Colorado Code § 19-5-109

Birth parent access to records related to relinquishment of parental rights
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(1) (a) Except for relinquishments ordered pursuant to section 19-5-105.5 (6.6) or 19-5-
105.7 (9) or when the subsequent termination of the parent-child legal relationship is the result
of a dependency and neglect action, in those cases in which a parent consents to the
relinquishment of his or her child, the custodian of records shall provide to the relinquishing
birth parent to whom the document pertains a copy of the relinquishment records, in the
possession of the custodian of records, that are signed by the relinquishing birth parent or by a
parent, guardian, custodian, or legal representative on behalf of the relinquishing birth parent and
any of the following records listed in this paragraph (a) in which the relinquishing birth parent is
named, including:
(I) The original birth certificate of the child who is being relinquished;
(II) The petition to relinquish;
(III) The final order of relinquishment;
(IV) The affidavit of counseling, excluding any attachments and excluding any notes or
prerelinquishment counseling documents;
(V) The temporary waiver of custody;
(VI) Expedited relinquishment documents, if applicable;
(VII) A relinquishment interrogatory from a birth parent;
(VIII) The order for publication of relinquishment;
(IX) The notice to terminate the parent-child legal relationship; and
(X) The medical records of a birth mother related to the pregnancy and birth, which
records may only be released by the health-care provider, hospital, or maternity home that
created the record.
(b) The custodian of records shall provide the records described in paragraph (a) of this
subsection (1) to the relinquishing birth parent at the time of relinquishment of the child or at the
time the document is created.
(2) If the records described in subsection (1) of this section were not provided to a birth
parent at the time of the relinquishment of the child or at the time the document was created and
if the subsequent termination of the parent-child legal relationship was not the result of a
dependency or neglect action, then upon written request and proof of identification of the birth
parent, the custodian of records shall provide access to and copies of the records described in
subsection (1) of this section to the birth parent. Nothing in this section prevents the release of
the records described in subsection (1) of this section to a birth parent who was a minor at the
time of the relinquishment of a child in circumstances where the record was signed by a parent,
guardian, legal custodian, or legal representative on behalf of the relinquishing birth parent.
(3) A licensed child placement agency is not liable to any person for the failure of a birth
parent to request copies of the records described in subsection (1) of this section pursuant to the
provisions of subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section. A licensed child placement agency
or succeeding custodian of records is not liable to any person for failure to produce a copy of a
record that did not exist pursuant to the provisions of the Colorado Revised Statutes or rules at
the time of the relinquishment of the child.

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