As used in this article 6, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Affiliate of a licensee" means:
Any person or entity that owns more than five percent of the ownership interest in thebusiness operated by the licensee or the applicant for a license; or
Any person who is directly responsible for the care and welfare of children served; or
Any executive, officer, member of the governing board, or employee of a licensee; or
A relative of a licensee, which relative provides care to children at the licensee'sfacility or is otherwise involved in the management or operations of the licensee's facility.
"Application" means a declaration of intent to obtain or continue a license or certificate for a child care facility or a child placement agency.
"Certificate" means a legal document granting permission to operate a foster carehome or a kinship foster care home.
"Certification" means the process by which the county department of human or socialservices or a child placement agency approves the operation of a foster care home.
"Child care center" means a facility, by whatever name known, that is maintained forthe whole or part of a day for the care of five or more children who are eighteen years of age or younger and who are not related to the owner, operator, or manager thereof, whether the facility is operated with or without compensation for such care and with or without stated educational purposes. The term includes, but is not limited to, facilities commonly known as day care centers, school-age child care centers, before and after school programs, nursery schools, kindergartens, preschools, day camps, summer camps, and centers for developmentally disabled children and those facilities that give twenty-four-hour care for children and includes those facilities for children under the age of six years with stated educational purposes operated in conjunction with a public, private, or parochial college or a private or parochial school; except that the term shall not apply to any kindergarten maintained in connection with a public, private, or parochial elementary school system of at least six grades or operated as a component of a school district's preschool program operated pursuant to article 28 of title 22, C.R.S. The term shall not include any facility licensed as a family child care home, a foster care home, or a specialized group facility that is licensed to provide care for three or more children pursuant to subsection (36) of this section, but that is providing care for three or fewer children who are determined to have a developmental disability by a community centered board or who are diagnosed with a serious emotional disturbance.
"Child care provider", as used in section 26-6-119, means a licensee, or an affiliate ofa licensee, when the licensee holds a license to operate a family child care home pursuant to this part 1.
"Child placement agency" means any corporation, partnership, association, firm, agency, institution, or person unrelated to the child being placed, who places, who facilitates placement for a fee, or who arranges for placement, for care of any child under the age of eighteen years with any family, person, or institution. A child placement agency may place, facilitate placement, or arrange for the placement of a child for the purpose of adoption, treatment, or foster care. The natural parents or guardian of any child who places said child for care with any facility licensed as a "family child care home" or "child care center" as defined by this section shall not be deemed a child placement agency.
(a) "Children's resident camp" means a facility operating for three or more consecutive twenty-four-hour days during one or more seasons of the year for the care of five or more children. The facility shall have as its purpose a group living experience offering education and recreational activities in an outdoor environment. The recreational experiences may occur at the permanent camp premises or on trips off the premises.
(b) A children's resident camp shall serve children who have completed kindergarten or are six years of age or older through children younger than nineteen years of age; except that a person nineteen years of age or twenty years of age may attend a children's resident camp if, within six months prior to attending the children's resident camp, he or she has attended or has graduated from high school.
"Cradle care home" means a facility that is certified by a child placement agency forthe care of a child, or children in the case of multiple-birth siblings, who is twelve months of age or younger, in a place of residence for the purpose of providing twenty-four-hour family care for six months or less in anticipation of a voluntary relinquishment of the child or children pursuant to article 5 of title 19, C.R.S., or while a county prepares an expedited permanency plan for an infant in its custody.
(a) (I) "Day treatment center" means a facility that:
Except as provided in subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (a), provides less thantwenty-four-hour care for groups of five or more children who are three years of age or older, but less than twenty-one years of age; and
Provides a structured program of various types of psycho-social and behavioral treatment to prevent or reduce the need for placement of the child out of the home or community.
(II) Nothing in this subsection (10) prohibits a day treatment center from allowing a person who reaches twenty-one years of age after the commencement of an academic year from attending an educational program at the day treatment center through the end of the semester in which the twenty-first birthday occurs or until the person completes the educational program, whichever comes first.
(b) "Day treatment center" shall not include special education programs operated by a public or private school system or programs that are licensed by other rules of the department for less than twenty-four-hour care of children, such as a child care center.
"Department" or "state department" means the state department of human services.
"Exempt family child care home provider" means a family child care home providerwho is exempt from certain provisions of this part 1 pursuant to section 26-6-103 (1)(i).
"Family child care home" means a facility for child care in a place of residence of afamily or person for the purpose of providing less than twenty-four-hour care for children under the age of eighteen years who are not related to the head of such home. "Family child care home" may include infant-toddler child care homes, large child care homes, experienced provider child care homes, and such other types of family child care homes designated by rules of the state board pursuant to section 26-6-106 (2)(p), as the state board deems necessary and appropriate.
"Foster care home" means a home that is certified by a county department or childplacement agency pursuant to section 26-6-106.3 for child care in a place of residence of a family or person for the purpose of providing twenty-four-hour family foster care for a child under the age of twenty-one years. A foster care home may include foster care for a child who is unrelated to the head of the home or foster care provided through a kinship foster care home but does not include noncertified kinship care, as defined in section 19-1-103 (78.7), C.R.S. The term includes any foster care home receiving a child for regular twenty-four-hour care and any home receiving a child from any state-operated institution for child care or from any child placement agency, as defined in subsection (7) of this section. "Foster care home" also includes those homes licensed by the department of human services pursuant to section 26-6-104 that receive neither moneys from the counties nor children placed by the counties.
(14.5) "Governing body" means the individual, partnership, corporation, or association in which the ultimate authority and legal responsibility is vested for the administration and operation of a child care facility.
"Guardian" means a person who is entrusted by law with the care of a child undereighteen years of age.
"Guest child care facility" means a facility operated by a ski area, as that term isdefined in section 33-44-103 (6), C.R.S., where children are cared for:
While parents or persons in charge of such child are patronizing the ski area;
Fewer than ten total hours per day;
Fewer than ten consecutive days per year; and
Fewer than forty-five days in a calendar year, with thirty or fewer of such forty-fivedays occurring in either the winter or summer months.
"Homeless youth shelter" means a facility that, in addition to other services it mayprovide, provides services and mass temporary shelter for a period of three days or more to youths who are at least eleven years of age, or older, and who otherwise are homeless youth as that term is defined in section 26-5.7-102 (2).
"ICON" means the computerized database of court records known as the integratedColorado online network used by the state judicial department.
"Kin" may be a relative of the child, a person ascribed by the family as having afamily-like relationship with the child, or a person that has a prior significant relationship with the child. These relationships take into account cultural values and continuity of significant relationships with the child.
"Kindergarten" means any facility providing an educational program for childrenonly for the year preceding their entrance to the first grade, whether such facility is called a kindergarten, nursery school, preschool, or any other name.
"Kinship foster care home" means a foster care home that is certified by either acounty department or licensed child placement agency pursuant to section 26-6-106.3 as having met the foster care certification requirements and where the foster care of the child is provided by kin. Kinship foster care providers are eligible for foster care reimbursement. A kinship foster care home provides twenty-four-hour foster care for a child or youth under the age of twenty-one years.
"License" means a legal document issued pursuant to this part 1 granting permissionto operate a child care facility or child placement agency. A license may be in the form of a provisional, probationary, permanent, or time-limited license.
(22.5) "Licensee" means the entity or individual to which a license is issued and that has the legal capacity to enter into an agreement or contract, assume obligations, incur and pay debts, sue and be sued in its own right, and be held responsible for its actions. A licensee may be a governing body.
"Licensing" means, except as otherwise provided in subsection (14) of this section,the process by which the department approves a facility or agency for the purpose of conducting business as a child care facility or child placement agency.
"Medical foster care" means a program of foster care that provides home-based carefor medically fragile children and youth who would otherwise be confined to a hospital or institutional setting and includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Infants impacted by prenatal drug and alcohol abuse;
Children with developmental disabilities which require ongoing medical
intervention;
Children and youth diagnosed with acquired immune deficiency syndrome or humanimmunodeficiency virus;
Children with a failure to thrive or other nutritional disorders; and
Children dependent on technology such as respirators, tracheotomy tubes, or ventilators in order to survive.
(25) (a) "Negative licensing action" means a final agency action resulting in the denial of an application, the imposition of fines, or the suspension or revocation of a license issued pursuant to this part 1 or the demotion of such a license to a probationary license.
(b) For the purposes of this subsection (25), "final agency action" means the determination made by the department, after opportunity for hearing, to deny, suspend, revoke, or demote to probationary status a license issued pursuant to this part 1or an agreement between the department and the licensee concerning the demotion of such a license to a probationary license.
(26) (a) "Neighborhood youth organization" means a nonprofit organization that is designed to serve youth as young as six years of age and as old as eighteen years of age and that operates primarily during times of the day when school is not in session and provides researchbased, age-appropriate, and character-building activities designed exclusively for the development of youth from six to eighteen years of age. These activities shall occur primarily in a facility leased or owned by the neighborhood youth organization. The activities shall occur in an environment in which youth have written parental or legal guardian consent to become a youth member of the neighborhood youth organization and to arrive at and depart from the primary location of the activity on their own accord, without supervision by a parent, legal guardian, or organization.
(b) A neighborhood youth organization shall not include faith-based centers, organizations or programs operated by state or city parks or special districts, or departments or facilities that are currently licensed as child care centers as defined in subsection (5) of this section.
"Out-of-home placement provider consortium" means a group of service providersthat are formally organized and managed to achieve the goals of the county, group of counties, or mental health agency contracting for additional services other than treatment-related or child maintenance services.
"Person" means any corporation, partnership, association, firm, agency, institution,or individual.
"Place of residence" means the place or abode where a person actually lives andprovides child care.
"Public services short-term child care facility" means a facility that is operated byor for a county department of human or social services or a court and that provides care for a child:
While the child's parent or the person in charge of the child is conducting businesswith the county department of human or social services or participating in court proceedings;
Fewer than ten total hours per day;
Fewer than fifteen consecutive days per year; and(d) Fewer than forty-five days in a calendar year.
(30.3) "Qualified individual" means a trained professional or licensed clinician, as defined in the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act". "Qualified individual" must be approved to serve as a qualified individual according to the state plan. "Qualified individual" must not be an interested party or participant in the juvenile court proceeding and must be free of any personal or business relationship that would cause a conflict of interest in evaluating the child, juvenile, or youth and making recommendations concerning the child's, juvenile's, or youth's placement and therapeutic needs, according to the federal Title IV-E state plan or any waiver in accordance with 42 U.S.C. sec. 675a.
(30.5) "Qualified residential treatment program" means a licensed and accredited program that has a trauma-informed treatment model that is designed to address the child's or youth's needs, including clinical needs, as appropriate, of children and youth with serious emotional or behavioral disorders or disturbances in accordance with the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act", 42 U.S.C. 672 (k)(4), and is able to implement the treatment identified for the child or youth by the assessment of the child or youth required in section 19-1-115 (4)(e)(I).
"Related" means any of the following relationships by blood, marriage, or adoption: Parent, grandparent, brother, sister, stepparent, stepbrother, stepsister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, or cousin.
"Relative" means any of the following relationships by blood, marriage, or adoption: Parent, grandparent, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, brother, sister, stepparent, stepbrother, stepsister, stepson, stepdaughter, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, or cousin.
"Residential child care facility" means a facility licensed by the state departmentpursuant to this part 1 to provide twenty-four-hour group care and treatment for five or more children operated under private, public, or nonprofit sponsorship. "Residential child care facility" includes community-based residential child care facilities, qualified residential treatment programs, as defined in section 26-5.4-102 (2), shelter facilities, and therapeutic residential child care facilities as defined in rule by the state board, and psychiatric residential treatment facilities as defined in section 25.5-4-103 (19.5). A residential child care facility may be eligible for designation by the executive director of the state department pursuant to article 65 of title 27. A child who is admitted to a residential child care facility must be:
Five years of age or older but less than eighteen years of age; or
Less than twenty-one years of age and placed by court order or voluntary placement;or
Accompanied by a parent if less than five years of age.
"Routine medications", as used in section 26-6-119, means any prescribed oral, topical, or inhaled medication, or unit dose epinephrine, that is administered pursuant to section 26-6-119.
"Secure residential treatment center" means a facility operated under private ownership that is licensed by the department pursuant to this part 1 to provide twenty-four-hour group care and treatment in a secure setting for five or more children or persons up to the age of twenty-one years over whom the juvenile court retains jurisdiction pursuant to section 19-2-104 (6), C.R.S., who are committed by a court pursuant to an adjudication of delinquency or pursuant to a determination of guilt of a delinquent act or having been convicted as an adult and sentenced for an act that would be a crime if committed in Colorado, or in the committing jurisdiction, to be placed in a secure facility.
(35.5) "Sibling" means one or more individuals having one or both parents in common.
(a) "Specialized group facility" means a facility sponsored and supervised by a county department or a licensed child placement agency for the purpose of providing twentyfour-hour care for three or more children, but fewer than twelve children, whose special needs can best be met through the medium of a small group. A child who is admitted to a specialized group facility must be:
At least seven years of age or older but less than eighteen years of age;
Less than twenty-one years of age and placed by court order or voluntary placement;or
Accompanied by a parent or legal guardian if less than seven years of age.
(b) "Specialized group facility" includes specialized group homes and specialized group centers.
"Substitute child care provider" means a person who provides temporary care for achild or children in a licensed child care facility, including a child care center and a family child care home.
(37.5) "Substitute placement agency" means any corporation, partnership, association, firm, agency, or institution that places or that facilitates or arranges placement of short-term or long-term substitute child care providers in licensed child care facilities providing less than twenty-four-hour care.
"Supervisory employee" means for purposes of section 26-6-103.5:
A person directly responsible for managing a guest child care facility and the employees of the facility; or
A person directly responsible for managing a public services short-term child carefacility and the employees of the facility.
"Therapeutic foster care" means a program of foster care that incorporates treatmentfor the special physical, psychological, or emotional needs of a child placed with specially trained foster parents, but does not include medical foster care.
"Treatment foster care" means a clinically effective alternative to residential treatment facilities that combines the treatment technologies typically associated with more restrictive settings with a nurturing and individualized family environment.
"Youth member" means a youth who is six years of age through eighteen years ofage whose parent or legal guardian has provided written consent for the youth to participate in the activities of a neighborhood youth organization and who pays the required dues of the neighborhood youth organization.
Source: L. 67: p. 1040, § 3. C.R.S. 1963: § 119-8-2. L. 69: p. 993, § 2. L. 75: (1) amended, p. 217, § 53, effective July 16. L. 77: (6) amended, p. 1005, § 6, effective May 16. L. 81: (8) added, p. 1034, § 10, effective July 1. L. 86: (1)(a) amended, p. 1001, § 1, effective May 28. L. 88: (1)(a) amended, p. 831, § 41, effective May 24. L. 89: (9) added, p. 1220, § 1, effective May 26. L. 90: (1)(a) amended and (3.5) added, p. 1395, §§ 4, 5, effective May 24; (3.5)(b) added by revision, pp. 1395, 1400, §§ 5, 15. L. 91: (9) amended, p. 1882, § 1, effective March 11. L. 93: (3) amended, p. 1156, § 112, effective July 1, 1994. L. 94: (8) amended, p. 2705, § 268, effective July 1; (4) amended, p. 1044, § 2, effective January 1, 1995. L. 96: (8) and (9) amended, p. 806, § 3, effective May 23; (1), (2), and (4) amended and (1.5), (4.5), (5.3),
(5.5), and (6.5) added, p. 252, § 3, effective July 1; (9) amended, p. 1697, § 42, effective January 1, 1997. L. 97: (5.1) added, p. 982, § 4, effective May 22. L. 99: (8) amended, p. 233, § 2, effective April 8; (1) amended and (1.3) and (5.7) added, p. 1034, § 1, effective May 29; (5.7) added, p. 1198, § 1, effective June 2. L. 2000: (4) amended and (2.5) and (10) added, p. 37, § 3, effective May 14. L. 2001: (5.2) added, p. 614, § 5, effective May 30; (1), (2), (3), and (8) amended and (11) added, pp. 743, 740, §§ 10, 3, effective June 1; (1), (2), (3), and (8) amended, p. 753, § 3, effective June 1; (1) amended, p. 508, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2002: (1.7) and (8.5) added, p. 128, § 2, effective March 26; (1.5) amended, p. 1785, 50, effective June 7; (4.7) and (10.5) added and (5) amended, p. 406, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2003: (5.9) added, p. 558, § 1, effective March 7; (5.6) added and (11) amended, p. 1874, § 2, effective May 22; (7.5) added, p. 854,§ 1, effective August 6. L. 2004: (2.7) added, p. 543, § 2, effective August 4; (5.6)(e) amended, p. 483, § 9, effective August 4. L. 2005: (2.7)(a) amended, p. 772, § 52, effective June 1; (2) amended, p. 969, § 1, effective June 2. L. 2006: (1.5) and IP(10)(a) amended and (12) added, p. 519, § 1, effective April 18; (1.5) amended, p. 699, § 46, effective April 28; (3.7) added, p. 1080, § 1, effective May 25; (8) amended, p. 1204, § 4, effective May 26; (1.1), (1.2), (2.2), (2.4), and (5.4) added and (4.7), (5.5), and (5.7)(a) amended, p. 724, § 1, effective August 7; (8.7) added, p. 284, § 1, effective August 7. L. 2007: (6.7) added and (10.5) amended, p. 861, § 1, effective May 14. L. 2008: (10.3) added, p. 367, § 1, effective August 5. L. 2009: (1.5) amended, (SB 09-292), ch. 369, p. 1975, § 100, effective August 5. L. 2010: (5.8) and (13) added, (HB10-1044), ch. 85, p. 284, § 1, effective April 14; (8) amended, (SB 10-175), ch. 188, p. 803, § 75, effective April 29. L. 2011: (5.1) amended, (HB 11-1079), ch. 83, p. 226, § 5, effective August 10. L. 2012: (2.2) amended, (SB 12-043), ch. 9, p. 24, § 1, effective March 9. L. 2015: (2.5) amended, (HB 15-1023), ch. 22, p. 53, § 1, effective March 13; (1.2) and (4.5) amended, (4.8) and (4.9) added, and (8.7) repealed, (SB 15-087), ch. 263, p. 1001, § 2, effective June 2. L. 2016: Entire section amended, (SB 16-189), ch. 210, p. 775, § 74, effective June 6. L. 2017: IP and (12) amended, (SB 17-110), ch. 85, p. 263, § 3, effective August 9. L. 2018: (4), IP(30), and (30)(a) amended, (SB 18-092), ch. 38, p. 449, § 125, effective August 8; (37) amended and (37.5) added, (SB 18-162), ch. 124, p. 833, § 1, effective August 8. L. 2019: (30.5) added and (33) amended, (HB 19-1308), ch. 256, p. 2461, § 11, effective August 2. L. 2020: (30.5) amended, (HB 20-1402), ch. 216, p. 1057, § 64, effective June 30; (19), (33), and (36)(a) amended and (30.3) added, (SB 20-162), ch. 221, p. 1091, § 8, effective July 2; (14.5), (22.5), and (35.5) added, (HB 20-1347), ch. 251, p. 1224, § 1, effective July 8.
Editor's note: (1) Subsection (3.5)(b) provided for the repeal of subsection (3.5), effective July 1, 1995. (See L. 90, pp. 1395, 1400.) Subsection (2.7)(b) provided for the repeal of subsection (2.7), effective July 1, 2008. (See L. 2004, p. 543.)
(2) Amendments to subsection (9) by House Bill 96-1005 and House Bill 96-1180 were harmonized. Amendments to subsection (1) by Senate Bill 01-014, Senate Bill 01-012, and Senate Bill 01-221 were harmonized. Amendments to subsection (1.5) by House Bill 06-1375 and House Bill 06-1271 were harmonized.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration contained in the 1993 act amending this section, see section 1 of chapter 230, Session Laws of Colorado 1993. For the legislative declaration contained in the 1994 act amending subsection (8), see section 1 of chapter 345, Session Laws of Colorado 1994. For the legislative declaration in SB 18-092, see section 1 of chapter 38, Session Laws of Colorado 2018.