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Colorado Revised Statutes Title 26. Human Services Code § 26-5-118. Audit of child welfare system tools--Colorado family safety assessment--Colorado family risk assessment--domestic violence--intimate partner violence--report--rules--definitions

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) “Coercion” means compelling a person by force, threat of force, or intimidation to engage in conduct from which the person has the right or privilege to abstain, or to abstain from conduct in which the person has the right or privilege to engage.

(b) “Colorado family risk assessment” means a systematic collection and analysis of information entered into TRAILS to determine the likelihood of future maltreatment of a child or youth.

(c) “Colorado family safety assessment” means a systematic collection of information entered into TRAILS on family circumstances to determine whether a child is in current or impending danger and to assist with informed and reliable decision-making to mitigate safety concerns.

(d) “Domestic violence”, commonly known as “intimate partner violence”, means a pattern of violent behavior or an act, attempted act, or perceived threat of violence, stalking, harassment, or coercion that is committed by a person against another person with whom the actor is involved or has been involved in an intimate relationship. A sexual relationship may be an indicator of an intimate relationship but is never a necessary condition for finding an intimate relationship.

(e) “TRAILS” means the statewide comprehensive child welfare case management system.

(2)(a)(I) No later than January 15, 2025, the office of the child protection ombudsman, established in section 19-3.3-102, shall select and contract with a third-party evaluator to conduct an audit on the:

(A) Colorado family safety assessment; and

(B) Colorado family risk assessment.

(II) The third-party evaluator shall create a report summarizing the results of the audit.

(b) In conducting an audit of the Colorado family risk assessment, the third-party evaluator, at a minimum, shall:

(I) Identify tools and resources to ensure the assessment is carried out consistently;

(II) Identify gaps and solutions to enable caseworkers to complete the assessment in real time while in the field;

(III) Examine the impacts of geography when using the assessment;

(IV) Examine the impacts of race and ethnicity when using the assessment and how they impact communities that are over-represented in the child welfare system;

(V) Evaluate and recommend best practices for sharing the assessment with families, legal professionals, and the judicial branch;

(VI) Evaluate and recommend best practices for training on the assessment; and

(VII) Examine the assessment for domestic violence or intimate partner violence and recommend best practices.

(c) In conducting an audit of the Colorado family safety assessment, the third party, at a minimum, shall:

(I) Examine the issues set forth in subsections (2)(b)(I) to (2)(b)(VII) of this section;

(II) Study the inter-rater reliability of the Colorado family safety assessment; and

(III) Study the required documentation for the planning and removal of the child from the child's primary caregiver.

(3) On or before March 1, 2026, the office of the child protection ombudsman shall submit the report described in subsection (2)(a)(II) of this section to the house of representatives health and human services committee and the senate health and human services committee, or their successor committees, the speaker of the house of representatives, the minority leader of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the minority leader of the senate.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Colorado Revised Statutes Title 26. Human Services Code § 26-5-118. Audit of child welfare system tools--Colorado family safety assessment--Colorado family risk assessment--domestic violence--intimate partner violence--report--rules--definitions - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/co/title-26-human-services-code/co-rev-st-sect-26-5-118/

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