2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 19 - CHILDREN'S CODE (§§ 19-1-101 — 19-7-315) › Article 5 - RELINQUISHMENT AND ADOPTION (§§ 19-5-100.2 — 19-5-403) › Part 3 - ACCESS TO ADOPTION INFORMATION (§§ 19-5-301 — 19-5-307) › Section 19-5-304 - Confidential intermediaries - confidential intermediary services

(1)
(a)
Any person who has completed a confidential intermediary training program that meets the standards set forth by the commission shall be responsible for notifying the commission that his or her name should be included on the list of confidential intermediaries to be maintained by the commission and made available to the judicial department. The commission shall adopt rules to determine when and under what conditions the name of a confidential intermediary shall be removed from the list available to the judicial department.
(b)
Once a person is included on the list of confidential intermediaries, he or she shall be:
(I)
Authorized to inspect confidential relinquishment and adoption records, post-adoption records, and dependency and neglect records, including but not limited to court files, within forty-five days after a motion to the court is filed by the following persons:
(A)
An adult adoptee;
(B)
An adoptive parent, custodial grandparent, or legal guardian of a minor adoptee;
(C)
A biological parent or an adult biological sibling or half-sibling of an adult adoptee;
(D)
An adult descendant of the adoptee or the adoptive parent, spouse of an adoptee, adult stepchild, or adopted adult sibling of an adoptee with the notarized written consent of the adult adoptee;
(E)
A biological grandparent of an adoptee with the notarized written consent of the biological parent. No written consent is required if the biological parent is deceased.
(F)
The legal representative of any of the individuals listed in sub-subparagraphs (A) to (E) of this subparagraph (I);
(G)
A former foster child who may or may not have been adopted, who is eighteen years of age or older, and who is searching for a birth sibling who is also eighteen years of age or older, who may or may not have been adopted, and who may or may not have been in the foster care system;
(II)
Available, subject to time constraints, for appointment by the court to act as a confidential intermediary for any of the parties listed in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (b).
(2)
(a)
Any of the parties listed in subparagraph (I) of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section, any of whom are eighteen years of age or older, may file a motion, with supporting affidavit, in the court where the adoption took place, to appoint one or more confidential intermediaries for the purpose of determining the whereabouts of such individual's unknown relative or relatives; except that no one shall seek to determine the whereabouts of a relative who is younger than eighteen years of age. The court may rule on said motion and affidavit without hearing and may appoint a trained confidential intermediary.
(b)
The court-appointed confidential intermediary shall make a diligent search of the adoption records and post-adoption records in an effort to find the sought-after relative. If the confidential intermediary successfully locates the relative sought, the confidential intermediary shall provide that relative with the opportunity to:
(I)
Consent to or to refuse to allow contact by the person seeking contact;
(II)
Fill out a contact preference form and updated medical history statement as prescribed in section
19-5-305
(1.5);
(III)
Repealed.
(2.5)
For purposes of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section, "legal guardian" shall not include a governmental entity of any foreign country from which a child has been adopted or any representative of such governmental entity.
(3)
Any information obtained by the confidential intermediary during the course of his or her investigation shall be kept strictly confidential and shall be utilized only for the purpose of arranging a contact between the individual who initiated the search and the sought-after biological relative or for the purpose of obtaining consent for the release of adoption records.
(4)
(a)
When a sought-after biological relative is located by a confidential intermediary on behalf of the individual who initiated the search, the confidential intermediary shall obtain consent from both parties that they wish to personally communicate with one another.
(b)
Contact shall be made between the parties involved in the investigation only when consent for such contact has been received by the court.
(c)
If consent for personal communication is not obtained from both parties, all relinquishment and adoption records and any information obtained by any confidential intermediary during the course of his or her investigation shall be returned to the court and shall remain confidential.
(5)
All confidential intermediaries shall inform both the requesting biological relative and the sought-after biological relative of the existence of the voluntary adoption registry set forth in section
25-2-113.5
, C.R.S.
(6)
Any person acting as a confidential intermediary who knowingly fails to comply with the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of this section commits a civil infraction.
Amended by 2022 Ch. 421, § 43, eff. 8/10/2022.
Amended by 2021 Ch. 462, § 392, eff. 3/1/2022.
Amended by 2014 Ch. 260, § 5, eff. 7/1/2014.
L. 89: Entire part added, p. 942, § 1, effective March 27. L. 97: (1) and (2) amended, p. 1166, § 13, effective July 1. L. 99: (1)(b), (2), (3), and (4)(c) amended and (2.5) added, p. 1131, § 3, effective July 1. L. 2000: (1) and (2) amended, p. 1368, § 2, effective July 1. L. 2005: (2) amended, p. 984, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2009: IP(1)(b) and IP(1)(b)(I) amended and (1)(b)(I)(G) added, (SB 09 -079), ch. 214, p. 214, § 1, effective March 25. L. 2014: (2)(b)(III) repealed, (SB 14-051), ch. 1049, p. 1049, § 5, effective July 1. L. 2021: (6) amended, (SB 21-271), ch. 3221, p. 3221, § 392, effective 3/1/2022.
Section 803(2) of chapter 462 (SB 21-271), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that changes to this section apply to offenses committed on or after March 1, 2022.
2022 Ch. 421, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).
2021 Ch. 462, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).