(1) (a) A person specified in subsection (1)(b) of this section who observes the mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult or who has reasonable cause to believe that an at-risk adult has been mistreated or is self-neglecting or is at imminent risk of mistreatment or self-neglect is urged to report such fact to a county department not more than twenty-four hours after making the observation or discovery.
(a.5) As required by section 18-6.5-108, C.R.S., certain persons specified in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1) who observe the mistreatment, as defined in section 18-6.5-102 (10.5), C.R.S., of an at-risk elder, as defined in section 18-6.5-102 (3), C.R.S., or an at-risk adult with IDD, as defined in section 18-6.5-102 (2.5), C.R.S., or who have reasonable cause to believe that an at-risk elder or an at-risk adult with IDD has been mistreated or is at imminent risk of mistreatment shall report such fact to a law enforcement agency not more than twenty-four hours after making the observation or discovery.
(b) The following persons, whether paid or unpaid, are urged to report as described in subsection (1)(a) of this section:
Any person providing health care or health-care-related services including generalmedical, surgical, or nursing services; medical, surgical, or nursing speciality services; dental services; vision services; pharmacy services; chiropractic services; or physical, occupational, musical, or other therapies;
Hospital and long-term care facility personnel engaged in the admission, care, ortreatment of patients;
First responders, including emergency medical service providers, fire protection personnel, law enforcement officers, and persons employed by, contracting with, or volunteering with any law enforcement agency, including victim advocates;
Code enforcement officers;
Medical examiners and coroners;
Veterinarians;
Psychologists, addiction counselors, professional counselors, marriage and familytherapists, and unlicensed psychotherapists, as those persons are defined in article 245 of title 12;
Social workers, as defined in part 4 of article 245 of title 12;
Staff of community-centered boards;
Staff, consultants, or independent contractors of service agencies, as defined in section 25.5-10-202 (34), C.R.S.;
Staff or consultants for a licensed or unlicensed, certified or uncertified, care facility, agency, home, or governing board, including but not limited to long-term care facilities, home care agencies, or home health providers;
Caretakers, staff members, employees of, or consultants for, a home care placement agency, as defined in section 25-27.5-102 (5), C.R.S.;
Persons performing case management or assistant services for at-risk adults;
Staff of county departments of human or social services;
Staff of the state departments of human services, public health and environment, orhealth care policy and financing;
Staff of senior congregate centers or senior research or outreach organizations;
Staff, and staff of contracted providers, of area agencies on aging, except thelong-term care ombudsmen;
Employees, contractors, and volunteers operating specialized transportation services for at-risk adults;
Landlords and staff of housing and housing authority agencies for at-risk adults;
Court-appointed guardians and conservators;
Personnel at schools serving persons in preschool through twelfth grade;
Clergy members; except that the reporting requirement described in paragraph(a) of this subsection (1) does not apply to a person who acquires reasonable cause to believe that an at-risk adult has been mistreated or has been exploited or is at imminent risk of mistreatment or exploitation during a communication about which the person may not be examined as a witness pursuant to section 13-90-107 (1)(c), C.R.S., unless the person also acquires such reasonable cause from a source other than such a communication; and
Persons working in financial services industries, including banks, savings andloan associations, credit unions, and other lending or financial institutions; accountants; mortgage brokers; life insurance agents; and financial planners.
(c) In addition to those persons urged by this subsection (1) to report known or suspected mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult and circumstances or conditions that might reasonably result in mistreatment or self-neglect, any other person may report such known or suspected mistreatment or self-neglect and circumstances or conditions that might reasonably result in mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult to the local law enforcement agency or the county department. Upon receipt of such report, the receiving agency shall prepare a written report within twenty-four hours.
(2) Pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the report must include:
The name and address of the at-risk adult;
The name and address of the at-risk adult's caretaker, if any;
The age, if known, of the at-risk adult;
The nature and extent of the at-risk adult's injury, if any;
The nature and extent of the condition that will reasonably result in mistreatment orself-neglect; and
Any other pertinent information.
A copy of the written report prepared by the county department in accordance withsubsections (1) and (2) of this section that includes an allegation of mistreatment must be forwarded within twenty-four hours after receipt of the report to a local law enforcement agency. A written report prepared by a local law enforcement agency must be forwarded within one business day of the receipt of the report to the county department.
A person, including a person specified in subsection (1) of this section, shall notknowingly make a false report of mistreatment or self-neglect to a county department or local law enforcement agency. Any person who willfully violates the provisions of this subsection (4) commits a class 3 misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-501, C.R.S., and shall be liable for damages proximately caused thereby.
Any person, except a perpetrator, complicitor, or coconspirator, who makes a reportpursuant to this section shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability on account of such report, testimony, or participation in making such report, so long as such action was taken in good faith and not in reckless disregard of the truth or in violation of subsection (4) of this section.
A person shall not take any discriminatory, disciplinary, or retaliatory action againstany person who, in good faith, makes a report or fails to make a report of suspected mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (7)(b) of this section, reports of the mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult, including the name and address of any at-risk adult, member of said adult's family, or informant, or any other identifying information contained in such reports and subsequent cases resulting from the reports, is confidential and is not public information.
(b) Disclosure of a report of the mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult and information relating to an investigation of such a report and subsequent cases resulting from the report is permitted only when authorized by a court for good cause. A court order is not required, and such disclosure is not prohibited when:
A criminal investigation into an allegation of mistreatment is being conducted, whena review of death by a coroner is being conducted when the death is suspected to be related to mistreatment, or when a criminal complaint, information, or indictment is filed and the report and case information is relevant to the investigation, death review, complaint, or indictment;
There is a death of a suspected at-risk adult from mistreatment or self-neglect and alaw enforcement agency files a formal charge or a grand jury issues an indictment in connection with the death;
The disclosure is necessary for the coordination of multiple agencies' joint investigation of a report or for the provision of protective services to an at-risk adult;
The disclosure is necessary for purposes of an audit of a county department ofhuman or social services pursuant to section 26-1-114.5;
The disclosure is made for purposes of the appeals process relating to a substantiatedcase of mistreatment of an at-risk adult pursuant to section 26-3.1-108 (2). The provisions of this subsection (7)(b)(V) are in addition to and not in lieu of other federal and state laws concerning protected or confidential information.
The disclosure is made by the state department to an employer, or to a person orentity conducting employee screening on behalf of the employer, as part of a CAPS check pursuant to section 26-3.1-111 or by a county department pursuant to section 26-3.1-107.
The disclosure is made to the at-risk adult who is the subject of the report, or if theat-risk adult is otherwise incompetent at the time of the request, to the guardian or guardian ad litem for the at-risk adult who is the subject of the report. The information disclosed pursuant to this subsection (7)(b)(VII) must not be disclosed until after the investigation is complete and must not include any identifying information related to the reporting party or any other appropriate persons. If the guardian is the substantiated perpetrator in a case of mistreatment of an at-risk adult, the disclosure must not be made without authorization by the court for good cause. If the court authorizes the release of information to a substantiated perpetrator, any protected or confidential information pursuant to federal or state law must not be disclosed.
The disclosure is made to a county department that assesses or provides protectiveservices for children, when the information is necessary to adequately assess for safety and risk or to provide protective services for a child. The information disclosed pursuant to this subsection (7)(b)(VIII) is limited to information regarding prior or current referrals, assessments, investigations, or case information related to an at-risk adult or an alleged perpetrator. A county department that assesses or provides protective services for at-risk adults is similarly permitted to access information from a county department that assesses or provides protective services for children pursuant to section 19-1-307 (2)(x). The provisions of this subsection (7)(b)(VIII) are in addition to and not in lieu of other federal and state laws concerning protected or confidential information.
The disclosure is made to an employer required to request a CAPS check pursuantto section 26-3.1-111 or to the state department agency that oversees the employer when the information is necessary to ensure the safety of other at-risk adults under the care of the employer. The information must be the minimum information necessary to ensure the safety of other at-risk adults under the care of the employer or oversight of the state department agency.
(c) Any person who violates any provision of this subsection (7) is guilty of a class 2 petty offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars.
Source: L. 91: Entire article R&RE, p. 1774, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2004: (4) amended, p. 275, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2012: Entire part amended, (SB 12-078), ch. 226, p. 994, § 1, effective May 29. L. 2013: (1)(a) and (1)(b) amended and (1)(a.5) added, (SB 13-111), ch. 233, p. 1123, § 6, effective May 16. L. 2014: (3) amended, (SB 14-098), ch. 103, p. 387, § 3, effective April 7. L. 2015: (7)(b)(II) and (7)(b)(III) amended and (7)(b)(IV) added, (HB 151370), ch. 324, p. 1326, § 5, effective June 5; (1)(a.5) amended, (SB 15-109), ch. 278, p. 1142, § 4, effective July 1, 2016. L. 2016: (1)(a), (1)(a.5), (1)(b), (1)(c), IP(2), (2)(e), (4), (6), (7)(a), IP(7)(b), and (7)(b)(II) amended, (HB 16-1394), ch. 172, p. 557, § 10, effective July 1. L. 2017:
(7)(b) amended, (HB 17-1284), ch. 272, p. 1496, § 2, effective May 31. L. 2019: (7)(b)(III) and (7)(b)(V) amended and (7)(b)(VII) and (7)(b)(VIII) added, (HB 19-1063), ch. 46, p. 156, § 2, effective August 2; (7)(b)(VII) amended, (HB 19-1307), ch. 393, p. 3503, § 1, effective August 2; IP(1)(b), (1)(b)(VII), and (1)(b)(VIII) amended, (HB 19-1172), ch. 136, p. 1712, effective October 1. L. 2020: (1)(b)(VII) amended, (HB 20-1206), ch. 304, p. 1551, § 67, effective July
14; (1)(a), (1)(c), (3), (7)(a), IP(7)(b), and (7)(b)(I) amended and (7)(b)(IX) added, (HB 201302), ch. 265, p. 1269, § 2, effective September 14.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 26-3.1-104 as it existed prior to 1991.
Cross references: (1) For the legislative declaration in the 2013 act amending subsections (1)(a) and (1)(b) and adding subsection (1)(a.5), see section 1 of chapter 233, Session Laws of Colorado 2013.
(2) For the legislative declaration in HB 15-1370, see section 1 of chapter 324, Session Laws of Colorado 2015.