Bill Tracker

Codifies the recent action by the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) to combine the Children’s Home and Community-Based Services (CHCBS) waiver and the Children with Life Limiting Illness (CLLI) waiver – into the Children with Complex Health Needs waiver program.

Requires public and governmental entities to provide the most integrated setting that is appropriate to the needs of individuals with disabilities, specifies when entities are required to provide home- and community-based services and requires the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) to develop a comprehensive community integration plan for integrated settings. Additionally, requires entities that reduce services to perform an assessment and risk management plan if the reduction increases the risk of institutionalization for individuals receiving services.

Allows local collaborative management programs (CMPs) to enter into agreements with Medicaid managed care entities. Additionally, specifies that courts may access relevant program records.

Makes changes to public hospital boards of trustees by allowing appointed public officials to serve on public hospital boards, requiring public hospital boards to meet annually (instead of each January), and removing the requirement that a hospital board trustee must examine hospitals twice per month. Additionally, moves the deadline for hospital boards to certify to a board of county commissioners the amount that is necessary to maintain the hospital for the next year from October 1st to December 1st.

In 1975, the General Assembly enacted the original "Interstate Compact on Placement of Children". In 2024, the General Assembly enacted an updated version of the compact. The bill clarifies that the original compact remains in effect until the updated compact is enacted into law by 35 states.

Requires the state Department of Human Services to develop and adopt a placement transition plan template that outlines how a county department of human services will transition a child from one out-of-home placement in a foster care home, kinship foster care home, or non-certified kinship care home to another or back to the child's home. Additionally, requires newly employed county caseworkers to complete training on the importance of transition plans created by the state Department of Human Services. All county caseworkers must complete the training every three years.

Increases the juvenile detention bed cap from 215 to 254 for FY 2025-26 and sets the cap at 125% of the juvenile detention average daily population projection for FY 2026-27 and each year thereafter. The cap excludes juveniles who are in detention for committing a delinquent act that would constitute a class 1 felony if it were committed by an adult. Additionally, for FY 2025-26 and each year thereafter, requires the General Assembly to appropriate $2.0 million for youth who are detained and can be placed in environments other than detention (an increase of $200,000 over the current law appropriation for this purpose).

Implements the legislative recommendations of the Colorado Child Support Commission by updating the child support guidelines schedule, updating the monthly incomes eligible for a reduced low-income adjustment, and replacing the current parenting time credit with a formula that provides parents credit for all overnights spent with that parent.

Authorizes the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) to seek federal authorization to extend the timeline for member reenrollment in Medicaid based on the financial eligibility for a member whose income is based solely on a fixed income source and verify a member's eligibility for reenrollment based on income and need at the same time. Additionally, requires HCPF to modify the questions asked to medical professionals when verifying a member's need for long-term services and supports and allows any licensed medical professional who has a bona fide physician-patient relationship with a member to complete the documentation necessary to verify a member's need for long-term services and supports. Finally, prohibits HCPF from requiring new documentation for a member who transitions from receiving services in an institutional setting to receiving services in a home- and community-based setting and vice versa.

Changes the child relinquishment requirements for a parent in cases where the parent is a victim of sexual assault that resulted in the conception of the child to be relinquished. Additionally, requires the State Court Administrator to develop or modify an existing, standardized form for a petitioner to file to terminate another person's parent-child legal relationship because the child was conceived as a result of sexual assault.

Specifies that child abuse or neglect must not be based solely upon a parent's or child's indigence, unavailability of accessible services, unhoused status, or disability. Additionally, updates requirements for mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect, as well as employers of mandatory reporters. Finally, requires a county department of human services to assign a referral identification number to each report of child abuse or neglect.

Reorganizes and updates statutes pertaining to the duties of the Office of the Child Protection Ombudsman. Specifically, the bill creates a new provision that pertains to the Office's access to information necessary to conduct an independent review of a complaint, clarifies when the Office may receive and conduct an independent and impartial investigation of complaints, and provides the Office access to facilities operated by the Colorado Department of Human Services.

Codifies the federal "Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978" into state law as the "Colorado Indian Child Welfare Act" (CO-ICWA) and provides additional protections for Indian children and children known to be Indian children under state law.

Makes a variety of changes to the Medicaid program, including requiring the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to follow standards set by the federal government when updating rules and ensure updates and changes to the rules are easily identifiable, prevents a Medicaid enrollee receiving home- and community-based services from losing the services currently received if the member's disability and need for services have not changed in the preceding 3 years, and requires a Regional Accountable Entity (RAE) to submit to the Department the amount the RAE is paid and the RAE's medical loss ratio.

Requires counties to determine whether each child or youth in foster care may be eligible to receive federal Social Security benefits due to a mental or physical disability (Title XVI) or the death of a parent (Title II). Next, requires counties to apply for Social Security benefits on behalf of the child or youth and prohibits counties from using Social Security benefits to offset the cost of providing basic care and services to a child or youth in foster care. Finally, requires counties to establish a trust account for Social Security benefits. Money in the account is available for a limited set of current, unmet needs. Otherwise, the county must save money in the account for the future needs of the individual child or youth.

Requires each county to collect and report data on monthly basis about the Colorado Works program to the Colorado Department of Human Services. Next, the Department must establish standardized outcome measures for third-party contracted services and required levels of evidence for third-party contracted services funded by the Colorado Works program. On a monthly basis, the Department must post the data it collects from counties and progress toward the standardized outcome measures on its website. Finally, the Department must submit a report to the General Assembly with information regarding the standard of need for eligibility for basic cash assistance through the Colorado Works program. 

Clarifies what courts must consider when setting bail for a defendant declared incompetent to proceed and allows the defendant to receive inpatient services from the Colorado Department of Human Services for additional time after charges are dropped.

Current law tasks the executive director of the Department of Early Childhood with adopting all rules for the administration of the Department and executing and administering the Department’s programs and services. This bill repeals duties from the executive director, creates the State Board of Early Childhood Services, and tasks with Board with all regulatory and administrative functions for the Department. Additionally, the bill removes the allowance for Local Coordinating Organizations (LCOs) to participate in the Colorado Universal Preschool Program and instead tasks LCOs with continuing to support families who apply for early childhood and family support programs and services, coordinating with county departments and tribal agencies, and working with early child care providers to increase recruitment and retention of individuals in the early child care workforce. Finally, requires the Department to modify the unified application to give administrative access to a preschool provider who participates in the program to help families enroll their children in the program.

Drafted by the Uniform Law Commission, the bill repeals the "Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act" and enacts the "Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act"

Creates the Fostering Success Pilot Program in the Department of Human Services. The Program has two components. First, it creates the Supplemental Support for Foster Students Program which awards $2,000 scholarships annually to a foster care provider, kinship foster care provider, or a non-certified kinship care provider who cares for a youth in the legal custody of a county department of human or social services until the youth graduates from high school. Second, it creates the Milestone Incentives Program which awards $1,000 to a youth for successfully graduating from high school.

Implements recommendations from the Timothy Montoya Task Force To Prevent Children From

Running Away From Out-Of-Home Placement, including requiring the Child Protection Ombudsman to develop a run away risk assessment and prediction tool, collect run away data, and conduct a survey of the physical infrastructure of facilities. Additionally, the bill requires a facility to notify the child’s or youth’s parent, legal guardian, or custodian within 24 hours after discovering the child or youth is missing from its care

Updates the ongoing schedule of annual fees imposed on retail food establishments. These fees are imposed to cover the cost of required health and safety inspections under current law.

Delays the change from the Medicaid fee-for-service structure to the Medicaid managed care structure until July 1, 2026 for children and youth who are in a qualified residential treatment program or a psychiatric residential treatment facility and in the care and custody of a county. Additionally, the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, in conjunction with stakeholders, must develop polices for this change by December 1, 2025 and implement the policies no later than July 1, 2026.