2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 26 - HUMAN SERVICES CODE (§§ 26-1-101 — 26-24-101) › Article 6 - Child Care Centers (§§ 26-6-101 — 26-6-923) › Part 9 - FOSTER CARE, RESIDENTIAL, DAY TREATMENT, AND CHILD PLACEMENT AGENCY LICENSING (§§ 26-6-901 — 26-6-923) › Section 26-6-909 - [Effective 9/1/2024] Standards for facilities and agencies - rules

(1)
The department shall prescribe and publish standards for licensing. The standards must be applicable to child placement agencies and the various types of residential and day treatment child care facilities regulated and licensed by this part 9; except that the department shall prescribe and publish separate standards for the licensing of child placement agencies operating for the purpose of adoptive placement and adoption-related services. The department shall seek the advice and assistance of persons representative of the various types of facilities and agencies in establishing the standards, including the advice and assistance of the department of public safety and councils and associations representing fire marshals and building code officials in the promulgation of any rules related to adequate fire protection and prevention, as allowed in subsection (2)(e) of this section. The standards must be established by rules promulgated by the state board and be issued, published, and become effective only in conformity with article
4
of title
24
.
(2)
Standards prescribed by state board rules pursuant to this section are restricted to:
(a)
The operation and conduct of the facility or agency and the responsibility it assumes for child care;
(b)
The character, suitability, and qualifications of the applicant for a license and of other persons directly responsible for the care and welfare of children served, including whether an affiliate of the licensee has ever been the subject of a negative licensing action;
(c)
The general financial ability and competence of the applicant for a license to provide necessary care for children and to maintain prescribed standards;
(d)
The number of individuals or staff required to ensure adequate supervision and care of children served;
(e)
(I)
The appropriateness, safety, cleanliness, and general adequacy of the premises, including maintenance of adequate fire protection and prevention and health standards in conformance with state laws and municipal ordinances, to provide for the physical comfort, care, well-being, and safety of the children served.
(II)
A facility that provides child care exclusively to school-age children and operates on the property of a school district, district charter school, or institute charter school may satisfy any fire or radon inspection requirement required by law by providing a copy of a satisfactory fire or radon inspection report of the property of a school district, district charter school, or institute charter school where the child care is provided if the fire or radon inspection report was completed within the preceding twelve months. The department shall not require a duplicate fire or radon inspection if a satisfactory fire or radon inspection report of the property was completed within the preceding twelve months.
(f)
Keeping of records for food, clothing, equipment, and individual supplies;
(g)
Provisions to safeguard the legal rights of children served;
(h)
Maintenance of records pertaining to the admission, progress, health, and discharge of children;
(i)
Filing of reports with the department;
(j)
Discipline of children;
(k)
Standards for seclusion of a child in accordance with article
20
of this title 26. Standards for seclusion must include:
(I)
The basis for the use of seclusion in accordance with section
26-20-103
;
(II)
Duration and frequency of the seclusion;
(III)
Facility staff requirements;
(IV)
Criteria for the short-term placement of a child in seclusion;
(V)
Documentation and review of the seclusion;
(VI)
Review and biannual inspection by the department of the seclusion room or area;
(VII)
Physical requirements for the seclusion room or area;
(VIII)
Certification or approval from the department prior to the establishment of the seclusion room or area;
(IX)
A neutral fact finder to determine if the child's situation merits seclusion;
(X)
At a minimum, a fifteen-minute checking and review by staff of a child placed in seclusion;
(XI)
Review by staff of any seclusion subsequent to each period of seclusion;
(XII)
Daily review of the use of the seclusion rooms or areas; and
(XIII)
Revocation or suspension of licensure for failure to comply with the standards set forth in this subsection (2)(k).
(l)
Standards for security in secure residential treatment centers and residential child care facilities provided through the physical environment and staffing. The standards must include, but need not be limited to, the following:
(I)
Locked doors;
(II)
Fencing;
(III)
Staff requirements to ensure security;
(IV)
Inspections;
(V)
Physical requirements for program space and for secure sleeping of the residents in the secure residential treatment center or residential child care facility; and
(VI)
Other security considerations that are necessary to protect the residents of the secure residential treatment center or residential child care facility or the public.
(m)
Standards for the appropriateness, safety, and adequacy of transportation services of children to and from facilities;
(n)
Except as provided in subsection (2)(o) of this section, provisions that ensure that foster care homes and child care centers verify, in accordance with part 9 of article
4
of title
25
, that each child has received appropriate immunizations against contagious diseases as follows:
(I)
Children up to twenty-four months of age are required to be immunized in accordance with the "Infant Immunization Act", part 17 of article
4
of title
25
;
(II)
Children over twenty-four months of age are required to be immunized in accordance with part 9 of article
4
of title
25
;
(o)
Provisions that allow a facility that allows a child to enroll and attend the facility on a short-term basis of up to fifteen days in a fifteen-consecutive-day period, no more than twice in a calendar year, with each fifteen-consecutive-day period separated by at least sixty days, to do so without obtaining verification of immunization for that child, as provided in section
25-4-902
. A facility that chooses to allow children to enroll and attend on a short-term basis pursuant to the provisions of this subsection (2)(o) shall provide notification to all parents that the facility allows children to enroll and attend on a short-term basis without obtaining proof of immunization.
(p)
Standards for adoption agencies that may include, but need not be limited to:
(I)
Specific criteria and minimum credentials, qualifications, training, and education of staff necessary for each of the types of adoption for which an applicant may seek to be licensed, including, but not limited to:
(A)
Traditional adoptions with adopting parents who are unknown;
(B)
Family adoptions, including stepparent and grandparent adoptions;
(C)
Interstate adoptions;
(D)
International adoptions;
(E)
Identified or designated adoptions; and
(F)
Special needs adoptions;
(II)
The continuing education requirements necessary to maintain the adoption agency's license, taking into account the type and specialty of such agency's license;
(III)
The operation and conduct of the agency and the responsibility it assumes in adoption cases;
(IV)
The character, suitability, and qualifications of the applicant for a license and for all direct service staff employed or contracted with by the agency;
(V)
The general financial ability and competence of the applicant for a license, either original or renewal, to provide necessary services for the adoption of children and to maintain prescribed standards;
(VI)
Proper maintenance of records; and
(VII)
Provisions to safeguard the legal rights of children served;
(q)
(I)
Standards for the training of foster care parents, which must include, at a minimum:
(A)
Twenty-seven hours of initial training, consisting of at least twelve hours of training prior to the placement of a child and completion of the remaining training within three months after such placement;
(B)
Twenty hours per year of continuing training;
(C)
In addition to the hours described in subsection (2)(q)(I)(B) of this section, twelve hours per year for foster care parents providing therapeutic foster care;
(D)
Training concerning individualized education programs, as defined in section
22-20-103 (15)
. The departments of human services and education shall ensure coordination between local county departments and local school districts or administrative units to make such training available upon the request of a foster parent.
(E)
The training described in section
19-7-104
.
(II)
The training described in subsection (2)(q)(I) of this section may include, but need not be limited to, in-home training.
(III)
The department shall consult with county departments and child placement agencies in prescribing the training standards in order to ensure a more uniform application throughout the state.
(IV)
The hours of training prior to the placement of a child described in subsection (2)(q)(I)(A) of this section may be completed within four months after the placement if the placement was an emergency placement, as defined by rule of the state board.
(r)
Initial and ongoing training of providers of foster care services in facilities and agencies licensed and certified pursuant to this part 9, including orientation and prelicensing training for child placement agency staff; and
(s)
Standards for the training of providers of cradle care home services that must be substantially similar to the training required of adoptive parents prior to adopting an infant, including ongoing training hours appropriate to the services provided.
(2.5)
Kinship foster care homes are exempt from the minimum standards set forth in this section. Training standards for kinship foster care homes are established pursuant to section 19-7-104 (4).
(3)
If all of the requirements in section
22-1-119.5
and any additional rules of the state board are met, a child enrolled in a residential or day treatment child care facility may possess and self-administer medication for asthma, a food allergy, or anaphylaxis. The state board may adopt additional rules concerning the authority to possess and self-administer medication for asthma, a food allergy, or anaphylaxis.
(4)
An applicant or person licensed to operate a facility or agency under the provisions of this part 9 has the right to appeal any standard that, in the applicant's or person's opinion, creates an undue hardship or when, in the applicant's or person's opinion, a standard has been too stringently applied by representatives of the department. The department shall designate a panel of persons representing various state and local governmental agencies with an interest in and concern for children to hear the appeal and to make recommendations to the department. The membership of the appeals review panel must include, but need not be limited to, a representative from a twenty-four-hour child care facility; a representative from a licensed child placement agency; a representative with child placement experience from a county department; and a representative from at least one other state department, or from the division within the department that is responsible for child welfare, who has education and expertise in trauma-informed care and child welfare. The executive director, or the executive director's designee, shall appoint all members to the appeals review panel. Representatives to the appeals review panel serve terms of no more than three years and may serve successive terms.
(5)
The state board may promulgate rules to regulate the operation of out-of-home placement provider consortia. The regulation shall not include licensing of out-of-home placement provider consortia.
(6)
[Repealed by 2024 Amendment.]
(7)
(a)
A county director, or the county director's designee, may approve, at the county director's discretion, a waiver of non-safety licensing standards for kinship foster care. A waiver may be approved only if:
(I)
It concerns non-safety licensing standards, as set forth by rule of the state board pursuant to subsection (7)(d) of this section;
(II)
The safety and well-being of the child or children receiving care is not compromised; and
(III)
The waiver request is in writing.
(b)
A county director of human or social services, or the county director's designee, may limit or restrict certification issued to a kinship foster care home or require the kinship foster care home to enter into a compliance agreement to ensure the safety and well-being of the child or children in the kinship foster home's care.
(c)
A kinship foster care entity may not appeal a denial of a waiver requested pursuant to subsection (7)(a) of this section.
(d)
The state board shall promulgate rules concerning the waiver of non-safety licensing standards for kinship foster care. The rules must include, but need not be limited to, a listing of non-safety licensing standards that may not be waived and circumstances in which waivers do not apply. The state board shall also define by rule the meaning of "kinship foster care" for the purposes of this subsection (7).
(8)
The executive director has the power to direct the administration or monitoring of medications to persons in facilities pursuant to section
25-1.5-301 (2)(e)
.
Amended by 2024 Ch. 221,§ 6, eff. 8/7/2024.
Amended by 2024 Ch. 289,§ 11, eff. 9/1/2024.
Added by 2022 Ch. 123, § 17, eff. 7/1/2022.
This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.