§ 19-3-213 — Placement criteria

Colorado § 19-3-213

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 19: Children's
• Art.: Dependency and Neglect

Text

(1) In a case in which the county department
recommends placement out of the home for a child or in which a child is in out-of-home placement, the court, the guardian ad litem, the county department, a CASA
volunteer, and other parties shall consider the best interests of the child and shall
comply with the following placement criteria:

(a) Prior to the change of placement of a child, the county department shall,
to the extent possible, notify the guardian ad litem or counsel for youth, a CASA
volunteer, and other parties. If a party disagrees with the change of placement, the
party may seek an emergency hearing concerning the appropriate placement for
the child. In an emergency, the county department may proceed to make the
change of placement prior to a requested hearing and is exempt from creating an
individualized placement transition plan, as described in section 19-3-213.5 (2)(a).
Absent an emergency placement change, prior to the change of placement of a
child, the county department shall create an individualized placement transition
plan, as described in section 19-3-213.5 (2)(a).

(b) Except in exceptional circumstances, no child shall remain in an
emergency, short-term, or shelter facility for more than sixty days, nor shall a child
be moved from one such facility to another, unless all reasonable efforts to return
the child to the child's home or to place the child in a more permanent setting have
been exhausted.

(c) (I) If the child is part of a sibling group, as defined in section 19-1-103, and
the sibling group is being placed in foster care, the county department shall make
thorough efforts to locate a joint placement for all of the children in the sibling
group. If the county department locates an appropriate, capable, willing, and
available joint placement for all of the children in the sibling group, it is presumed
that placement of the entire sibling group in the joint placement is in the best
interests of the children. The presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of
the evidence that placement of the entire sibling group in the joint placement is not
in the best interests of a child or of the children.

(II) Consideration of the placement of children together as a sibling group in
foster care shall not be construed as requiring the removal of a child from his or her
home and placement into foster care if that is not in the best interests of the child.

(III) In any proceeding under this article involving a sibling group, the judge
shall review the family services plan document regarding placement of siblings.

(d) Prior to the change of placement of a child, all parties shall attempt to
promote educational stability for the child by taking into account the child's
existing educational situation and, to the extent possible and in accordance with
the child's best interests, selecting a change of placement that enables the child to
remain in the existing educational situation or to transfer to a new educational
situation that is comparable to the existing situation.

(2) If a child runs away from an out-of-home placement facility, the person in
charge of the placement facility, foster parent, relative, or other placement
provider shall notify the county department as soon as possible after discovering
that the child has run away. The county department shall notify the court and other
parties within ten days after the county department has received notice and take
appropriate steps to locate the child.

Legislative History

Source: L. 97: Entire section added, p. 1438, � 11, effective July 1. L. 2000: (1) amended, p. 475, � 3, effective July 1. L. 2003: (1)(c)(I) amended, p. 2622, � 1, effective June 5. L. 2008: (1)(d) added, p. 471, � 3, effective April 17. L. 2021: (1)(c)(I) amended, (SB 21-059), ch. 136, p. 730, � 73, effective October 1. L. 2022: (1)(a) amended, (HB 22-1038), ch. 92, p. 441, � 23, effective January 9, 2023. L. 2025: IP(1) and (1)(a) amended, (HB 25-1097), ch. 261, p. 1338, � 2, effective May 28.