Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13. Courts and Court Procedure § 13-94-102. Legislative declaration

(a) Due to incapacity, some adults in Colorado are unable to meet essential requirements for their health or personal care;

(b) Private guardianship is not an option for such an adult when:

(c) Volunteer and public service programs are currently inadequate to provide legal guardianship services to indigent and incapacitated adults in Colorado;

(d) Colorado courts struggle to address the needs of indigent and incapacitated adults who lack the resources to provide for their own guardianship needs; and

(e) Without a system providing legal guardianship services to indigent and incapacitated adults, the courts are left with few options for addressing these adults' needs.

(a) That the office will:

(b) Repealed by Laws 2023, Ch. 282 (S.B. 23-064), § 1, eff. May 30, 2023.

(a) Treat liberty and autonomy as paramount values for all state residents;

(b) Authorize public guardianship only to the extent necessary to provide for health or safety when the legal conditions for appointment of a guardian are met;

(c) Permit incapacitated adults to participate as fully as possible in all decisions that affect them;

(d) Assist incapacitated adults to regain or develop their capacities to the maximum extent possible;

(e) Promote the availability of guardianship services for adults who need them and for whom adequate services may otherwise be unavailable;

(f) Maintain and not alter or expand judicial authority to determine that any adult is incapacitated; and

(g) Maintain and not alter or expand any authority vested in the state department of human services and county departments of human or social services.