C.R.S. § 13-91-101 Short title
13-91-101. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Office of the Child's Representative Act".
Office of the Child's Representative
C.R.S. tit. 13, art. 91
in effectC.R.S. § 13-91-102 Legislative declaration
13-91-102. Legislative declaration. (1) (a) The general assembly hereby finds that the legal representation of and non-legal advocacy on behalf of children is a critical element in giving children a voice in the Colorado court system. The general assembly further finds that the representation of children is unique in that children often have no resources with which to retain the services of an attorney or advocate, they are unable to efficiently provide or communicate to such an attorney or advocate the information needed to effectively serve the best interests or desires of that child, and they lack the ability and understanding to effectively evaluate and, if necessary, complain about the quality of representation they receive. Accordingly, the general assembly finds that the representation of children necessitates significant expertise as well as a substantial investment in time and fiscal resources. The general assembly finds that, to date, the state has been sporadic, at best, in the provision of qualified services and financial resources to this disadvantaged and voiceless population.
(b) Accordingly, the general assembly hereby determines and declares that it is in the best interests of the children of the state of Colorado, in order to reduce needless expenditures, establish enhanced funding resources, and improve the quality of representation and advocacy provided to children in the Colorado court system, that an office of the child's representative be established in the state judicial department.
(2) It is the intent of the general assembly that an office of the child's representative shall be established pursuant to this article and operational over the course of a two-year period. It is further the intent of the general assembly that a board and a director of the office shall be appointed as specified in section 13-91-104 and that the operational structure of the office shall be established during fiscal year 2000-01. The costs associated with the establishment of the office, including the associated FTE, shall be paid for by a transfer from the state judicial, trial courts, mandated costs line item. In addition, it is the intent of the general assembly that, for fiscal year 2001-02 and fiscal years thereafter, an appropriation shall be made to the office of the child's representative in the state judicial department for the purpose of payment of all financial obligations previously covered by the judicial department, trial courts, mandated costs line item relating to the provision of those legal services to children that are addressed in this article.
C.R.S. § 13-91-103 Definitions
13-91-103. Definitions. As used in this article 91, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Child" means a person under eighteen years of age.
(2) "Contract entity" means a nonprofit entity with which the state judicial department may contract for the coordination and support of CASA activities in the state of Colorado.
(2.5) "Counsel for youth" means an attorney-at-law who provides specialized client-directed legal representation for a child or youth and who owes the same duties, including undivided loyalty, confidentiality, and competent representation, to the child or youth as is due an adult client. Counsel for youth may be appointed by the court to represent a child or youth in a proceeding pursuant to article 1, 3, or 7 of title 19, or may be assigned by the office of the child's representative pursuant to article 7 of title 19. "Counsel for youth" does not mean defense counsel for a juvenile pursuant to article 2.5 of title 19.
(3) "Court-appointed special advocate" or "CASA volunteer" means a trained volunteer appointed by the court pursuant to the provisions of part 2 of article 1 of title 19, section 14-10-116, or title 15 in a judicial district to aid the court by providing independent and objective information, as directed by the court, regarding children and youth involved in actions brought pursuant to section 14-10-116 or title 15 or 19.
(4) "Guardian ad litem" or "GAL" means a person appointed by a court to act in the best interests of a child involved in a proceeding under title 19, C.R.S., or the "School Attendance Law of 1963", set forth in article 33 of title 22, C.R.S., and who, if appointed to represent a child in a dependency or neglect proceeding pursuant to article 3 of title 19, C.R.S., shall be an attorney-at-law licensed to practice in Colorado.
(5) "Local CASA program" means a CASA program established pursuant to part 2 of article 1 of title 19, C.R.S.
(6) "Representative of a child" means an attorney appointed by a court pursuant to section 14-10-116, C.R.S., to represent the best interests of a minor or dependent child.
(7) "Youth" means an individual who is less than twenty-one years of age or such greater age of foster care eligibility as required by federal law.
C.R.S. § 13-91-104 Office of the child's representative - board - qualifications of director
13-91-104. Office of the child's representative - board - qualifications of director. (1) The office of the child's representative is hereby created and established as an agency of the judicial department of state government. It shall be the responsibility of the office of the child's representative to work cooperatively with local judicial districts, attorneys, and any contract entity in order to form a partnership between those entities and persons and the state for the purpose of ensuring the provision of uniform, high-quality legal representation and non-legal advocacy to children involved in judicial proceedings in Colorado.
(2) (a) The Colorado supreme court shall appoint a nine-member child's representative board, referred to in this article as the "board". No more than five members of the board shall be from the same political party. The members of the board shall be representative of each of the congressional districts in the state. Three members of the board shall be attorneys admitted to practice law in this state who have experience in representing children as guardians ad litem or as legal representatives of children. Three members of the board shall be citizens of Colorado not admitted to practice law in this state, who shall have experience at advocating for children in the court system. Three members of the board shall be citizens of the state who are not attorneys and who have not served as CASA volunteers or child and family investigators.
(b) Members of the board shall serve for terms of four years; except that, of the members first appointed, five shall serve for terms of two years. Vacancies on the board shall be filled by the supreme court for the remainder of any unexpired term. In making appointments to the board, the supreme court shall consider place of residence, gender, race, and ethnic background. The supreme court shall establish procedures for the operation of the board.
(c) Members of the board shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for actual and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(d) Any expenses incurred for the board shall be paid from the general operating budget of the office of the child's representative.
(3) The board has the following responsibilities:
(a) (I) To appoint, and discharge for cause, a person to serve as the director of the office of the child's representative, referred to in this section as the "director".
(II) The director shall have been licensed to practice law for at least five years prior to appointment, and either be licensed to practice law in Colorado at the time of appointment or be able to become licensed to practice law in Colorado within six months after appointment, and shall be familiar with the unique demands of representing a child in the court system. The director shall devote the director's full time to the performance of the director's duties and shall not engage in the private practice of law.
(III) The compensation of the director shall be fixed by the general assembly and may not be reduced during the term of the director's appointment.
(b) To fill any vacancy in the directorship for the remainder of the unexpired term;
(c) To work cooperatively with the director to provide governance to the office of the child's representative, to provide fiscal oversight of the general operating budget of the office of the child's representative, to participate in funding decisions relating to the provision of GAL, CASA, and representative of the child services throughout the state, and to assist with the duties of the office of the child's representative concerning GAL and CASA training, as needed.
C.R.S. § 13-91-105 Duties of the office of the child's representative - guardian ad litem and counsel for youth programs
13-91-105. Duties of the office of the child's representative - guardian ad litem and counsel for youth programs. (1) In addition to any responsibilities assigned to it by the chief justice, the office of the child's representative shall:
(a) Enhance the provision of GAL or counsel for youth services in Colorado by:
(I) Ensuring the provision and availability of high-quality, accessible training throughout the state for persons seeking to serve as guardians ad litem or counsel for youth, as well as to judges and magistrates who regularly hear matters involving children and families;
(II) Making recommendations to the chief justice concerning the establishment, by rule or chief justice directive, of the minimum training requirements that an attorney seeking to serve as a guardian ad litem or counsel for youth shall meet;
(III) Making recommendations to the chief justice concerning the establishment, by rule or chief justice directive, of standards to which attorneys serving as guardians ad litem or counsel for youth must be held, including but not limited to minimum practice standards. Minimum practice standards must include:
(A) Incorporation of the federal guidelines for persons serving as guardians ad litem or counsel for youth, as set forth in the federal department of health and human services' "Adoption 2002" guidelines, and incorporation of the guidelines for guardians ad litem or counsel for youth adopted by the Colorado bar association in 1993;
(B) Minimum duties of guardians ad litem or counsel for youth in representing children involved in judicial proceedings;
(C) Minimum responsibilities of guardians ad litem or counsel for youth in representing children involved in judicial proceedings; and
(D) A determination of an appropriate maximum-caseload limitation for persons serving as guardians ad litem or counsel for youth;
(IV) Overseeing the practice of guardians ad litem or counsel for youth to ensure compliance with all relevant statutes, orders, rules, directives, policies, and procedures;
(V) Working cooperatively with local judicial districts, attorneys, and children and youth impacted by the child welfare and justice system to form partnerships for the purposes of ensuring high-quality legal representation for children and youth in Colorado.
(VI) Establishing fair and realistic state rates by which to compensate state-appointed guardians ad litem or counsel for youth that take into consideration the caseload limitations placed on guardians ad litem or counsel for youth and that are sufficient to attract and retain high-quality, experienced attorneys to serve as guardians ad litem or counsel for youth;
(VII) Seeking to enhance existing funding sources for the provision of high-quality guardian ad litem or counsel for youth services in Colorado;
(VIII) Studying the availability of or developing new funding sources for the provision of guardian ad litem or counsel for youth services in Colorado, including but not limited to long-term pooling of funds programs;
(IX) Accepting grants, gifts, donations, and other nongovernmental contributions to be used to fund the work of the office of the child's representative relating to guardians ad litem or counsel for youth. Such grants, gifts, donations, and other nongovernmental contributions must be credited to the guardian ad litem fund, created in section 13-91-106 (1). Money in the fund is subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly for the purposes of this subsection (1)(a) and for the purposes of enhancing the provision of guardian ad litem or counsel for youth services in Colorado.
(X) Effective July 1, 2001, allocating money appropriated to the office of the child's representative in the state judicial department for the provision of GAL or counsel for youth services;
(b) Provide support for the CASA program in Colorado in the manner described in section 19-1-213;
d for the purposes of enhancing the provision of guardian ad litem or counsel for youth services in Colorado.
(X) Effective July 1, 2001, allocating money appropriated to the office of the child's representative in the state judicial department for the provision of GAL or counsel for youth services;
(b) Provide support for the CASA program in Colorado in the manner described in section 19-1-213;
(c) Enhance the provision of services in Colorado by attorneys appointed to serve as legal representatives of children pursuant to section 14-10-116, C.R.S., when the costs of such appointments are borne by the state, by:
(I) Ensuring the provision and availability of high-quality, accessible training throughout the state for attorneys seeking to serve as legal representatives of children, as well as to judges and magistrates who regularly hear domestic matters under article 10 of title 14, C.R.S.;
(II) Making recommendations to the chief justice concerning the establishment, by rule or chief justice directive, of the minimum training requirements that an attorney seeking to serve as a legal representative of a child must meet;
(III) Making recommendations to the chief justice concerning the establishment, by rule or chief justice directive, of standards to which attorneys serving as legal representatives of children must be held;
(IV) Overseeing the practice of legal representatives of children appointed pursuant to section 14-10-116, C.R.S., to ensure compliance with all relevant statutes, orders, rules, directives, policies, and procedures;
(V) Seeking to enhance existing funding sources for and studying the availability of or developing new funding sources for the provision of services by attorneys serving as court-appointed legal representatives of children;
(VI) Effective July 1, 2001, allocating moneys appropriated to the office of the child's representative in the state judicial department for the provision of services by attorneys serving as court-appointed legal representatives of children;
(d) Enforce, as appropriate, the provisions of this section;
(e) Work cooperatively with the judicial districts to establish pilot programs designed to enhance the quality of child representatives at the local level;
(f) Develop measurement instruments designed to assess and document the effectiveness of various models of representation and the outcomes achieved by representatives and advocates for children, including collaborative models with local CASA programs;
(g) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2009, (SB 09-048), ch. 120, p. 500, § 1, effective August 5, 2009.)
(h) Cause a program review and outcome-based evaluation of the performance of the office of the child's representative to be conducted annually to determine whether the office is effectively and efficiently meeting the goals of improving child and family well-being and the duties set forth in this section, the reports for which shall be submitted to the members of the general assembly and the state court administrator's office, together with the reports specified in paragraph (i) of this subsection (1); and
tative to be conducted annually to determine whether the office is effectively and efficiently meeting the goals of improving child and family well-being and the duties set forth in this section, the reports for which shall be submitted to the members of the general assembly and the state court administrator's office, together with the reports specified in paragraph (i) of this subsection (1); and
(i) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), report the activities of the office of the child's representative to the members of the general assembly and to the state court administrator's office, together with the reports specified in paragraph (h) of this subsection (1), on or before September 1, 2001, and on or before September 1 of each year thereafter.
(2) The rate contracted for attorney time pursuant to subsection (1)(a)(VI) of this section for fiscal year 2023-24 is one hundred dollars per hour. The hourly rate must be increased annually by no more than five dollars each year until the hourly rate is at least seventy-five percent of the rate set pursuant to the federal "Criminal Justice Act Revision of 1986", 18 U.S.C. sec. 3006A, as amended, for indigent representation in federal court. The hourly rate may be adjusted in subsequent fiscal years to maintain the hourly rate at or above seventy-five percent of the rate set pursuant to the federal "Criminal Justice Act Revision of 1986", 18 U.S.C. sec. 3006A, as amended, for indigent representation in federal court.
(3) Colorado relies primarily on an independent contractor model of legal representation for children and youth provided in accordance with this section. While the office of the child's representative currently provides legal representation for children and youth in some case types and in one county through state employees and will continue to explore the use of a state employee staff model of legal representation for children and youth where feasible, Colorado's need for legal representation for children and youth cannot be filled or provided statewide solely by employees of the office of the child's representative. The director or the director's designee is authorized to sign a certification for any current or past independent contractor that certifies that the contractor appears to be eligible for federal public service loan forgiveness as allowed by federal law or regulations. With the authorization of an independent contractor who is providing or has provided legal representation on behalf of the office, the director or the director's designee may share information, including the contractor's name, the contractor's social security number or federal employer identification number, and the total number of hours billed by the contractor by calendar year, with other independent judicial agencies for the purpose of certifying apparent past, current, and future eligibility for public service loan forgiveness allowed by federal law or regulations.
C.R.S. § 13-91-106 Guardian ad litem fund - court-appointed special advocate (CASA) fund - created
13-91-106. Guardian ad litem fund - court-appointed special advocate (CASA) fund - created. (1) There is created in the state treasury the guardian ad litem fund, referred to in this subsection (1) as the "fund". The fund consists of general fund money as may be appropriated by the general assembly and any money received pursuant to section 13-91-105 (1)(a)(IX). The money in the fund is subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly to the state judicial department for allocation to the office of the child's representative for the purposes of funding the work of the office of the child's representative relating to the provision of guardian ad litem or counsel for youth services and for the provision of guardian ad litem or counsel for youth services in Colorado. All interest derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund must be credited to the fund. Any money not appropriated remains in the fund and must not be transferred or revert to the general fund of the state at the end of any fiscal year.
(2) Repealed.
C.R.S. § 13-91-107 Repeal of article
13-91-107. Repeal of article. (Repealed)
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-13.docxFetched: 10/6/2026