2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 26.5 - EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS AND SERVICES (§§ 26.5-1-101 — 26.5-6-103) › Article 4 - CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION (§§ 26.5-4-101 — 26.5-4-403) › Part 1 - COLORADO CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (§§ 26.5-4-101 — 26.5-4-121) › Section 26.5-4-116 - Recovery from recipient - estate

(1)
If, at any time during the continuance of child care assistance, the recipient becomes possessed of property having a value in excess of that amount set pursuant to the provisions of section
26.5-4-106 (4)
and department rules or receives any increase in income, the recipient shall notify the county department of the possession of the property or receipt of the income, and the county department may either terminate the child care assistance or alter the amount of child care assistance in accordance with the circumstances and department rules. To the extent not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, if the recipient is found to have committed an intentional program violation, the recipient is disqualified from participation in CCCAP for twelve months for the first incident, twenty-four months for a second incident, and permanently for a third or subsequent incident. This disqualification is mandatory and is in addition to any other penalty imposed by law. Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, any previously provided excess child care assistance to which the recipient was not entitled is recoverable by the county as a debt due to the state and the county in proportion to the amount of child care assistance paid by each respectively; except that interest is charged and paid to the county department on any sum fraudulently obtained, calculated at the legal rate and calculated from the date the sum was paid to a provider on behalf of the recipient to the date the sum is recovered. If the debt for fraudulently obtained child care assistance, fraudulently obtained overpayments of child care assistance, or excess child care assistance paid for which the recipient was ineligible has been reduced to a judgment in a court of record in this state, the county department may seek a continuing garnishment to collect the debt under article
54.5
of title
13
.
(2)
If, upon the death or mental incompetency of any recipient, the inventory of the recipient's estate shows assets in excess of the amount that the recipient was allowed to have in order to receive child care assistance, or if it be shown that the recipient was otherwise ineligible for child care assistance, then the claim of the county and state for the excess child care assistance paid for which the recipient was ineligible, if filed as required by section
15-12-804
, has priority as a debt given preference under section
15-12-805 (1)
(f.7).
(3)
When a recipient was ineligible for child care assistance solely because of property in excess of that permitted by department rules pursuant to section
26.5-4-106 (4)
, the amount for which the recipient is liable is the amount by which the property exceeded the amount allowable under said rules or the total amount of child care assistance received, whichever is the lesser amount. Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, actions for the recovery of these sums must be prosecuted by the county department or the department in a court of record that has jurisdiction.
(4)
The department and a county department may elect not to attempt recovery of an overpayment of child care assistance from an individual who is no longer receiving public assistance or child care assistance if the overpayment amount is less than thirty-five dollars. If the overpayment amount owed by an individual who is no longer receiving public assistance or child care assistance is thirty-five dollars or more, the department and the county department may determine, consistent with the six-year time limitation for the execution on judgments involving state debt, that it is no longer cost-effective to continue to pursue recovery of the overpayment.
Added by 2022 Ch. 123, §3, eff. 7/1/2022.