(1) Short title. This section shall be known
and may be cited as the Family-friendly Courts Act.
(2) Legislative declaration. (a) The general assembly hereby finds and
declares that many families experience challenges and transitions with legal
ramifications that often necessitate court involvement. Frequently individuals and
family members attend court or visit other governmental offices for juvenile
delinquency proceedings, domestic relations proceedings, protective proceedings
related to domestic abuse or domestic violence, child protection proceedings,
meetings with probation officers, and other matters. Many persons who attend
court proceedings are responsible for the care of young children. For many such
individuals, child care issues can distract from, if not present obstacles or even
barriers to, effective and complete participation in ongoing court proceedings. The
general assembly finds that these issues were acknowledged and addressed in the
1999 report entitled Creating Family Friendly Courts in Colorado: Children's
Centers for the Courthouse, which report was submitted by the Colorado supreme
court family friendly facilities task force and which report recommended the
establishment of children's centers in courthouses.
(b) The general assembly further finds that the same individuals who are in
need of child care services when they are participating in court proceedings may
also benefit from the availability of information and resource referrals relating to
certain types of services within the community, including services addressing at-risk youth, employment counseling, employment training and placement, health
education and counseling, financial management, education, legal counseling and
referral, mediation, domestic abuse and domestic violence, fatherhood programs,
and substance abuse.
(c) The general assembly further finds that individuals who are involved in
court proceedings may have additional court-ordered service needs involving their
children, including, but not limited to, supervised parenting time and the transfer of
the physical custody of a child from one parent to the other.
(d) The general assembly therefore determines and declares that the
creation of family-friendly court programs is beneficial to and in the best interests
of the citizens of Colorado. The general assembly further finds that the goal of such
programs shall primarily be providing quality child care in or near courthouses to
the children of individuals and families who attend court-related proceedings but
that such programs may also provide additional court-related family services at the
facility and serve as a clearinghouse of information and resource referrals for
program patrons concerning the wide variety of available services in the
community, including services that provide help to at-risk youth; educational
services; health services; behavioral, mental health, and substance use disorder
services; legal services; and domestic abuse information.
(3) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
(a) At-risk youth means a person who is five years of age or older but under
twenty-five years of age and who is experiencing poverty, exposure to substance
use, family conflict, association with peers who are justice-involved, disciplinary
issues, or child abuse or neglect.
(b) Domestic abuse shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 13-14-101 (2).
(c) Domestic violence shall have the same meaning as set forth in section
18-6-800.3 (1), C.R.S.
(d) Family-friendly court services means child care and court-related
family services provided in the courthouse or courthouse complex or in reasonable
proximity to the courthouse.
(e) Program means the family-friendly court program established pursuant
to this section.
(4) Provision of family-friendly court services. There is hereby created the
family-friendly court program. The purpose of the program shall be to provide
quality family-friendly court services to families and the children of individuals who
are attending court proceedings or related matters and to serve as a central
location for the dissemination of information to families about resources and
services relating to at-risk youth, employment counseling, employment training and
placement, health education and counseling, financial management, education,
legal counseling and referral, mediation, domestic abuse and domestic violence,
fatherhood programs, and substance abuse. Grants awarded pursuant to this
section shall be used to establish and maintain new family-friendly court programs
in judicial districts throughout the state that do not have comparable existing
programs, as well as to enhance existing family-friendly court programs.
(5) Grant applications - duties of judicial districts. (a) To be eligible for
moneys from the family-friendly court program cash fund, created in subsection (6)
of this section, for the provision of family-friendly court services, a judicial district
shall apply to the state court administrator in accordance with the timelines and
guidelines adopted by the state court administrator, using an application form
provided by the state court administrator.
(b) The state court administrator, in determining which judicial districts may
receive grant money pursuant to this section, shall consider the extent that a
judicial district is responsible for:
(I) Actively recruiting qualified and skilled child care providers to provide
quality child care services to families and children of individuals who are attending
court proceedings or related matters;
(II) Conducting the necessary criminal history checks through the Colorado
bureau of investigation and hiring qualified and appropriate child care providers;
(III) Selecting and establishing a safe physical location in the courthouse or
in the courthouse complex or in reasonable proximity to the courthouse, for the
provision of child care services;
(IV) When reasonably practicable in consideration of funding, staffing, and
assistance from other public and private organizations, providing additional court-related family services to families and children experiencing the challenges and
transitions that necessitate court involvement, including, but not limited to,
supervised parenting time and transfer of the physical custody of a child from one
parent to the other;
(V) Soliciting information from community-based organizations, faith
communities, governmental entities, schools, community mental health centers,
local nonprofit or not-for-profit agencies, local law enforcement agencies,
businesses, and other community service providers about the following services
and resources for the purpose of providing such information to patrons of the
family-friendly court services:
(A) Youth services, including but not limited to youth mentoring services,
services to prevent or reduce youth crime and violence, student dropout prevention
and intervention services, and any other services that may be available in the
community, the goal and purpose of which are to assist at-risk youth;
(B) Multipurpose service centers for displaced homemakers pursuant to
article 15.5 of title 8, C.R.S., and other information to assist displaced homemakers,
which information shall relate to employment counseling, employment training,
employment placement, health education and counseling services, financial
management services, educational services, and legal counseling and services;
(C) Information related to health insurance and health-care coverage,
including but not limited to the children's basic health plan and dental health plan,
established pursuant to article 8 of title 25.5, C.R.S., and children eligible for the
medical assistance program pursuant to article 5 of title 25.5, C.R.S.;
(D) Substance use disorder programs that are available in the community;
(E) Services and potential financial resources that may be available for
victims of domestic abuse or domestic violence, including but not limited to
counseling for persons who are victims of domestic abuse and their dependents,
advocacy programs that assist victims in obtaining services and information, and
educational services for victims of domestic violence;
(F) Fatherhood programs that are available in the community; and
(G) Any other services that would be beneficial to families experiencing
challenges and transition necessitating court involvement, including but not limited
to family stabilization services as provided in section 19-1-125, C.R.S., and mediation
services; and
(VI) Providing to persons staffing the program training and ongoing support
with regard to the available resources and additional referrals provided through the
program at each court location.
(c) The judicial districts that are selected by the state court administrator to
provide family-friendly court services shall be responsible for:
(I) Implementing a method of evaluating the effectiveness of the family-friendly court program and assessing the impact of the child care and informational
services provided through the program; and
(II) Reporting annually to the state court administrator concerning the
results of the judicial district's evaluation of the family-friendly court program as
well as an accounting of fiscal contributions received and expenditures made by
the judicial district for the implementation, administration, and maintenance of the
program and such other information that the state court administrator may require
or that the judicial district determines to be relevant and informative.
(d) The judicial districts that are selected by the state court administrator to
provide family-friendly court services that provide child care services shall meet
the licensing requirements for child care facilities set forth in part 3 of article 5 of
title 26.5, and all child care licensing rules promulgated by the executive director
of the department of early childhood.
(e) In addition to grants received from the state court administrator pursuant
to this section, judicial districts implementing or enhancing existing family-friendly
court programs pursuant to this section are authorized to accept any funds, grants,
gifts, or donations from any private or public source for the purpose of
implementing this section; except that no grant or donation shall be accepted if the
conditions attached to the grant or donation require the expenditure thereof in a
manner contrary to law. Any such moneys received by a judicial district shall be
credited to the family-friendly court program cash fund created in subsection (6) of
this section for grants awarded by the board pursuant to this section.
(6) Family-friendly court program cash fund. (a) There is hereby created in
the state treasury the family-friendly court program cash fund. The moneys in the
family-friendly court program cash fund shall be subject to annual appropriation by
the general assembly for the implementation of this section. The state court
administrator is authorized to accept on behalf of the state any grants, gifts, or
donations from any private or public source for the purpose of this section. All
private and public funds received through grants, gifts, or donations shall be
transmitted to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the family-friendly
court program cash fund in addition to any moneys that may be appropriated to the
cash fund directly by the general assembly. In addition, commencing July 1, 2002,
the one-dollar surcharge set forth in section 42-4-1701 (4)(a)(VI), C.R.S., shall be
transmitted to the state treasurer who shall credit the same to the family-friendly
court program cash fund created in this subsection (6). All investment earnings
derived from the deposit and investment of moneys in the fund shall remain in the
fund and shall not be transferred or revert to the general fund of the state at the
end of any fiscal year.
(b) All moneys in the family-friendly court program cash fund, created in
paragraph (a) of this subsection (6), shall be available for grants awarded by the
state court administrator to judicial districts seeking to implement or enhance
existing family-friendly court programs and administrative costs associated with
the implementation and administration of this section. The state court
administrator, subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, is hereby
authorized to expend moneys appropriated to the judicial department from the
family-friendly court program cash fund to judicial districts seeking to establish or
enhance family-friendly court programs pursuant to this section.
(6.5) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (6) of this section to the
contrary, on April 20, 2009, the state treasurer shall deduct two hundred thousand
dollars from the family-friendly court program cash fund and transfer such sum to
the general fund.
(7) The state court administrator shall announce to all judicial districts the
availability of grants pursuant to this section for the establishment and
maintenance or enhancement of family-friendly court services programs in the
judicial districts.
(8) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2005, p. 1000, � 1, effective June 2, 2005.)