A Bill for an Act
Page 1, Line 101Concerning the recommendations of the mandatory
Page 1, Line 102reporter task force, and, in connection therewith,
Page 1, Line 103making an appropriation.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://leg.colorado.gov.)
The bill 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.
For mandatory reporters, the bill:
- Requires reports to be submitted as soon as possible, but within 24 hours, after receiving information of child abuse or neglect; except that reports concerning young victims of dating violence or sexual assault must be made within 72 hours;
- Provides that reports are not required if the person:
- Receives the information outside of the person's professional capacity that would require a report; or
- Is connected to an attorney representing a party involved in a suspected child abuse or neglect case that would require a report under current law;
- Removes victim's advocates from the list of professions required to report child abuse or neglect;
- Prohibits reports based solely on a family's race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or disability; and
- Prohibits the delegation of the duty to report to a person who does not have firsthand knowledge of the suspected child abuse or neglect.
- Authorizes the entity to develop protocols for making the report if the protocols comply with state law and regulations; and
- Prohibits representatives of the entity from deterring or impeding a person from filing a report.
For entities that employ a mandatory reporter, the bill:
The bill requires a county department of human or social services (county department) to assign a referral identification number to each report of child abuse or neglect. If a mandatory reporter contacts a county department about a suspected child abuse or neglect report and the department gives the mandatory reporter the referral identification number of a related report that was previously filed, the mandatory reporter is not required to file a written report.
This Unofficial Version Includes Committee
Amendments Not Yet Adopted on Second Reading
Page 2, Line 1Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
Page 2, Line 2SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) (a) The general
Page 2, Line 3assembly finds that complete reporting of known or suspected child abuse
Page 2, Line 4or neglect is a matter of public concern and that it is the intent of the
Page 2, Line 5general assembly to protect the best interests of children in this state and
Page 2, Line 6to offer protective services in order to prevent any further harm to children suffering from abuse.
Page 2, Line 7(b) The general assembly further finds that requiring people to
Page 3, Line 1report known or suspected child abuse or neglect impacts the people
Page 3, Line 2reporting, as well as children and families who are the subjects of the
Page 3, Line 3reports. As a result of implicit bias, under-resourced communities,
Page 3, Line 4communities of color, and persons with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by the mandatory reporting system.
Page 3, Line 5(2) (a) To address these impacts and additional issues, the general
Page 3, Line 6assembly established the mandatory reporting task force in 2022, which
Page 3, Line 7was charged with making findings and recommendations to clarify the
Page 3, Line 8law and recommending changes to mandatory reporting procedures and trainings.
Page 3, Line 9(b) The task force found that:
Page 3, Line 10(I) Colorado's mandatory reporting law and system for making
Page 3, Line 11reports disproportionately impacts families of color, people with
Page 3, Line 12disabilities, and under-resourced communities, resulting in some contacts with child protection services that are unnecessary;
Page 3, Line 13(II) Colorado's mandatory reporting law requires mandatory
Page 3, Line 14reporters to report circumstances that may not involve the safety of children;
Page 3, Line 15(III) By forcing mandatory reporters to report all concerns through
Page 3, Line 16the child abuse hotline, Colorado's mandatory reporting law requires
Page 3, Line 17professionals to engage child protection services with families that do not require their services;
Page 3, Line 18(IV) Cases that do not involve concerns of child safety may not
Page 3, Line 19get adequate attention because the system is overwhelmed by reports. A lack of training perpetuates this issue.
Page 3, Line 20(V) Colorado's mandatory reporting law may hinder certain
Page 3, Line 21professionals from forming trusted relationships with children and families.
Page 4, Line 1(c) To address these issues, the task force issued 24
Page 4, Line 2recommendations to the general assembly. The task force's
Page 4, Line 3recommendations are intended to provide a comprehensive approach to
Page 4, Line 4improving the mandatory reporting system, including clarifying the law,
Page 4, Line 5standardizing practices and training, and creating alternative reporting methods.
Page 4, Line 6(d) Therefore, the general assembly finds and declares that the
Page 4, Line 7first step in comprehensively improving the mandatory reporting system
Page 4, Line 8is to implement the task force's recommendations to address clarity in the
Page 4, Line 9law. These clarifications will serve as the foundation for further improvements to the mandatory reporting system.
Page 4, Line 10(e) The general assembly further declares that the task force's
Page 4, Line 11continuum of recommendations must be implemented in whole to effectively serve children and families.
Page 4, Line 12SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 19-3-304, amend
Page 4, Line 13(1)(a) and (2) introductory portion; repeal (2)(w); and add (1)(c), (1)(d), (3.2), and (3.3) as follows:
Page 4, Line 1419-3-304. Persons required to report child abuse or neglect.
Page 4, Line 15(1) (a) Except as otherwise provided by section 19-3-307, section
Page 4, Line 1625-1-122 (4)(d),
C.R.S.,paragraph (b) of this subsection (1), anyPage 4, Line 17subsections (1)(b) and (1)(c) of this section, a person specified in
Page 4, Line 18subsection (2) of this section who has reasonable cause to know or
Page 4, Line 19suspect that a child has been subjected to abuse or neglect or who has
Page 4, Line 20observed the child being subjected to circumstances or conditions that
Page 4, Line 21would reasonably result in abuse or neglect shall immediately upon
Page 4, Line 22receiving
suchPage 5, Line 1
suchPage 5, Line 2twenty-four hours after receiving the information, to the county
Page 5, Line 3department, the local law enforcement agency, or through the child abuse reporting hotline system as set forth in section 26-5-111.
C.R.S.Page 5, Line 4(c) The reporting requirement described in subsection (1)(a) of this section does not apply if the person:
Page 5, Line 5(I) Learns of the suspected abuse or neglect outside of the
Page 5, Line 6person's professional capacity that would require the person to make a report pursuant to this section; or
Page 5, Line 7(II) Is employed by, an agent of, or a contractor for any attorney who is providing legal services.
Page 5, Line 8(d) (I) Notwithstanding subsection (1)(a) of this section, a
Page 5, Line 9person specified in subsection (2) of this section who has
Page 5, Line 10knowledge, or reasonable cause to know or suspect, that a
Page 5, Line 11youth at least fifteen years of age but under eighteen years of
Page 5, Line 12age is the victim of teen dating violence, as defined in section
Page 5, Line 1326-7.5-102, or a sex offense, as defined in section 18-1.3-1003, not
Page 5, Line 14involving intrafamilial abuse, shall make the report required by
Page 5, Line 15this section within seventy-two hours after acquiring the information.
Page 5, Line 16(II) The report required by subsection (1)(d)(I) of this section must be made to local law enforcement.
Page 5, Line 17(2) Persons required to report
suchanyPage 5, Line 18(w)
Victim's advocate, as defined in section 13-90-107 (1)(k)(II), C.R.S.;Page 5, Line 19(3.2) A person specified in subsection (2) or (3) of this
Page 6, Line 1section shall not make a report solely due to a family's or
Page 6, Line 2child's race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or disability
Page 6, Line 3status. In addition, the reporting requirement described in
Page 6, Line 4subsection (1)(a) of this section does not apply if the basis for the
Page 6, Line 5report arises from concerns solely due to any of the following criteria:
Page 6, Line 6(a) Socioeconomic status, which includes factors such as inadequate housing, furnishings, income, or clothing; or
Page 6, Line 7(b) Disability.
Page 6, Line 8(3.3) (a) A person specified in subsection (2) of this section
Page 6, Line 9shall not delegate the duty to make the report required by
Page 6, Line 10subsection (1)(a) of this section to another person who does not
Page 6, Line 11have firsthand knowledge of the suspected child abuse or neglect.
Page 6, Line 12(b) An entity that employs a person specified in subsection
Page 6, Line 13(2) or (2.5) of this section may develop protocols regarding the
Page 6, Line 14process for making the report required by subsection (1)(a) of
Page 6, Line 15this section. The protocols must comply with state law and
Page 6, Line 16regulations. Representatives of the entity shall not deter or
Page 6, Line 17impede a person from filing a report required by subsection (1)(a) of this section.
Page 6, Line 18SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 19-3-307, amend (1) and (4) as follows:
Page 6, Line 1919-3-307. Reporting procedures - definitions. (1) (a) Reports
Page 6, Line 20of known or suspected child abuse or neglect made pursuant to this
articlePage 6, Line 21
shallimmediatelyPage 6, Line 22but no later than twenty-four hours after receiving the
Page 7, Line 1information, to the county department, the local law enforcement
Page 7, Line 2agency, or through the child abuse reporting hotline system as set forth in
Page 7, Line 3section 26-5-111.
C.R.S., and shall be followed promptly by a writtenPage 7, Line 4
report prepared by those persons required to report.Page 7, Line 5department shall submit a report of confirmed child abuse or neglect
Page 7, Line 6within sixty days
ofPage 7, Line 7(b) A county department shall attach a referral
Page 7, Line 8identification number to each report of known or suspected
Page 7, Line 9child abuse or neglect it receives. If a person required to submit
Page 7, Line 10a report pursuant to this part 3 contacts a county department
Page 7, Line 11about an incident or situation for which the county department
Page 7, Line 12has already received a report, the county department may
Page 7, Line 13provide the person with the referral identification number of
Page 7, Line 14the earlier report. A person required to submit a report
Page 7, Line 15pursuant to this part 3 who receives a referral identification
Page 7, Line 16number from a county department is not required to make a
Page 7, Line 17report pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section and is deemed to have fulfilled their legal reporting responsibility.
Page 7, Line 18(4) A written report, including a report voluntarily made,
Page 7, Line 19from persons or officials required by this part 3 to report known or
Page 7, Line 20suspected child abuse or neglect
shall beanyPage 7, Line 21a proceeding relating to child abuse, subject to the limitations of section 19-1-307.
Page 7, Line 22SECTION 4. Appropriation. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year,
Page 7, Line 23$5,375 is appropriated to the department of human services for use by the
Page 7, Line 24division of child welfare. This appropriation is from the general fund. To implement this act, the division may use this appropriation for training.
Page 8, Line 1SECTION 5. Effective date. This act takes effect September 1,
Page 8, Line 22025; except that section 19-3-304 (2)(w), Colorado Revised Statutes, as
Page 8, Line 3repealed in section 2 of this act, this section 4, and section 5 of this act take effect upon passage.
Page 8, Line 4SECTION 6. Safety clause. The general assembly finds,
Page 8, Line 5determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
Page 8, Line 6preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for
Page 8, Line 7the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state institutions.