Colorado Code § 19-3-406

Relatives or kin as providers of emergency, nonemergency, or continued placement for children or youth - initial criminal history record check - fingerprint-based criminal history record check - criteria for disqualification - use of criminal justice records - rules - definitions
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(1) (a) (I) Any time a child or youth is taken into temporary custody by a
law enforcement officer and any time the court places temporary custody of a child or youth
with a county department, or the county department has the legal authority for placement
pursuant to this part 4, and a relative or kin, as defined in section 19-1-103, is identified as a
potential emergency placement for the child or youth, the county department or a local law
enforcement agency shall immediately conduct an initial criminal history record check of the
relative or kin and any adult who resides at the home prior to the county department or the law
enforcement officer placing the child or youth in the emergency placement.
(II) A county department may perform initial criminal history record checks through its
staff or may collaborate with local law enforcement agencies to perform the initial criminal
history record checks. When a county department has temporary custody of a child or youth
pursuant to this part 4 and contacts the local law enforcement agency for an initial criminal
history record check of the relative or kin and any adult who resides at the home pursuant to this
section, the local law enforcement agency shall immediately provide the county department with
a verbal response regarding the relative's or kin's and any adult who resides at the home's
criminal history and shall not provide the county department with documentation of the relative's
or kin's and any adult who resides at the home's criminal history, consistent with Public Law 92-
544, and its regulations promulgated, as amended.
(b) The child or youth may not be placed with the relative or kin if the initial criminal
history record check conducted pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section reflects a criminal
history, as described in subsection (5) of this section.
(c) The child or youth may be placed with the relative or kin if the initial criminal
history record check does not reflect a criminal history, as described in subsection (5) of this
section. After placement, the relative or kin and any adult who resides at the home who are not
disqualified based upon the results of the initial criminal history record check conducted
pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section shall complete a fingerprint-based criminal history
record check as described in subsection (2) of this section.
(2) (a) A relative or kin and any adult who resides at the home who are not disqualified
as an emergency placement for a child or youth pursuant to subsection (1)(c) of this section and
who are authorized for placement of a child or youth on an emergency basis pursuant to this part
4 shall submit a complete set of fingerprints to the county department or through another
designated third party approved by the Colorado bureau of investigation no later than seven
calendar days after the child or youth is placed in the relative's or kin's home or no later than
fourteen calendar days when exigent circumstances exist. The county department or Colorado
bureau of investigation-approved designated third party shall forward the complete set of
fingerprints to the Colorado bureau of investigation to perform the fingerprint-based criminal
history record check pursuant to subsection (4) of this section.
(b) If the relative or kin or any adult who resides at the home fails to submit a complete
set of fingerprints, the county department shall notify the parties to the case. Within seventy-two
hours of notification, any party wanting the child or youth to remain in that placement shall file a
motion with the court regarding placement of the child or youth. The county department or a law
enforcement officer, as appropriate, shall remove the child or youth from the physical custody of
the relative or kin if no party, with proper notification, has filed a motion to maintain the child or
youth in the placement within seventy-two hours. The county department shall confirm within
fourteen calendar days after the child or youth has been placed with the relative or kin that the
relative or kin and any adult who resides at the home submitted a complete set of fingerprints
within the time period specified by this subsection (2).
(3) A county department shall initiate or request that a local law enforcement agency
initiate a fingerprint-based criminal history record check of the relatives or kin and any adult
who resides at the home prior to placing a child or youth with a relative or kin on a non-
emergency basis, when the child or youth is placed on a non-court-involved basis, when the
county department has temporary legal custody, or when the county has the legal authority for
placement of a child or youth.
(4) (a) A fingerprint-based criminal history record check, as described in subsection (2)
of this section, must be completed by local law enforcement, the county department, or another
designated third party approved by the Colorado bureau of investigation. The county department
shall conduct all of the other required background checks described in this section. If an
approved third party takes the fingerprints, the fingerprints may be electronically captured using
Colorado bureau of investigation-approved livescan equipment. Third-party vendors shall not
keep the information for more than thirty days, unless requested to do so by the relative or kin
and any adult who resides at the home.
(b) When a relative or kin and any adult who resides at the home submit a complete set
of fingerprints to the county department, the county department shall immediately forward the
fingerprints to the Colorado bureau of investigation for the purpose of obtaining a fingerprint-
based criminal history record check. Upon receipt of fingerprints and payment for the costs, the
Colorado bureau of investigation shall conduct a state and national fingerprint-based criminal
history record check utilizing records of the Colorado bureau of investigation and the federal
bureau of investigation. The Colorado bureau of investigation shall immediately forward the
results of the state and national fingerprint-based criminal history record checks conducted
pursuant to this section to the county department or local law enforcement agency authorized to
receive the information. If the fingerprint-based criminal history record check indicates that the
relative or kin and any adult who resides at the home have a criminal history described in
subsection (5) of this section, the county department or the local law enforcement officer,
whichever is appropriate, shall remove the child or youth from the placement, unless there is a
motion regarding placement pending before the court, or if no party, with proper notification, has
filed a motion to maintain the child or youth in the placement within seventy-two hours, and
shall not place a child or youth in the home where a person with the criminal conviction resides
without a court order affirming placement of the child or youth in the home or pursuant to state
board rules. The court may order the reports of fingerprint-based criminal history record checks
from the Colorado bureau of investigation or from the federal bureau of investigation that were
relied upon by the county to evaluate the placement to be released by the county department
after providing an opportunity for the individual whose results would be released to object or
request appropriate protections or redactions.
(5) A county department or a local law enforcement agency shall not place or continue
the placement of a child or youth in a home where a person has a criminal history of one or more
of the following convictions, as "conviction" is defined in subsection (12) of this section:
(a) Felony child abuse, as described in section 18-6-401;
(b) Murder in the first degree, as described in section 18-3-102; murder in the second
degree, as described in section 18-3-103; manslaughter, as described in section 18-3-104;
criminally negligent homicide, as described in section 18-3-105; and vehicular homicide, as
described in section 18-3-106;
(c) Kidnapping in the first or second degree, as described in sections 18-3-301 and 18-3-
302; or felony false imprisonment, as described in section 18-3-303;
(d) A felony crime of violence enhancer, as defined in section 18-1.3-406 (2)(a)(I),
excluding the conviction of escape;
(e) An offense involving unlawful sexual behavior, as defined in section 16-22-102 (9),
including sexual exploitation of a child, human trafficking for sexual servitude, and human
trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude;
(f) A felony, the underlying factual basis of which has been found by the court to include
an act of domestic violence, as defined in section 18-6-800.3, within the preceding five years;
(g) A felony involving physical assault, as described in section 18-3-202 or 18-3-203,
within the preceding five years;
(h) A felony drug-related offense within the preceding three years. If the relative or kin
has a felony drug-related conviction less than five years prior, any kinship or guardianship
assistance payments on behalf of the child or youth must not be made with federal money
provided pursuant to Title IV-E of the federal "Social Security Act", as amended.
(i) A pattern of misdemeanor convictions related to domestic violence, as defined by rule
of the state board, within the preceding five years; or
(j) An offense in any other state, the elements of which are substantially similar to the
elements of any one of the offenses described in subsections (5)(a) to (5)(i) of this section.
(6) If a relative or kin was not disqualified as a placement based upon the initial criminal
history record check or the fingerprint-based criminal history record checks of any adult who
resides at the home, the county department shall perform the following additional background
checks of the relative or kin and any adult who resides at the home prior to placement:
(a) A check of the Colorado courts data access system to determine the status or
disposition of any criminal charges;
(b) A check of the state department's child welfare information system and the
equivalent registries and databases in other states if the individual has resided in another state in
the prior five years, as prescribed by rule, for information to inform decisions about placement to
determine if the relative or kin and any adult who resides at the home have been identified as
having a finding of child abuse or neglect; and
(c) A check against the state's sex offender registry and against the national sex offender
public registry operated by the United States department of justice that checks names and
addresses against the known names and addresses in the registries and the interactive database
system for Colorado and the equivalent registries and databases in other states if the individual
has resided in another state in the prior five years, as prescribed in rule, to determine if a relative
or kin or any adult who resides in the home is a registered sex offender.
(7) A county department shall not leave a child or youth in placement or place a child or
youth with a relative or kin if the relative or kin or any adult who resides in the home:
(a) Has been convicted of any of the crimes listed in subsection (5) of this section; or
(b) Has been identified as having a child abuse or neglect-founded finding through a
check of the child welfare information system within the preceding five years and that finding
has been determined to present an unsafe placement for the child or youth, unless there is an
appeal pending for the founded finding; or
(c) Is a registered sex offender in the sex offender registry created pursuant to section
16-22-110, or is a registered sex offender as determined by a check of the national sex offender
registry operated by the United States department of justice.
(8) A county department may make a placement with or allow continued placement with
a relative or kin who would otherwise be disqualified pursuant to subsection (7) of this section if
such placement occurs according to the rules promulgated by the state board or if there is a court
order affirming placement of the child or youth with the relative or kin. When another child or
youth subsequently needs placement in the same home, the county department may place that
child or youth with a relative or kin who would otherwise be disqualified pursuant to subsection
(7) of this section based on the previous determination with regard to the background check. The
relative or kin shall still comply with the requirements of subsection (2) of this section, and the
county department or the court shall affirm placement of the subsequent child or youth.
(9) The state board shall promulgate rules related to background checks of relatives or
kin and placement of children or youth with relatives or kin, consistent with the provisions
contained in part 3 of article 72 of title 24.
(10) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if the county department
verifies and documents that all of the criminal history record checks and other background
checks described in this section have been completed in the preceding three months for a relative
or kin and any adult who resides in the home, the county department does not need to repeat the
fingerprint-based criminal history record check of that relative or kin and any adult who resides
in the home; except that the county department shall repeat the other background checks
described in this section and contact local law enforcement to determine if there were any new
charges for offenses filed against that relative or kin and any adult who resides in the home
during the preceding three months since the last fingerprint-based criminal history record check.
(11) (a) The Colorado bureau of investigation shall flag the fingerprints of and notify the
applicable county department of any new arrests of an individual whose fingerprints the county
department submits to a local law enforcement agency that the county department also intends to
be subsequently used for foster care certification.
(b) The county department shall notify the Colorado bureau of investigation within five
calendar days after submitting the request for a fingerprint-based criminal history record check
when the county department intends to accept an application for foster care certification from
that person so that the flagging and automatic notification to the county department of new
arrests pursuant to subsection (11)(a) of this section occurs for that person and continues through
the duration of the individual's foster care certification. The county department shall use the
same fingerprints received pursuant to this subsection (11) and any updated fingerprint-based
criminal history record check results from the automatic notification as a substitute for meeting
the fingerprint requirements for a person who is applying for foster care certification pursuant to
section 26-6-910.
(12) For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Conviction" means a conviction by a jury or court and includes a deferred judgment
and sentence agreement, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere determined through the records of
the Colorado bureau of investigation or the federal bureau of investigation and the Colorado
courts data access system in the state judicial department. "Conviction" does not include a
diversion or deferral or plea for a person who participated in and successfully completed the
child abuse and child neglect diversion program established pursuant to section 19-3-310. A
conviction does not include juvenile deferred judgment or adjudication agreements,
adjudications, diversion, deferral, or plea agreements. The convictions identified in this
subsection (12)(a) and subsection (5) of this section must be determined according to the records
of the Colorado bureau of investigation or the federal bureau of investigation and the Colorado
courts data access system in the state judicial department. A screening request in Colorado must
be made pursuant to section 19-1-307 (2)(k), rules promulgated by the state board pursuant to
section 19-3-313.5, and 42 U.S.C. sec. 671 (a)(2). A certified copy of the judgment of a court of
competent jurisdiction of the conviction or a deferred adjudication agreement is prima facie
evidence of a conviction or agreement.
(b) "Initial criminal history record check" means a Colorado crime information center or
national crime information center check.

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