is available. The entity may refer the family to a provider of case management services or assist the family with the process of enrolling the child or youth in the children's habilitation residential program if the child or youth is eligible. However, children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities placed by county departments or the state department must have priority for admission to the program. The state department shall not accept applications for placement of a child or youth who is exclusively insured by private insurance. A child or youth who is dually insured by private insurance and medicaid and whose residential level of care has been denied by private insurance may be eligible for services in the program. A child or youth who is eligible for enrollment in the children's habilitation residential program must be enrolled. (j) Any family that is voluntarily applying for placement with assistance from any entity defined in subsection (3)(i) of this section shall work directly with the provider to determine responsibility for payment. (k) The state department may maintain up to three open beds specifically for children and youth in the custody of a county or committed to or in the custody of the state department who may need services on an emergency basis. (l) On or before February 1, 2023, and, notwithstanding the provisions of section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), every February 1 thereafter, the state department shall report the following information from the previous calendar year to the health and human services committee of the senate and the public and behavioral health and human services committee of the house of representatives, or any successor committees: (I) The number of children or youth who met transition or discharge criteria and left the program; (II) The total number of applications received for the program during the applicable year and the number of applicants who: (A) Met program eligibility criteria; (B) Did not meet program eligibility criteria; (C) Were admitted to the program; and (D) Were added to the wait list; (III) The number of children or youth removed from the wait list and placed in the program; (IV) The number of children or youth removed from the program before meeting transition criteria and the reason or reasons for removal; (V) The number of appeals to the interdisciplinary appeals review panel during the previous year, including the number that were approved and the number that were denied; (VI) The number of beds during each month that were: (A) Open or unoccupied; (B) Occupied; or (C) Used for emergency placements; and (VII) The average length of stay. (4) As used in this section, "county department" means a county department of human or social services.

C.R.S. § 26-5-103 Coordination with other programs

26-5-103. Coordination with other programs. The program of child welfare services established pursuant to this article shall be coordinated with other social services and assistance payments programs for children of this state and shall be rendered in complement of, and not in duplication of or contrary to, legal processes provided by the "Colorado Children's Code" and services rendered under any public assistance law or other law for the benefit of children, including assistance under the Colorado works program, as described in part 7 of article 2 of this title.

C.R.S. § 26-5-103.5 Child welfare allocations committee - organization - duties - funding model - definition

26-5-103.5. Child welfare allocations committee - organization - duties - funding model - definition. (1) The state department shall convene a child welfare allocations committee as necessary in order to perform the duties described in this section and make advisory recommendations as described in this article 5. (2) (a) The child welfare allocations committee consists of thirteen members, ten of whom must be appointed by county commissioners and three of whom must be appointed by the state department, and the child welfare allocations committee consists of two nonvoting members who must be appointed by the state department. (b) The two nonvoting members appointed by the state department must have knowledge and experience in the following areas, including but not limited to: (I) Federal funding related to child welfare; (II) The federal "Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018", as defined in section 26-5-101 (4.5); (III) Interests of individuals with a disability; or (IV) Interests of individuals experiencing poverty. (c) Of the members appointed by county commissioners, only one representative per county may serve on the child welfare allocations committee at the same time, and: (I) One member must be appointed by the county commissioners of each of the following regions, as those regions are defined in subsection (2)(d) of this section: (A) The eastern region; (B) The front range region; (C) The mountain region; (D) The southern region; and (E) The western region; (II) Three members must be at-large appointments. Of the three at-large appointments, two members must be appointed by the county commissioners of the counties described in section 26-5-104 (4)(b)(I), and one must be appointed by the county commissioners who represent the counties described in section 26-5-104 (4)(b)(II); and (III) Two members must be representatives from the two counties in the state with the greatest percentage of the state's child welfare caseload. County commissioners in the two counties with the greatest percentage of the state's child welfare caseload shall each appoint one member from their counties to serve on the child welfare allocations committee. (d) For the purposes of this subsection (2): (I) The eastern region is comprised of Cheyenne, Elbert, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, and Yuma counties; (II) The front range region is comprised of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, and Weld counties, and the city and county of Broomfield and the city and county of Denver; (III) The mountain region is comprised of Chaffee, Clear Creek, Custer, Eagle, Fremont, Gilpin, Grand, Jackson, Lake, Park, Pitkin, Summit, and Teller counties; (IV) The southern region is comprised of Alamosa, Baca, Bent, Conejos, Costilla, Crowley, Huerfano, Kiowa, Las Animas, Mineral, Otero, Prowers, Pueblo, Rio Grande, and Saguache counties; and (V) The western region is comprised of Archuleta, Delta, Dolores, Garfield, Gunnison, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mesa, Moffat, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, Rio Blanco, Routt, San Juan, and San Miguel counties. (e) As used in this subsection (2), "county commissioners" means: (I) The board of county commissioners in each county; (II) In the city and county of Denver, the department or agency with the responsibility for public assistance and welfare activities; and (III) In the city and county of Broomfield, the city council or a board or commission appointed by the city and county of Broomfield. (3) The child welfare allocations committee shall develop its own operating procedures. (4) Repealed. (4.5) (a) On or before August 1, 2021, and on or before August 1 of each year thereafter, the child welfare allocations committee shall identify components of the funding model that should be evaluated by the funding model evaluation group pursuant to section 26-5-103.7. d county of Broomfield. (3) The child welfare allocations committee shall develop its own operating procedures. (4) Repealed. (4.5) (a) On or before August 1, 2021, and on or before August 1 of each year thereafter, the child welfare allocations committee shall identify components of the funding model that should be evaluated by the funding model evaluation group pursuant to section 26-5-103.7. (b) In order to ensure the integrity of the funding model described in section 26-5-103.7, on or before September 1, 2021, and on or before September 1 of each year thereafter, the child welfare allocations committee shall: (I) Establish expectations for gathering and using data in the funding model to ensure consistency within the funding model; (II) Identify county training and capacity needs to ensure integrity of the data collected and used in the Colorado TRAILS case management system and county financial management systems; and (III) Develop strategies and recommend changes to data systems that support the funding model and to financial policies and practices to ensure that appropriate, consistent, and accurate data can be used to inform the funding model. (c) The child welfare allocations committee shall provide input to the state department concerning the measurements and metrics for counties to receive incentives recommended by the delivery of child welfare services task force made pursuant to section 26-5-105.8. (d) The child welfare allocations committee shall also perform any duties required in section 26-5-103.7 related to the child welfare allocations funding model. (5) and (6) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2018.) (7) Repealed.

C.R.S. § 26-5-103.7 Child welfare allocations funding model - evaluation group - report - definitions

26-5-103.7. Child welfare allocations funding model - evaluation group - report - definitions. (1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Evaluation group" means the group established to evaluate the funding model described in subsection (6) of this section. (b) "Funding model" means the funding model to determine the appropriate level of funding required to fully meet all state and federal requirements concerning the comprehensive delivery of child welfare services that was developed pursuant to section 26-5-103.5 (7) prior to its repeal in 2021, and includes factors that best meet the needs of children, youth, and families in the child welfare system. (2) (a) Repealed. (b) On or before July 1, 2024, and on or before July 1 every third year thereafter, the state department shall enter into a three-year agreement with an outside entity to annually modify the funding model, update the data used in the funding model, and deliver the results of the funding model, as described in subsection (8) of this section. (3) On or before July 1, 2024, and on or before July 1 every third year thereafter, the state department shall enter into an agreement with an outside evaluating entity to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the implementation of the funding model. The evaluation must ensure that the appropriate modifications were made to the funding model in the preceding three years, including necessary changes related to federal and state law; whether county data was accurately and appropriately updated each year; whether the model was run each year and used for allocations to counties; how the allocations were made to each county; whether counties increased staffing levels as a result of the model's workload metric; and whether the updated workload study described in section 26-5-104 (6.1)(b) was added to the model. On or before October 1 of each year of an agreement, the evaluating entity shall deliver the results of its evaluation to the state department, child welfare allocations committee, and the outside entity described in subsection (2) of this section. The department shall not enter into an agreement pursuant to this subsection (3) with the same outside entity described in subsection (2) of this section. (4) Beginning with the funding model effective for state fiscal year 2024-25, the funding model must: (a) Include factors addressing county workload, informed by the workload study conducted pursuant to section 26-5-104 (6.1)(c), as said subsection existed prior to its repeal, including the number of child welfare case aides, case workers, and supervisors necessary to perform all responsibilities required by state and federal law; (b) Include factors addressing demographic data, including poverty statistics, and state and local economic drivers that may influence the cost of delivering child welfare services and prevention programs, as defined in section 19-1-103, with an emphasis on building capacity to provide services based on the needs of the child and family; (c) Include the estimated caseload for the delivery of specific child welfare services in each county, to be funded by the money allocated to counties pursuant to section 26-5-104; (d) Include a performance-aligned component that supports the implementation of promising, supported, or well-supported practices, as defined in the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018"; (e) Be driven by outcomes related to the stability and well-being of children receiving child welfare services, consistent with the recommendations of the delivery of child welfare services task force made pursuant to section 26-5-105.8 (4.5) prior to its repeal in 2023; and romising, supported, or well-supported practices, as defined in the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018"; (e) Be driven by outcomes related to the stability and well-being of children receiving child welfare services, consistent with the recommendations of the delivery of child welfare services task force made pursuant to section 26-5-105.8 (4.5) prior to its repeal in 2023; and (f) Include incentives for the delivery of services based on the recommendations of the delivery of child welfare services task force made pursuant to section 26-5-105.8. The funding model must provide the incentives to counties based on measurements and metrics established by the state department after consideration of input from the child welfare allocations committee. The measurements and metrics may include metrics concerning successful adoptions, successfully sustained placements, high school graduations, family reunifications, no recurrence of abuse and neglect, and timely dental and medical checks. (5) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), on or before November 15, 2021, and on or before November 15 of each year thereafter, the state department and the child welfare allocations committee shall submit a report regarding the funding model to the joint budget committee. The report must include the following information concerning the previous fiscal year: (a) The results of the funding model, including the cost per county necessary to meet all state and federal requirements for the comprehensive delivery of child welfare services; (b) The difference between each county's actual allocation and the allocation amount identified by the funding model; (c) The final close-out pursuant to section 26-5-104 (7) for the previous fiscal year; (d) Any modifications made to the model to improve the accuracy of the data; (e) A description of the incentives included in the funding model and the amount of incentives provided to each county; and (f) Any other issues related to funding child welfare services identified by the child welfare allocations committee. (6) (a) (I) On or before August 1, 2021, and on or before August 1 of each year thereafter, the child welfare allocations committee shall establish and appoint members to a funding model evaluation group to evaluate the funding model. (II) The evaluation group has seven members who are experts in child welfare funding and policy. At least one member must be a representative of the state department with child welfare funding expertise, one member must be a county financial officer from a county described in section 26-5-104 (4)(b)(I), and one member must be a county financial officer from a county described in section 26-5-104 (4)(b)(II). (III) The members of the evaluation group serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. (b) The evaluation group shall evaluate the funding model to ensure that it is consistent with changes to state and federal law, includes outcome-based incentives and child and family well-being outcomes as factors in the model, includes an ongoing workload analysis, and satisfies the criteria described in subsection (4) of this section. The evaluation group shall evaluate any components of the funding model identified for evaluation by the child welfare allocations committee pursuant to section 26-5-103.5 (4.5). deral law, includes outcome-based incentives and child and family well-being outcomes as factors in the model, includes an ongoing workload analysis, and satisfies the criteria described in subsection (4) of this section. The evaluation group shall evaluate any components of the funding model identified for evaluation by the child welfare allocations committee pursuant to section 26-5-103.5 (4.5). (c) On or before October 1, 2021, and on or before October 1 of each year thereafter, the evaluation group must complete its annual evaluation of the funding model and deliver its findings and recommendations to the child welfare allocations committee. (7) On or before December 31, 2021, and on or before December 31 of each year thereafter, and after considering the findings and recommendations of the evaluation group, the child welfare allocations committee shall deliver to the state department and outside entity described in subsection (2) of this section responsible for updating the funding model the committee's recommendations for modifications to the funding model that are necessary to ensure that the model is current and reflects any changes in federal or state law and county data and workload. (8) The outside entity described in subsection (2) of this section shall: (a) On or before March 31 of the first year of its agreement, modify the model to be used for the next fiscal year based on the results of the evaluation conducted pursuant to subsection (3) of this section and the recommendations of the state department, child welfare allocations committee, and evaluation group; update the data used in the model; and deliver the results of the model to the child welfare allocations committee, state department, and joint budget committee; and (b) On or before March 31 of each other year of the agreement, modify the funding model to be used for the next fiscal year in accordance with the recommendations of the child welfare allocations committee made pursuant to subsection (7) of this section, update the data used in the model, and deliver the results of the model to the child welfare allocations committee, state department, and joint budget committee.

C.R.S. § 26-5-104 Funding of child welfare services provider contracts - funding mechanism review - fund - report - rules - definitions - repeal

26-5-104. Funding of child welfare services provider contracts - funding mechanism review - fund - report - rules - definitions - repeal. (1) Reimbursement. (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b) of this section, the state department shall, within the limits of available appropriations, reimburse the county departments eighty percent of amounts expended by county departments for child welfare services, up to the amount of the county's allocation as determined pursuant to the provisions of this section, except as otherwise authorized in accordance with the close-out process described in subsection (7) of this section. (b) The state department shall reimburse the county departments ninety percent of the amounts expended by county departments for adoption and relative guardianship assistance and is authorized to make an expenditure in excess of appropriations pursuant to section 24-75-109 (1)(b). The adoption and relative guardianship assistance programs are exempt from the close-out process described in subsection (7) of this section and the capped allocation described in subsection (3) of this section. (c) On or before December 15, the delivery of child welfare services task force, established pursuant to section 26-5-105.8, shall make recommendations concerning the provisions of section 26-5-105.8 (1)(b). (d) In making its recommendations pursuant to subsection (1)(c) of this section, the delivery of child welfare services task force shall consider: (I) The impact of the institute for mental disease designation on qualified residential treatment programs for residential child care facilities; and (II) The capacity of existing child welfare services, including placement availability, mental and behavioral health services, prevention services through the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act", and other prevention services. (e) The state department shall submit a report to the joint budget committee on or before January 15, 2021. The report must include the recommendations required pursuant to subsection (1)(c) of this section. (2) Parental fees. The fiscal year beginning July 1, 1990, constitutes the base fiscal year for the purpose of computing a base amount of parental fee collections by each county on behalf of children in foster care. Commencing with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1991, any increased amount of parental fees over and above the base amount is retained by the county that collected the parental fees. Any money retained by each county pursuant to this subsection (2) may be used for child welfare services directed toward early intervention, placement prevention, and family preservation, or any other program funded pursuant to sections 19-2.5-302, 19-2.5-1404, and 19-2.5-1407. (3) Allocation formula. (a) Repealed. (a.2) (I) For state fiscal year 2024-25, and for each state fiscal year thereafter, the state department, after input from the child welfare allocations committee, shall use the funding model described in section 26-5-103.7 to inform the funding required for each county for adoption and relative guardianship subsidies and the independent living program, and to inform the capped and targeted allocations to each county, or group of counties, for child welfare services, additional county child welfare staff, and family and children's programs. ations committee, shall use the funding model described in section 26-5-103.7 to inform the funding required for each county for adoption and relative guardianship subsidies and the independent living program, and to inform the capped and targeted allocations to each county, or group of counties, for child welfare services, additional county child welfare staff, and family and children's programs. (II) The state department, after input from the child welfare allocations committee, shall make the capped and targeted allocations described in subsection (3)(a.2)(I) of this section informed by the total amount identified in the funding model as the appropriate level of funding required for each county to fully meet all state and federal requirements concerning the comprehensive delivery of child welfare services, as defined in section 26-5-101 (3), and prevention programs, as defined in section 19-1-103, less the amount appropriated by the general assembly in the annual long appropriations bill for adoption and relative guardianship subsidies and the independent living program. The allocations must be equitable and reflective of the cost of delivering services and must identify the specific caseload estimate attributable to each capped or targeted allocation. (III) If the appropriation made for a fiscal year is not equal to the amount necessary to fully fund the allocations required by the funding model, the child welfare allocations committee shall make recommendations to the state department concerning how to modify the results of the funding model to align with the appropriation. After input from the child welfare allocations committee, the state department shall adjust the allocation to each county to ensure that the funding made available to all counties through capped and targeted allocations does not exceed the annual appropriation. (a.5) Pursuant to this subsection (3), a county that receives an allocation for county child welfare staff in addition to the child welfare services allocation shall fund existing staff positions as of January 1, 2015, through the child welfare services allocation. Positions created after January 1, 2015, may be funded through the allocation for county child welfare staff. (a.6) On or before March 1 of any state fiscal year, the child welfare allocations committee shall submit written recommendations to the state department to inform the capped and targeted allocations. (b) In the event that the state department and the child welfare allocations committee do not reach an agreement on the allocation formula on or before June 1 of any state fiscal year for the succeeding state fiscal year, the state department and the child welfare allocations committee shall submit alternatives to the joint budget committee of the general assembly from which such joint budget committee shall select an allocation formula before the beginning of such succeeding state fiscal year. (c) The formulas developed pursuant to this subsection (3) must identify the portion of the amounts appropriated for child welfare services that must be allocated to the counties for the provision of child welfare services. (d) A county's election to make a transfer of federal funds pursuant to section 26-2-714 (9) for the provision of child welfare services shall not be the basis of an adjustment to the formula for developing such county's capped or targeted allocation under the provisions of this article. for child welfare services that must be allocated to the counties for the provision of child welfare services. (d) A county's election to make a transfer of federal funds pursuant to section 26-2-714 (9) for the provision of child welfare services shall not be the basis of an adjustment to the formula for developing such county's capped or targeted allocation under the provisions of this article. (e) A county's cost savings shall not be the basis of an adjustment to the formula for developing such county's capped or targeted allocation under the provisions of this article. (4) Allocations. (a) For state fiscal year 1997-98, and for each state fiscal year thereafter, all counties shall receive capped allocations for child welfare services. A county may receive one or more capped allocations for the provision of child welfare services. The counties may use capped allocation moneys for child welfare services without category restriction within a specific capped allocation if not prohibited by federal law. (b) (I) The state department shall make capped allocations for counties serving at least eighty percent of the total child welfare services population. (II) For the balance of the state, the state department shall create one capped allocation or a series of capped allocations for the provision of child welfare services in the balance of the state. The state department shall establish a targeted allocation for each county in such group of counties designated for the purpose of such capped allocation or capped allocations. (c) The state department, in consultation with the child welfare allocations committee, shall adopt rules for when a county may exceed its capped or targeted allocation or allocations. (d) Except as provided for in subsections (4)(e) and (4)(f) of this section, the state department may only seek additional funding from the general assembly in a supplemental appropriations bill based upon caseload growth, subject to the provisions of subsection (7) of this section, or changes in federal law or federal funding. (d.5) Repealed. (e) A county's allocation or allocations may be amended due to caseload growth, subject to the provisions of subsection (7) of this section, or changes in federal law or federal funding. (f) In addition to funding received pursuant to subsection (4)(d) of this section, the state department may submit a request to the general assembly for a change in a supplemental appropriations bill to the appropriation that funds adoption and relative guardianship assistance expenditures. (5) Management training. The state department shall develop a management training package to be delivered to the counties no later than October 1, 1997, that shall assist the counties in the development of more effective management strategies for the utilization of resources in the delivery of child welfare services. The state department may utilize portions of the child welfare administration appropriations toward this end and is hereby authorized to pursue any private or public grants to fund such efforts. (6) County negotiations with providers. (a) Subject to rules promulgated by the state department pursuant to subsection (6)(b) of this section and the methodology adopted pursuant to subsections (6)(e) to (6)(h) of this section, for each child or youth placed in an out-of-home placement setting, a county is authorized to negotiate rates related to services and outcomes with licensed out-of-home placement providers; except that a county may not negotiate rates below the base anchor rates established by the state department. A county is authorized to negotiate rates above the base anchor rates established by the state department with licensed out-of-home placement providers serving children in higher acuity cases. o negotiate rates related to services and outcomes with licensed out-of-home placement providers; except that a county may not negotiate rates below the base anchor rates established by the state department. A county is authorized to negotiate rates above the base anchor rates established by the state department with licensed out-of-home placement providers serving children in higher acuity cases. (b) On or before January 1, 2019, and as necessary thereafter, the state department shall work collaboratively with the state board of human services to promulgate rules governing the methodology by which counties may negotiate rates, services, and outcomes with licensed out-of-home placement providers. If a county negotiates a contract with a licensed out-of-home placement provider, the county may define the expected outcomes and include options for the payment of incentives to providers when such outcomes are achieved. The state department shall work collaboratively with the state board of human services to promulgate rules concerning such outcomes and incentive payments. (c) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2017.) (d) On or before July 1, 2019, and each July 1 thereafter, the state department shall complete a review of the methodology by which counties evaluate and negotiate rates, services, outcomes, and incentives with licensed out-of-home placement providers developed pursuant to this subsection (6) and any alternative methodology for which counties have approval from the state department to utilize. The methodology used is governed by rules promulgated by the state department pursuant to subsection (6)(b) of this section. In preparing for and conducting the review, the state department shall convene a group of persons representing the directors of county departments of human or social services and the licensed out-of-home placement provider community. On or before September 1 of each fiscal year, the group shall submit a report to the joint budget committee detailing any changes to the rate-setting methodology that results from the review conducted pursuant to this subsection (6)(d). (e) On or before September 29, 2017, as a continuation of the review conducted pursuant to subsection (6)(d) of this section of the methodology by which counties evaluate and negotiate rates, services, and outcomes with licensed out-of-home placement providers, the state department shall contract with an independent vendor to: (I) Perform a salary survey related to the delivery of child welfare services. When possible, the entity must not duplicate existing efforts that collect public employee salary information but must instead incorporate existing information into the overall analysis. The survey must inform the development of the rate-setting methodology pursuant to subsection (6)(e)(III) of this section and must account for the functions, responsibilities, qualifications, and other relevant information for each position. The study must also guarantee that available information is gathered from a diverse range of geographical locations throughout Colorado, including urban, suburban, rural, and mountain resort communities. The study must include information pertaining to federal and state regulations or licensing requirements for each position. The study must also include salary surveys that represent employees performing all facets of similar work, utilizing similar knowledge, skills, and abilities for: (A) Licensed out-of-home placement providers who have a contract with the state department or a county; (B) Child placement agency employees; (C) Residential child care facility employees; and (D) County employees involved with the provision of child welfare services. surveys that represent employees performing all facets of similar work, utilizing similar knowledge, skills, and abilities for: (A) Licensed out-of-home placement providers who have a contract with the state department or a county; (B) Child placement agency employees; (C) Residential child care facility employees; and (D) County employees involved with the provision of child welfare services. (II) Perform an actuarial analysis of the costs necessary to provide services at a level required by state statute, departmental rule, or federal rules and regulations, as appropriate for the families referred, including salary comparisons between licensed out-of-home placement provider categories and overhead and administrative costs, and determine the extent to which the salary survey identified in subsection (6)(e)(I) of this section should inform the actuarial analysis. The analysis must inform the development of the rate-setting methodology pursuant to subsection (6)(e)(III) of this section and must also guarantee that available information is gathered from a diverse range of geographical locations throughout Colorado, including urban, suburban, rural, and mountain resort communities. (III) Develop the rate-setting methodology for licensed out-of-home placement provider compensation. The independent vendor shall solicit input from representatives from the state department, counties, the licensed out-of-home placement provider community, and the department of health care policy and financing. The methodology must be based on equal representation by counties and licensed out-of home placement providers. (f) On or before April 2, 2018, the state department shall provide the joint budget committee with a report defining the rate-setting methodology developed pursuant to subsection (6)(e)(III) of this section, including the process through which the daily rate was determined. (g) (I) Subject to available appropriations, the methodology must be implemented on or before July 1, 2018, except for those rates that must be approved by CMS. Rates that must be approved by CMS must be implemented upon approval. In the event that the representatives identified in subsection (6)(e) of this section do not agree on the rate-setting methodology on or before February 1, 2018, the state department, the county representatives, and the licensed out-of-home placement providers shall submit alternatives to the joint budget committee. The joint budget committee shall then select a methodology prior to the start of the succeeding state fiscal year. It is the intent of the general assembly that the rate methodology developed pursuant to this subsection (6) be fully implemented on or before June 30, 2022, through incremental rate increases established by the state department. For fiscal year 2019-20 through fiscal year 2021-22, the state department is encouraged to submit, as a part of the annual budget process, a request for increased appropriations to fund the increased rates required by the methodology. (II) (A) Except for those rates that must be approved by CMS, on or before September 30, 2021, the state department shall fully implement adjusted rates for licensed out-of-home placement providers using the existing rate methodology established pursuant to subsection (6)(g)(I) of this section. The state department shall implement rates that must be approved by CMS upon approval by CMS. The full implementation of the updated rate methodology adjustments must include rates for division of youth services out-of-home placement providers and for new out-of-home placement provider options required pursuant to the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018", as defined in section 26-5-101, and as informed by an updated actuarial analysis of the costs associated with such new provider options, with the exception of therapeutic foster care and treatment foster care, conducted pursuant to subsection (6)(g)(II)(B) of this section. or new out-of-home placement provider options required pursuant to the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018", as defined in section 26-5-101, and as informed by an updated actuarial analysis of the costs associated with such new provider options, with the exception of therapeutic foster care and treatment foster care, conducted pursuant to subsection (6)(g)(II)(B) of this section. (B) For purposes of subsection (6)(g)(II)(A) of this section, the state department shall contract with an independent vendor to update the actuarial analysis conducted pursuant to subsection (6)(e)(II) of this section to add an analysis of the costs necessary to provide services by division of youth services out-of-home placement providers and licensed out-of-home placement provider options included in the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018", as defined in section 26-5-101, that are not included in the original actuarial analysis, with the exception of therapeutic foster care and treatment foster care. The vendor shall complete the updated actuarial analysis on or before September 1, 2021. (h) The rate-setting methodology developed pursuant to subsection (6)(e)(III) of this section must clearly utilize the daily rate and include: (I) A process through which provider rate adjustments, including any cost of living adjustments, that are approved by the general assembly must be factored into establishing the daily rate; and (II) A process through which outcomes related to the stability and well-being of the child are factored into establishing the daily rate contract with a licensed out-of-home placement provider. (i) (I) At the beginning of the 2022-23 fiscal year, and at the beginning of every third fiscal year thereafter, the state department shall contract with an independent vendor to conduct a new actuarial analysis of all provider rates for licensed out-of-home placement providers, including the division of youth services out-of-home placement providers, that analyzes the costs necessary to provide services at a level required by state statute, department rule, or federal rules and regulations, as appropriate for the child or youth. The vendor shall determine whether the salary survey performed pursuant to subsection (6)(e)(I) of this section is sufficient for the actuarial analysis required pursuant to this subsection (6)(i)(I) or whether to update the salary survey. The vendor shall complete the actuarial analysis by September 1, 2023, and by September 1 of each year in which an actuarial analysis is conducted pursuant to this subsection (6)(i)(I). (II) The state department shall update the rate-setting methodology for licensed out-of-home placement providers, including the division of youth services out-of-home placement providers, to reflect the new actuarial analysis by July 1, 2024, and by July 1 of each fiscal year immediately following the fiscal year in which a new actuarial analysis results in adjusted rates. (III) Subject to available appropriations, except for those rates that must be approved by CMS, the state department shall implement any adjusted rates required by the rate-setting methodology by July 1, 2024, and by July 1 of each fiscal year immediately following the fiscal year in which a new actuarial analysis results in adjusted rates. The updated rate-setting methodology may include tiered provider rates based on acuity. (IV) The state department is encouraged to submit for consideration during the annual budget process a request for adjusted appropriations to fund the rates required by the updated methodology. (V) The state department shall submit a report to the joint budget committee no later than December 30, 2022, and no later than December 30 of each year thereafter in which an actuarial analysis is conducted. The report must include a summary of the actuarial analysis and the resulting adjustments to the rate-setting methodology. propriations to fund the rates required by the updated methodology. (V) The state department shall submit a report to the joint budget committee no later than December 30, 2022, and no later than December 30 of each year thereafter in which an actuarial analysis is conducted. The report must include a summary of the actuarial analysis and the resulting adjustments to the rate-setting methodology. (6.1) (a) On or before September 1, 2018, and on or before September 1 of each fiscal year thereafter, the state department, with input from counties, shall submit to the joint budget committee a report including information on workload increases or decreases for the preceding calendar year and the costs associated with such changes. The state department is encouraged to include in the report data on the cost of serving children placed in the care of licensed out-of-home placement providers based on case acuity. (b) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136, the reporting requirement in subsection (6.1)(a) of this section continues indefinitely. (c) Repealed. (6.2) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Acuity" means the level of service needed by the child or family. (b) "CMS" means the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services in the United States department of health and human services. (c) "Licensed out-of-home placement provider" means a licensed residential child care facility, a child placement agency, a secure residential treatment center, a psychiatric residential treatment facility, a qualified residential treatment program, or therapeutic foster care, as defined in section 26-6-903. (d) "Workload" means the number of child welfare child abuse and neglect hotline calls, referrals, assessments, open cases, out-of-home placements, in-home services, new adoptions, relative guardian assistance, and adoption subsidies being handled by a county department of human or social services. (6.5) The state department shall analyze and evaluate expenditures as reported by child placement agencies each year and compare such expenditures to county expenditures for the provision of foster care services. The state department shall provide, at least on an annual basis, such analyses and comparisons to county departments and the joint budget committee. (6.6) (a) Each county or region of counties, as determined by the state department, shall, with assistance from the state department, perform an analysis of available in-home, family-like, and out-of-home placement settings. On or before July 1, 2019, each designated county or region of counties shall submit a report to the state department, including an evaluation of the types and availability of each placement option in the county or region of counties, available placement options in adjacent counties or region of counties, and a plan to expand in-home, family-like, and out-of-home placement settings capacity within the county or region of counties, if necessary. (b) On or before July 1, 2020, the state department shall submit a report to the joint budget committee. The report must include: (I) The county utilization rate for in-home, family-like, and out-of-home placement settings; (II) An analysis of projected federal reimbursement for each type of placement pursuant to the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018", as defined in section 26-5-101 (4.5); (III) A description of anticipated changes in federal reimbursement for each type of placement; (IV) An analysis of statewide services and placement capacity, informed by the county reports required pursuant to subsection (6.6)(a) of this section; (V) Projections for the statewide fiscal impact resulting from changes in federal reimbursement; and (VI) A plan to minimize the fiscal impact to the state resulting from changes in federal reimbursement for services and placement types. cement; (IV) An analysis of statewide services and placement capacity, informed by the county reports required pursuant to subsection (6.6)(a) of this section; (V) Projections for the statewide fiscal impact resulting from changes in federal reimbursement; and (VI) A plan to minimize the fiscal impact to the state resulting from changes in federal reimbursement for services and placement types. (c) Repealed. (6.7) Beginning in the state fiscal year 2021-22 and through state fiscal year 2022-23, the state department shall assist residential placement providers in the transition to a business model that ensures that out-of-home placements with the provider are eligible for reimbursement under Title IV-E of the federal "Social Security Act", as amended, and ensures that a medicaid-eligible child or youth placed with the provider maintains eligibility for enrollment in the state's medical assistance program. Assistance provided by the state department includes grants from not less than fifteen percent of the funding received from the federal "Family First Transition and Support Act of 2019". The state department shall make grants available to providers no later than September 1, 2021, and shall continue to make grants available and award grants until January 1, 2023. Federal funding that has not been awarded as grants to providers by January 1, 2023, must be used for other purposes related to the implementation of the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018". (7) Close-out process for county allocations. (a) (I) There is created in the state treasury the child welfare prevention and intervention services cash fund, referred to in this subsection (7) as the "fund". The following two special accounts are created in the fund: (A) The small- and medium-sized counties account, referred to in this subsection (7) as the "small- and medium-sized account"; and (B) The all-counties account, referred to in this subsection (7) as the "all-counties account". (II) The state department is authorized to accept gifts, grants, and donations, which must be transferred to the fund and credited to the all-counties account within the fund. (III) In addition to transfers credited to the all-counties account within the fund pursuant to subsection (7)(a.6) of this section, the general assembly may directly appropriate general fund money to the fund. If the general assembly makes a direct appropriation of general fund money to the fund, the money must be credited to the all-counties account within the fund. The state department, in consultation with the counties, shall determine the allocation of any money credited to the all-counties account within the fund, which money may be allocated to all counties, regardless of size. (IV) The state department, in consultation with counties, shall allocate all money from the fund to increase local child welfare prevention and intervention services capacity, which allocations must be used by a county for the delivery of child welfare prevention and intervention services that have been approved by the state department. (V) The state department shall work collaboratively with the state board of human services to promulgate rules concerning the allocation and use of money from the fund. (a.3) (I) For state fiscal year 2018-19, and for each state fiscal year thereafter, except for state fiscal years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22, the state department retains any unspent general fund money included in the initial allocation to each balance of state county, up to five percent of the total general fund money allocated to balance of state counties, as described in subsection (4)(b) of this section and referred to in this subsection (7) as "small- and medium-sized counties". (II) Retained money pursuant to subsection (7)(a.3)(I) of this section must be transferred into the fund and credited to the small- and medium-sized account within the fund. ounty, up to five percent of the total general fund money allocated to balance of state counties, as described in subsection (4)(b) of this section and referred to in this subsection (7) as "small- and medium-sized counties". (II) Retained money pursuant to subsection (7)(a.3)(I) of this section must be transferred into the fund and credited to the small- and medium-sized account within the fund. (III) Money from the small- and medium-sized account within the fund must be allocated by the state department, in consultation with small- and medium-sized counties, to small- and medium-sized counties to increase local child welfare prevention and intervention services capacity and must be used by counties for the delivery of child welfare prevention and intervention services that have been approved by the state department. (a.5) Subject to the limitations set forth in this subsection (7), the state department may, at the end of a state fiscal year based upon the recommendations of the child welfare allocations committee, allocate any unexpended capped money for the delivery of specific child welfare services to any one or more counties whose spending has exceeded a capped allocation for such specific child welfare services. (a.6) Subsequent to the allocation of any unexpended capped money pursuant to subsection (7)(a.5) of this section, and except for state fiscal years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22, any remaining state general fund money must be transferred to the fund and credited to the all-counties account within the fund for allocation by the state department to counties for the delivery of state-department-approved child welfare prevention and intervention services. (b) A county may only receive money pursuant to subsection (7)(a.5) of this section for expenditures other than those attributable to administrative and support functions as referred to in section 26-5-101 (3)(m) and for authorized expenditures attributable to caseload increases beyond the caseload estimate established pursuant to subsection (3) of this section for a specific capped allocation. (c) A county may not receive money pursuant to the provisions of subsection (7)(a.5) of this section for authorized expenditures attributable to caseload increases for services in one capped allocation from unexpended capped money in another capped allocation. (d) As used in this section, "unexpended capped money" means money that has been appropriated for child welfare services, allocated to a county or group of counties as a capped allocation or allocations pursuant to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section. (7.5) High-acuity treatment and services cash fund. (a) There is created in the state treasury the high-acuity treatment and services cash fund, referred to in this subsection (7.5) as the "high-acuity cash fund". (b) The state department shall retain any unspent money appropriated in fiscal year 2022-23 and 2023-24 from the general fund for counties during the initial allocations for the administration of child welfare services, core services, or child welfare staffing. Unspent general fund money includes money remaining after transfers to the prevention and intervention services cash fund created in subsection (7)(a)(I) of this section. (c) On June 30, 2023, and June 30, 2024, the state treasurer shall transfer any money retained pursuant to subsection (7.5)(b) of this section to the high-acuity cash fund. The money transferred pursuant to this subsection (7.5)(c) is available for expenditure through June 30, 2025. er transfers to the prevention and intervention services cash fund created in subsection (7)(a)(I) of this section. (c) On June 30, 2023, and June 30, 2024, the state treasurer shall transfer any money retained pursuant to subsection (7.5)(b) of this section to the high-acuity cash fund. The money transferred pursuant to this subsection (7.5)(c) is available for expenditure through June 30, 2025. (d) (I) The state department shall expend money from the high-acuity cash fund to provide additional resources to licensed providers to help remove barriers that providers face in serving children and youth whose behavioral or mental health needs require services and treatment that exceed capacity of the established daily rates, including for the same purposes identified in section 26-5-117 (2). (II) Any licensed provider who receives money pursuant to subsection (7)(d)(I) shall meet the requirements of a qualified residential treatment program, as defined in section 26-5.4-102, a psychiatric residential treatment facility, as defined in section 25.5-4-103 (19.5), or therapeutic foster care, as defined in section 26-6-903 (35). (e) This subsection (7.5) is repealed, effective July 1, 2025. Any money remaining in the high-acuity cash fund at the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year reverts to the general fund. (8) County-level child welfare staff. (a) For the state fiscal year 2015-16, and for each state fiscal year thereafter, each county may receive a capped allocation in addition to its portion of the child welfare block grant for the specific purpose of hiring new child welfare staff at the county level in addition to child welfare staff existing as of January 1, 2015. A county that utilizes said additional allocation shall continue to pay for child welfare staff positions existing as of January 1, 2015, through the child welfare block grant. (b) Each county that receives an allocation for child welfare staff pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (8) shall provide a ten percent match to state and federal moneys provided pursuant to this subsection (8); except that a county that qualifies as tier 1 or tier 2 for purposes of the county tax base relief fund, as defined in section 26-1-126 (3) and (4), is funded at one hundred percent of state and federal funds provided pursuant to this subsection (8). (c) Any moneys allocated pursuant to this subsection (8) that are not expended by the end of a fiscal year for the purpose specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection (8) must revert back to the general fund. (9) Repealed.

C.R.S. § 26-5-105 Reimbursement procedure

26-5-105. Reimbursement procedure. Claims for state reimbursement under this article shall be presented by the county departments to the state department at such times and in such manner as the state department may prescribe. The state department shall certify to the controller the amount approved, specifying the amount of each county's capped or targeted allocation. The amount so certified shall be paid from the state treasury, upon the voucher of the state department and warrant of the controller, to the respective county treasurers of the counties seeking the reimbursement, from money appropriated to the state department for the purpose of administering the provisions of this article.

C.R.S. § 26-5-105.3 Federal waivers

26-5-105.3. Federal waivers. The state department shall pursue as soon as possible any waivers that may be necessary to implement this article, including but not limited to waivers for Title IV-E foster care services and medicaid.

C.R.S. § 26-5-105.4 Title IV-E waiver demonstration project - county performance agreements - Title IV-E waiver demonstration project cash fund created - rules - repeal

26-5-105.4. Title IV-E waiver demonstration project - county performance agreements - Title IV-E waiver demonstration project cash fund created - rules - repeal. (Repealed)

C.R.S. § 26-5-105.5 State department integrated care management program - county performance agreements - authorized - performance incentive cash fund created - repeal

26-5-105.5. State department integrated care management program - county performance agreements - authorized - performance incentive cash fund created - repeal. (1) (a) There is hereby created the state department integrated care management program. In administering the state department integrated care management program, the state department shall develop, by rule, principles of integrated care management and a process to allow counties or groups of counties specified in section 26-5-104 (4)(b)(I) to participate in the program. Individual counties or groups of counties specified in section 26-5-104 (4)(b)(I) may participate in the integrated care management program for the delivery of child welfare services. (b) and (c) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2002, p. 526, § 1, effective May 24, 2002.) (2) The state department is hereby authorized to enter into performance agreements with individual counties or groups of counties specified in section 26-5-104 (4)(b)(I). A county that enters into a performance agreement with the state department shall be exempt from the rules of the state department and state board governing the delivery of child welfare services, as such exemptions are identified in the performance agreement. (3) and (3.2) Repealed. (3.5) Evaluation. (a) The state department is authorized to contract for an external evaluation of the performance agreements authorized pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. Any such external evaluation shall include any evaluation that may be required in connection with any waiver authorized pursuant to section 26-5-105.3. Criteria for and components of the evaluation shall be developed by the state department with input from the counties authorized pursuant to this section. (b) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2001, p. 1172, § 9, effective August 8, 2001.) (c) This subsection (3.5) is repealed on the date the executive director of the state department notifies the revisor of statutes that the state is no longer participating in the waiver authorized pursuant to Title IV-E of the federal "Social Security Act", as amended. (3.7) The state board shall promulgate rules necessary to implement the integrated care management program established pursuant to this section. (4) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2002, p. 526, § 1, effective May 24, 2002.)

C.R.S. § 26-5-105.7 Study of managed care - repeal

26-5-105.7. Study of managed care - repeal. (Repealed)

C.R.S. § 26-5-105.8 Delivery of child welfare services task force - creation - duties - membership - reporting requirements - repeal

26-5-105.8. Delivery of child welfare services task force - creation - duties - membership - reporting requirements - repeal. (Repealed)

C.R.S. § 26-5-107 Limitations of article

26-5-107. Limitations of article. All child welfare services granted under this article shall be granted and held subject to the provisions of any amending or repealing law that may be passed after July 1, 1973, and no recipient shall have any claim for compensation or otherwise by reason of his services being affected in any way by any amending or repealing law.

C.R.S. § 26-5-108 Developmental assessment - rules

26-5-108. Developmental assessment - rules. The appropriate county department of human or social services shall refer each child under five years of age who is the subject of a substantiated case of abuse or neglect to the appropriate state or local agency for developmental screening within sixty days after abuse or neglect has been substantiated. The state board shall promulgate rules to implement this section.

C.R.S. § 26-5-109 Child welfare training academy established - rules

26-5-109. Child welfare training academy established - rules. (1) There is hereby established within the state department the child welfare training academy, referred to in this section as the "academy", to ensure that certain persons hired to work within child welfare services receive the necessary training to perform the functions of their jobs responsibly and effectively. The state department shall administer the academy in accordance with rules promulgated by the state department pursuant to subsection (2) of this section. (2) On or before September 15, 2009, the state department shall promulgate rules for the administration of the academy. The rules must include: (a) Identification of specific job titles within child welfare services that shall be required to attain certification from the academy as a mandatory condition of employment; (b) Identification of specific job titles within child welfare services that shall be required to complete ongoing or occasional training from the academy as a mandatory condition of employment; (c) Establishment of minimum standards of competence that a person is required to demonstrate prior to receiving certification from the academy. The standards of competence must include, but are not limited to, a demonstrated ability to perform the duties described in section 19-3-313.5 (2) and a demonstrated understanding of principles and strategies to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in the child welfare system. (d) Identification of means by which a person may demonstrate the minimum standards established pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (2); and (e) Establishment of alternative methods for attaining certification from the academy for persons who have already successfully completed comparable child welfare training, including a description of child welfare training that shall be deemed to be comparable to the training offered by the academy.

C.R.S. § 26-5-110 Guardianship assistance program - legislative intent - eligibility - reporting - rules - definition

26-5-110. Guardianship assistance program - legislative intent - eligibility - reporting - rules - definition. (1) The general assembly declares that: (a) The state of Colorado has a strong interest in providing permanency options to children who are part of the foster care system; (b) Children and youth in the child welfare system are better served when family ties are preserved and strengthened because permanent family connections are critical to a child's overall well-being and development; (c) The general assembly has established through past legislation a statutory preference for placement with relatives and kin at all stages of a child welfare case; (d) To help support permanency with family and kin relationships when adoption and reunification are either unavailable or not appropriate permanency options for the child, the general assembly created the "Relative Guardianship Assistance Program" in 2010, as authorized by the federal "Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008", Pub. L. 110-351; (e) The state of Colorado has a strong interest in providing permanency options to children who are part of the traditional foster care system and who are not otherwise able to be placed with relatives or kin; (f) It is appropriate to further the goal of permanency by passing legislation to provide financial assistance for the care of children, when it is in accordance with federal law, to relatives, kin, and foster parents who have a significant relationship with the child, as outlined in statute, and who have assumed legal guardianship or allocation of parental responsibilities of children who they previously cared for as certified foster parents through the federal "Title IV-E Adoption and Guardianship Assistance Program", 42 U.S.C. sec. 673 (d); and (g) It is therefore the intent of the general assembly that the state guardianship assistance program will be utilized to enhance family preservation and provide a permanency option for children who have developed a significant relationship with their foster parent caregiver when reunification and adoption are either unavailable or not appropriate permanency options for the child, and provide stability in safe and stable placements with relatives, kin, and foster parent caregivers in circumstances set forth in this legislation. (2) The guardianship assistance program is established in the state department. Assistance from the program is available when a court has determined that adoption and reunification with a child's or children's parent or legal guardian are not appropriate permanency options for the child or children. Program assistance is available in the following situations: (a) To relatives, kin, and persons ascribed by the family as having a family-like relationship with the child or children and who: (I) Are committed to the child's or children's permanency; (II) Were the certified foster parent or parents of the child or children for a minimum of six consecutive months at the time they assumed guardianship or allocation of parental responsibilities; and (III) Have assumed legal guardianship of or allocation of parental responsibilities for the child or children; or ild or children and who: (I) Are committed to the child's or children's permanency; (II) Were the certified foster parent or parents of the child or children for a minimum of six consecutive months at the time they assumed guardianship or allocation of parental responsibilities; and (III) Have assumed legal guardianship of or allocation of parental responsibilities for the child or children; or (b) To a certified foster parent or parents who do not otherwise qualify for the program pursuant to subsection (2)(a) of this section if: (I) The child or children in the certified foster parent's or parents' care are twelve years of age or older, or if at least one of the children in the sibling group is eleven years of age or younger and has an older sibling who receives assistance from the program; (II) The dependency and neglect court finds that the child or children have a substantial psychological tie to the certified foster parent or parents, such that it would be seriously detrimental to the child's or children's emotional well-being to remove the child or children from the certified foster parent's or parents' care, as described in section 19-3-702 (4)(e)(III); (III) Adoption and reunification are not appropriate permanency options for the child or children, and the dependency and neglect court finds, pursuant to section 19-3-702 (4)(e)(III) that the child's or children's certified foster parent or parents are unable to adopt the child because of exceptional circumstances, which do not include an unwillingness to accept legal responsibility for the child, but they are willing and capable of providing the child with a stable and permanent environment; (IV) The certified foster parent or parents of the child or children have cared for the child or children for a minimum of twelve months; and (V) The certified foster parent or parents have assumed legal guardianship of or allocation of parental responsibilities for the child or children with the child's or children's consent who are twelve years of age or older. (3) The state department shall promulgate rules that comply with the provisions of 42 U.S.C. sec. 673 (d) for the implementation of this section for situations where a child or children have been removed from the home through a judicial determination that continuation in the home would not be in the best interest of the child or children, and that reunification and adoption are not appropriate permanency options for the child or children. (4) On or before January 2, 2025, and every January 2 thereafter, the state department shall report to the joint budget committee data on actual program caseload and expenditures for the prior year as well as projected program caseload and expenditures for the current year. Notwithstanding the requirement in section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the requirement to submit the report required in this subsection (4) continues indefinitely. (5) It is the general assembly's intent that the program operate as an entitlement program and, pursuant to section 24-75-109 (1)(b), the state department is authorized to overexpend its appropriation to allow for reimbursement of ninety percent of counties' costs. (6) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, "program" means the guardianship assistance program established in subsection (1) of this section.

C.R.S. § 26-5-111 Statewide child abuse reporting hotline system - child abuse hotline steering committee - screening questions for hotline system operators and county departments - rules on consistent processes in response to reports and inquiries for information - legislative declaration - definitions

26-5-111. Statewide child abuse reporting hotline system - child abuse hotline steering committee - screening questions for hotline system operators and county departments - rules on consistent processes in response to reports and inquiries for information - legislative declaration - definitions. (1) (a) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that the purpose of enacting this section is to: (I) Create, based on recommendations of a steering committee with broad representation, a statewide child abuse reporting hotline system to serve as a direct, immediate, and efficient route to the applicable entity responsible for accepting the report and to the applicable entity responsible for responding to an inquiry and that is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; and (II) Authorize rule-making by the state board to ensure that there are standards for the consistent screening, assessment, and decision-making in response to reports of known or suspected child abuse and neglect and to inquiries made to a county department or to the hotline system. (b) The general assembly declares that the hotline system to be developed as outlined in this section enhances the current child welfare system. The hotline system is intended to provide an additional option for the public to make an initial report of suspected or known child abuse or neglect or making an inquiry. The county department will retain screening responsibilities, unless the board of county commissioners of the county department has approved the use of the hotline system on behalf of the county and such arrangement has been approved by the executive director. (2) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Child abuse reporting hotline system" or "the hotline system" means the uniform method of contact that directly, immediately, and efficiently routes the person to the applicable entity responsible for accepting a report pursuant to section 19-3-307, C.R.S., or to the applicable entity responsible for responding to an inquiry and that is advertised to the public as a place for reporting known or suspected child abuse or neglect or for making inquiries. (a.5) "Coercion" means compelling a person by force, threat of force, or intimidation to engage in conduct from which the person has the right or privilege to abstain, or to abstain from conduct in which the person has the right or privilege to engage. (a.6) "Domestic violence", commonly known as "intimate partner violence", means a pattern of violent behavior or an act, attempted act, or perceived threat of violence, stalking, harassment, or coercion that is committed by a person against another person with whom the actor is involved or has been involved in an intimate relationship. A sexual relationship may be an indicator of an intimate relationship but is never a necessary condition for finding an intimate relationship. (b) "Information and referral" means an initial contact from the public which does not constitute a report of abuse or neglect but is an inquiry and the response to the inquiry, as defined in rule. (c) "Inquiry" means a request for information or for specific services. (d) "Mandatory reporter" means a person who is required to report child abuse or neglect pursuant to section 19-3-304, C.R.S. . (b) "Information and referral" means an initial contact from the public which does not constitute a report of abuse or neglect but is an inquiry and the response to the inquiry, as defined in rule. (c) "Inquiry" means a request for information or for specific services. (d) "Mandatory reporter" means a person who is required to report child abuse or neglect pursuant to section 19-3-304, C.R.S. (e) "Report" means an initial report of known or suspected child abuse or neglect. (3) (a) The state department shall develop a child abuse hotline steering committee, including state, county, and comprehensive and appropriate stakeholder representation. The state department shall appoint a person to the steering committee who is a primary provider of emergency fire fighting services, law enforcement, ambulance, emergency medical, or other emergency services and who is familiar with the emergency telephone system that uses the single three-digit number 9-1-1 for reporting police, fire, medical, or other emergency situations. The steering committee is expected to develop an implementation plan for a statewide child abuse reporting hotline system, which is advertised to the public and to mandatory reporters, and to make recommendations for rules relating to the operation of the hotline system and relating to consistent practices for responding to reports and inquiries. The purpose of the hotline system is to provide a direct, immediate, and efficient route to the entity responsible for accepting a report pursuant to section 19-3-307, C.R.S. The public may also contact the hotline system for inquiries. The hotline system must operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The hotline may consist of multiple methods of communication, as prescribed by rules of the state board. The steering committee shall submit a report no later than July 1, 2014, containing its recommendations to the executive director, who shall provide the report to the state board. The hotline system shall be operational and publicized statewide no later than January 1, 2015. (b) With the express written consent of the board of county commissioners of a county, a county department may request that the state department assist that county with the taking of calls or initial contacts from the public of reports of possible child abuse or neglect or of inquiries. The executive director of the state department must approve this arrangement in writing. (c) Based upon the recommendations of the child abuse hotline steering committee, the state department shall establish a statewide child abuse reporting hotline system. (3.5) (a) The state department shall develop and implement a consistent screening process for a county department to follow, whenever possible, while responding to a report or inquiry submitted to the statewide child abuse reporting hotline system. The screening process must include questions about domestic violence or intimate partner violence. (b) The state department shall develop and implement a disclosure procedure that notifies callers to the statewide child abuse reporting hotline system that calls are recorded. (3.7) (a) The state department shall review the screening process used by county departments and hotline system operators to: (I) Determine race; ethnicity; disability status; LGBTQ identity, if applicable; and English proficiency in a screening report and recommend a process for improving the accuracy of determining this demographic information, which must include opportunities to update the information in TRAILS, as defined in section 26-5-118; (II) Understand the types of questions asked during the screening process to determine demographic information and recommend questions that reflect best practices and cultural competency; and (III) Understand the sequence of questions asked during the screening process to determine demographic information and recommend a sequence of questions that better reflects best practices. ection 26-5-118; (II) Understand the types of questions asked during the screening process to determine demographic information and recommend questions that reflect best practices and cultural competency; and (III) Understand the sequence of questions asked during the screening process to determine demographic information and recommend a sequence of questions that better reflects best practices. (b) The state department shall implement the recommended best practices described in subsection (3.7)(a) of this section. (4) The state board is authorized to adopt rules, based upon the recommendations of the child abuse hotline steering committee, and may revise rules, as necessary, including but not limited to the following: (a) The type of technology that may be used by the hotline system for directly routing initial contacts from the hotline system to the applicable entity responsible for accepting reports pursuant to section 19-3-307, C.R.S., or to the applicable entity to respond to an inquiry, including but not limited to a single statewide toll-free telephone number, and including technologies for language translation and for communicating with people who are deaf or have hearing impairments, such as telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDD) or text telephone services (TTY), with flexibility to adapt the methods to changing and emerging technologies as appropriate; (b) The operation of the hotline system, including the central record keeping and tracking of reports and inquiries statewide, and a requirement that the record keeping and tracking of reports and inquiries be accessible to all counties through the state's case management system; (c) Rules governing the standards and steps for information and referral and how an inquiry is routed to the applicable entity responsible for responding to an inquiry; (d) How an initial report to the hotline system is directly routed to the applicable entity responsible for accepting a report pursuant to section 19-3-307, C.R.S.; (e) A formal process for a county department to opt to have the state department receive reports or inquiries on behalf of the county department after hours subject to a requirement that the board of county commissioners must officially approve the use of the hotline system on behalf of the county and such arrangement must be approved by the executive director; (f) A process for a county department to opt to have another county department receive reports or inquiries on behalf of the county department after hours or on a short-term basis with notification of such arrangement to the executive director; (g) Standardized training and certification standards for all staff prior to taking reports and inquiries; (h) A consistent screening process with criteria and steps for the county department to follow in responding to a report or inquiry that is consistent with the process set forth in subsections (3.5)(a) and (3.7)(a) of this section; (i) Rules establishing a consistent decision-making process with criteria and steps for the county department to follow when deciding how to act on a report or inquiry or when to take no action on a report or inquiry; and (j) A disclosure procedure that notifies callers to the hotline system that calls are recorded that is consistent with the procedure set forth in subsection (3.5)(b) of this section. (5) The state department shall submit periodic reports to the appropriate legislative committee pursuant to the requirements of part 2 of article 7 of title 2, C.R.S., pertaining to the implementation or operation of the hotline system, the progress of implementing the hotline system, the outcomes from the operation of the hotline system, and the outcomes from the adoption of rules and practices for consistent screening, assessment, and decision-making for reports of known or suspected child abuse and neglect and for inquiries.

C.R.S. § 26-5-112 Child welfare caseload study - repeal

26-5-112. Child welfare caseload study - repeal. (Repealed)

C.R.S. § 26-5-113 Extended services for former foster care youth

26-5-113. Extended services for former foster care youth. (1) A county department may coordinate certain services to former foster care youth who request such services in order to support such former foster care youth in becoming self-sufficient adults. This section is not meant to replace services for foster care youth who remain in the custody of a county department. The determination of whether a youth who is in foster care is ready to leave the custody of the county department remains under the jurisdiction of the court. (2) A county department may opt to serve former foster care youth who have been in the custody of the division of youth services if such youth are included in the plan for services for a successful adulthood. (3) The department of local affairs may assist a county department in securing available housing vouchers through programs offered by the department of local affairs, such as the homeless solutions program, the housing choice voucher program, or any other appropriate supportive housing program for former foster care youth, specifically between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, who are experiencing homelessness or imminent risk of homelessness. If appropriations are available, the department of local affairs may assist former foster care youth with security deposits related to housing. (4) The managed care entity contracted with for the department of health care policy and financing's statewide managed care system shall assist a county department that opts to serve former foster care youth who are enrolled in medicaid. (5) State institutions of higher education and community colleges shall work with the county departments to explore ways to support former foster care youth both financially and through other supportive services. This support includes reviewing the ability to provide tuition assistance and other fee waivers to former foster care youth. (6) A county department may support former foster care youth pursuant to this section by developing a plan for services for a successful adulthood and transferring an amount of money out of the county's core services funding and into a fund for services for a successful adulthood. (7) The state department of human services and the state department of local affairs shall coordinate to implement, administer, and share data, to the extent allowable by law, for the Colorado fostering success voucher program, established pursuant to section 19-7-314.5. Administration of the voucher program must consider the unique developmental and social needs of youth throughout implementation, including case management, needs, the promulgation of rules, and the creation of policies and procedures for voucher recipients.

C.R.S. § 26-5-114 Former foster care youth steering committee - implementation plan - recommendations - report

26-5-114. Former foster care youth steering committee - implementation plan - recommendations - report. (1) The state department shall establish a former foster care youth steering committee that includes comprehensive and appropriate stakeholder representation from the state and county level. The state department shall convene the committee on or before October 30, 2018. The steering committee shall: (a) Develop an implementation plan that allows former foster care youth to receive services for a successful adulthood or assistance in returning to placement, as well as alternatives to returning to placement after reaching eighteen years of age but before reaching twenty-one years of age, or a later age if so recommended by the steering committee, and after the county department's jurisdiction ends; (b) Make recommendations relating to the operation, evaluation, and sustainability of the implementation plan. In making its recommendations, the steering committee shall use a consensus-based approach. (c) Coordinate with other committees formed by the general assembly that have similar or overlapping jurisdictional tasks or purposes. (2) On or before January 1, 2020, the steering committee shall submit a report with its recommendations for an implementation plan to the executive director of the department of human services; the governor; and the joint budget committee, the health and human services committee of the senate, the public health and environment committee of the house of representatives, or any successor committees. (3) The implementation plan recommended by the steering committee pursuant to this section is not required to become operational unless adequate state and federal funding is available.

C.R.S. § 26-5-115 Acquisition of drivers' licenses by individuals in foster care - immunity from liability - rules

26-5-115. Acquisition of drivers' licenses by individuals in foster care - immunity from liability - rules. (1) On and after September 7, 2021, in addition to any other reimbursement for child welfare services described in this article 5, the state department shall reimburse a county department for costs paid by the county department to a public or private driving school for the provision of driving instruction to an individual in the custody of the county department who is fifteen years of age or older and under twenty-one years of age. (2) The state department may seek and accept gifts, grants, and donations from private or public sources for the purposes of this section; except that the state department may not accept a gift, grant, or donation that is subject to conditions that are inconsistent with this section or any other law of the state. (3) (a) Nothing in this section places any liability on a county department for: (I) Contracting with a public or private driving school to provide driving instruction to an individual who is in the custody of the county department; or (II) An injury alleged to have occurred while an individual in the custody of the county department received driving instruction from a public or private driving school. (b) Nothing in this section waives or limits a county department's governmental immunity, as described in article 10 of title 24. (4) On or before December 1, 2021, the state board shall promulgate rules for the administration of this section.

C.R.S. § 26-5-116 Fostering educational opportunities for youth in foster care program - creation - report

26-5-116. Fostering educational opportunities for youth in foster care program - creation - report. (1) There is created in the state department the fostering educational opportunities for youth in foster care program, referred to in this section as the "program", to improve educational opportunities for students in out-of-home placements. The program must serve students in grades nine through twelve who are or previously were in out-of-home care, with the option to expand to grades six through eight. The program must be modeled after the Jefferson county pilot program to improve educational outcomes for foster youth described in section 24-37-404, and, as part of the program, the state department shall continue to administer the pilot program after funding for the pilot program is no longer available. Subject to available funding, the state department shall contract with at least two but no more than five additional school districts to implement the program. The state department shall select the school districts based on district need, local foster care population, and geographic diversity. (2) (a) On July 1, 2023, and each July 1 thereafter, the state department shall publish a report on its website and submit the report to the legislative audit committee of the general assembly, the health and human services and education committees of the senate, the public and behavioral health and human services and education committees of the house of representatives, or any successor committees. The report must include information on program implementation and performance metrics of students identified in the foster care education initiative as described in section 22-32-138 (9). (b) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the requirement to submit the report described in this subsection (2) continues indefinitely.

C.R.S. § 26-5-117 Out-of-home placement for children and youth with mental or behavioral needs - funding - report - rules - legislative declaration - definitions - repeal

26-5-117. Out-of-home placement for children and youth with mental or behavioral needs - funding - report - rules - legislative declaration - definitions - repeal. (1) (a) The general assembly finds and declares that: (I) The COVID-19 pandemic has lead to an emergency need for increased placements for children and youth with behavioral or mental health needs, including those involved with the child welfare system; and (II) As the state works to transition to the critical requirements of the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act", it must ensure a smooth transition by helping existing residential child care facilities transition to qualified residential treatment programs or psychiatric residential treatment facilities. (b) Therefore, the general assembly declares that the state should provide resources to qualified residential treatment programs, psychiatric residential treatment facilities, or therapeutic foster care providers to address this emergency situation and ensure there are high-quality providers available to meet these needs. (2) (a) The state department shall develop a program to provide emergency resources to licensed providers to help remove barriers such providers face in serving children and youth whose behavioral or mental health needs require services and treatment in a residential child care facility. Any such licensed provider shall meet the requirements of a qualified residential treatment program, as defined in section 26-5.4-102; a psychiatric residential treatment facility, as defined in section 25.5-4-103 (19.5); treatment foster care; or therapeutic foster care. (a.5) (I) No later than July 1, 2023, the state department, in collaboration with the department of health care policy and financing and other relevant stakeholders, including stakeholders that represent individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, shall form a working group to make recommendations about developing an incentive funding pool pilot program to incentivize residential treatment providers to accept and treat children and youth who are under twenty-one years of age and have high-acuity behavioral health needs or other common barriers to appropriate treatment and placement, including the presence of co-occurring disabilities. (II) In developing the incentive funding pool, the state department may consider providing an enhanced payment, in addition to any daily bed rate authorized and paid for by public funding, and authorizing the funding pool to be used to extend and expand access to care pursuant to subsection (2)(b)(I) of this section. (III) No later than October 1, 2023, the working group shall submit its recommendations to the joint budget committee. (b) (I) Beginning July 1, 2022, the state department shall provide ongoing operational support for psychiatric residential treatment facilities, therapeutic foster care, treatment foster care, and qualified residential treatment programs as described in subsection (2)(a) of this section. (II) Repealed. (III) The use of money appropriated pursuant to this subsection (2) must conform with the allowable purposes set forth in the federal "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021", Pub.L. 117-2, as amended. The state department shall spend or obligate such appropriation in accordance with section 24-75-226 (4)(d). (IV) This subsection (2)(b) is repealed, effective September 1, 2027. (c) The state department and any person who receives money from the state department shall comply with the compliance, reporting, record-keeping, and program evaluation requirements established by the office of state planning and budgeting and the state controller in accordance with section 24-75-226 (5). ion 24-75-226 (4)(d). (IV) This subsection (2)(b) is repealed, effective September 1, 2027. (c) The state department and any person who receives money from the state department shall comply with the compliance, reporting, record-keeping, and program evaluation requirements established by the office of state planning and budgeting and the state controller in accordance with section 24-75-226 (5). (d) No later than January 1, 2025, and subject to available appropriations, the state department shall expand the number of treatment beds available under the program created pursuant to subsection (2)(a) of this section. (3) Repealed. (4) (a) The state department shall contract with licensed providers for the delivery of services to children and youth who are determined eligible for and placed in the program. A provider that contracts with the state department shall not: (I) Deny admittance of a child or youth if the child or youth otherwise meets the eligibility criteria for the program; or (II) Discharge a child or youth based on the severity or complexity of the child's or youth's physical, behavioral, or mental health needs; except that the state department may arrange for the placement of a child or youth with an alternate contracted provider if the placement with the alternate provider is better suited to deliver services that meet the needs of the child or youth. (b) The state department shall reimburse a provider directly for the costs associated with the placement of a child or youth in the program for the duration of the treatment, including the costs the provider demonstrates are necessary in order for the provider to operate continuously during this period. (c) The state department shall coordinate with the department of health care policy and financing to support continuity of care and payment for services for any children or youth placed in the program. (d) The state department shall reimburse the provider one hundred percent of the cost of unutilized beds in the program to ensure available space for emergency residential out-of-home placements. (5) (a) A hospital, health-care provider, provider of case management services, school district, managed care entity, or state or county department of human or social services may refer a family for the placement of a child or youth in the program. The entity referring a child or youth for placement in the program shall submit or assist the family with submitting an application to the state department for review. The state department shall consider each application as space becomes available. The state department shall approve admissions into the program and determine admission and discharge criteria for placement. (b) The state department shall develop a discharge plan for each child or youth placed in the program. The plan must include the eligible period of placement of the child or youth and must identify the entity that will be responsible for the placement costs if the child or youth remains with the provider beyond the date of eligibility identified in the plan. (c) The entity or family that places the child or youth in the program retains the right to remove the child or youth from the program any time prior to the discharge date specified by the state department. (6) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Family advocate" means a parent or primary caregiver who: (I) Has been trained in a system-of-care approach to assist families in accessing and receiving services and supports; (II) Has raised or cared for a child or adolescent with a mental health or co-occurring disorder; and (III) Has worked with multiple agencies and providers, such as mental health, physical health, substance abuse, juvenile justice, developmental disabilities, education, and other state and local service systems. f-care approach to assist families in accessing and receiving services and supports; (II) Has raised or cared for a child or adolescent with a mental health or co-occurring disorder; and (III) Has worked with multiple agencies and providers, such as mental health, physical health, substance abuse, juvenile justice, developmental disabilities, education, and other state and local service systems. (b) "Family systems navigator" means an individual who: (I) Has been trained in a system-of-care approach to assist families in accessing and receiving services and supports; (II) Has the skills, experience, and knowledge to work with children and youth with mental health or co-occurring disorders; and (III) Has worked with multiple agencies and providers, including mental health, physical health, substance abuse, juvenile justice, developmental disabilities, education, and other state and local service systems. (7) to (9) Repealed. (10) The state department shall analyze the location of existing capacity of specialized foster care settings across the state, where gaps exist, and barriers to expanding specialized foster care settings and provide recommendations to achieve network adequacy of specialized foster care supports statewide. (11) (a) Subject to available appropriations, the state department and the behavioral health administration shall increase the minimum reimbursement rates paid to qualified residential treatment programs for the purpose of aligning room and board payments across payer sources. (b) The behavioral health administration shall reimburse qualified residential treatment program providers for the cost of room and board pursuant to subsection (11)(a) of this section for children and youth who are eligible for the state medical assistance program but not in the custody of a county child welfare agency. (12) No later than December 31, 2025, and subject to available appropriations, the state department shall contract with one or more third-party vendors to implement a pilot program to assess the needs of, and provide short-term residential services for, juvenile justice-involved youth who do not meet the criteria for detention pursuant to sections 19-2.5-303 and 19-2.5-304. (13) (a) No later than September 15, 2024, and subject to available appropriations, the state department shall contract with additional licensed providers for the delivery of services to children and youth who are determined eligible for and placed in the program created pursuant to subsection (2)(a) of this section. (b) To the extent such data is available, the state department shall base its efforts to contract with additional licensed providers on an analysis of the Colorado child and adolescent needs and strengths data from independent assessments for children and youth who are boarding in a hospital, in a stopgap county department of human or social services office or hotel, or in a detention setting, and who are involved with the state-level multi-agency child and youth consultant team because they were denied care from a residential child care provider. Any information received and analyzed pursuant to this subsection (13)(b) must be de-identified and aggregated to maintain confidentiality and privacy of each child and youth.

C.R.S. § 26-5-118 Audit of child welfare system tools - Colorado family safety assessment - Colorado family risk assessment - domestic violence - intimate partner violence - report - rules - definitions

26-5-118. Audit of child welfare system tools - Colorado family safety assessment - Colorado family risk assessment - domestic violence - intimate partner violence - report - rules - definitions. (1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Coercion" means compelling a person by force, threat of force, or intimidation to engage in conduct from which the person has the right or privilege to abstain, or to abstain from conduct in which the person has the right or privilege to engage. (b) "Colorado family risk assessment" means a systematic collection and analysis of information entered into TRAILS to determine the likelihood of future maltreatment of a child or youth. (c) "Colorado family safety assessment" means a systematic collection of information entered into TRAILS on family circumstances to determine whether a child is in current or impending danger and to assist with informed and reliable decision-making to mitigate safety concerns. (d) "Domestic violence", commonly known as "intimate partner violence", means a pattern of violent behavior or an act, attempted act, or perceived threat of violence, stalking, harassment, or coercion that is committed by a person against another person with whom the actor is involved or has been involved in an intimate relationship. A sexual relationship may be an indicator of an intimate relationship but is never a necessary condition for finding an intimate relationship. (e) "TRAILS" means the statewide comprehensive child welfare case management system. (2) (a) (I) No later than January 15, 2025, the office of the child protection ombudsman, established in section 19-3.3-102, shall select and contract with a third-party evaluator to conduct an audit on the: (A) Colorado family safety assessment; and (B) Colorado family risk assessment. (II) The third-party evaluator shall create a report summarizing the results of the audit. (b) In conducting an audit of the Colorado family risk assessment, the third-party evaluator, at a minimum, shall: (I) Identify tools and resources to ensure the assessment is carried out consistently; (II) Identify gaps and solutions to enable caseworkers to complete the assessment in real time while in the field; (III) Examine the impacts of geography when using the assessment; (IV) Examine the impacts of race and ethnicity when using the assessment and how they impact communities that are over-represented in the child welfare system; (V) Evaluate and recommend best practices for sharing the assessment with families, legal professionals, and the judicial branch; (VI) Evaluate and recommend best practices for training on the assessment; and (VII) Examine the assessment for domestic violence or intimate partner violence and recommend best practices. (c) In conducting an audit of the Colorado family safety assessment, the third party, at a minimum, shall: (I) Examine the issues set forth in subsections (2)(b)(I) to (2)(b)(VII) of this section; (II) Study the inter-rater reliability of the Colorado family safety assessment; and (III) Study the required documentation for the planning and removal of the child from the child's primary caregiver. (3) On or before March 1, 2026, the office of the child protection ombudsman shall submit the report described in subsection (2)(a)(II) of this section to the house of representatives health and human services committee and the senate health and human services committee, or their successor committees, the speaker of the house of representatives, the minority leader of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the minority leader of the senate.

C.R.S. § 26-5-119 Equity, diversity, and inclusion in child welfare system - data collection - assessment - resource and training expansion - reporting - definitions

26-5-119. Equity, diversity, and inclusion in child welfare system - data collection - assessment - resource and training expansion - reporting - definitions. (1) To promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in the child welfare system; expand access to culturally and linguistically appropriate service providers; and enhance equity training for child welfare staff and entities, the state department shall, as soon as practicable but no later than June 30, 2025, and each June 30 thereafter, work with county departments and other child welfare stakeholders, including stakeholders directly impacted by or involved in the child welfare system, to update the existing annual departmental equity, diversity, and inclusion report that is available on the state department's website. Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the state department shall submit the report to the senate health and human services committee and house health and human services committee, or their successor committees, beginning September 2025 and each subsequent year. Updates must: (a) Use aggregated and de-identified data from the statewide comprehensive child welfare case management system, as well as other state and national child welfare clearinghouses, as appropriate. The updated report must include, at a minimum, an analysis of the disproportionalities and disparities impacting different demographic groups of children and youth and their families at key decision points in the child welfare system. The demographic data analyzed pursuant to this subsection (1)(a) must include, if available, but is not limited to: (I) Race; (II) Ethnicity; (III) Language; (IV) Gender expression; (V) Disability status; (VI) Sexual orientation; (VII) National origin; and (VIII) Income; (b) Identify additional necessary demographic or other data about children, families, and people working in the child welfare system that is not currently collected in the statewide comprehensive child welfare case management system, the child welfare worker training system, or other components and data systems of the child welfare system, and, in collaboration with counties, determine internal or external processes and make recommendations for improving data collection and reporting statewide; (c) Provide, in collaboration with counties, an updated report on the state's progress in addressing data collection and data entry challenges in the statewide comprehensive child welfare case management system to ensure accurate reporting of demographic data; and (d) Provide, in collaboration with counties, an updated report on the state's progress in training child welfare staff on: (I) Protocols for requesting demographic information from children and youth and their families; (II) Improvements to the statewide comprehensive child welfare case management system for accurate reporting of client responses consistent with national best practices for data collection of demographic information; and (III) Improvements to practices for families to self-report demographic information to counties; (e) In partnership with the office of the child protection ombudsman, created in section 19-3.3-102, report on any efforts to implement the recommendations from the mandatory reporter task force final report, pursuant to section 19-3-304.2 (10), on training mandatory reporters how to decrease the disproportionate impacts and disparities that impact the child welfare system; and ation to counties; (e) In partnership with the office of the child protection ombudsman, created in section 19-3.3-102, report on any efforts to implement the recommendations from the mandatory reporter task force final report, pursuant to section 19-3-304.2 (10), on training mandatory reporters how to decrease the disproportionate impacts and disparities that impact the child welfare system; and (f) Report on the state's progress in training the child welfare workforce in reducing bias and in promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion, and on progress in the training's alignment with current research and best practices in promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion pursuant to subsection (2) of this section. (2) (a) The state department shall strengthen equity, diversity, and inclusion training for child welfare staff to ensure all children and families are equitably served by the child welfare system. Equity, diversity, and inclusion training must be provided as a component of the required annual child welfare work training for child welfare workers, and equity, diversity, and inclusion training must be included with the training with the child welfare training academy for new child welfare staff established in section 26-5-109. (b) County and state child welfare workers, supervisors, and directors shall participate in the training provided pursuant to this subsection (2) to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion. Qualified trainers with experience in promoting and teaching principles and strategies of equity, diversity, and inclusion in child welfare must provide the training. Training topics may include, but are not limited to: (I) The historical inequities in Colorado's child welfare and education systems; (II) Implicit and explicit bias; (III) Reading data addressing disproportionalities; (IV) Addressing disproportionalities in child welfare systems; (V) Identifying and defeating bias; (VI) Effective communication on racial and ethnic identity with families to collect data and provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services; and (VII) How to positively engage families in decision-making to better support families of varying backgrounds. (c) The training must be evaluated for its impact and outcomes, including, but not limited to, the training's impact in reducing bias among participants, improving positive family engagement, and increasing family engagement in decision-making. (d) The state department shall consider providing equity, diversity, and inclusion training to other entities and agencies involved in child welfare matters to ensure proficiency in addressing disparities and disproportionality in the state's child welfare system. (3) Any changes to the child welfare allocations funding model established in section 26-5-103.7 must consider resources to improve equitable outcomes. (4) For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Disparity" means a situation in which inequitable outcomes are experienced by one racial, ethnic, or other demographic group as compared to another racial, ethnic, or other demographic group at the same decision-making point in time. (b) "Disproportionality" means a situation in which the proportion of one group in the child welfare population is either proportionately overrepresented or underrepresented when compared to the general population. (c) "Equity" means a point when all people achieve equal outcomes, are treated fairly and justly, and when demographic factors do not determine or influence child welfare outcomes. (d) "Key decision points" include, but are not limited to, a child's or youth's referral, assessment, founded report, entry into foster care, time during foster care, and exit from foster care.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-26.docxFetched: 10/6/2026