(1) The court may order a termination of
the parent-child legal relationship upon the finding by clear and convincing
evidence of any one of the following:
(a) That the child has been adjudicated dependent or neglected and has
been abandoned by the child's parent or parents as follows:
(I) That the parent or parents have surrendered physical custody of the child
for a period of six months or more and have not manifested during such period the
firm intention to resume physical custody of the child or to make permanent legal
arrangements for the care of the child except in cases when voluntary placement is
renewable under section 19-1-115 (8)(a);
(II) That the identity of the parent of the child is unknown and has been
unknown for three months or more and that reasonable efforts to identify and
locate the parent in accordance with section 19-3-603 have failed;
(b) That the child is adjudicated dependent or neglected and the court finds
that an appropriate treatment plan cannot be devised to address the unfitness of
the parent or parents. In making such a determination, the court shall find one of
the following as the basis for unfitness:
(I) An emotional illness, a behavioral or mental health disorder, or an
intellectual and developmental disability of the parent of such duration or nature as
to render the parent unlikely within a reasonable time to care for the ongoing
physical, mental, and emotional needs and conditions of the child. The court shall
make findings that the provision of reasonable accommodations and modifications
pursuant to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. sec.
12101 et seq., and its related amendments and implementing regulations, will not
remediate the impact of the parent's disability on the health or welfare of the child.
(II) A single incident resulting in serious bodily injury or disfigurement of the
child;
(III) Repealed.
(IV) Serious bodily injury or death of a sibling due to proven parental abuse
or neglect;
(V) An identifiable pattern of habitual abuse to which the child or another
child has been subjected and, as a result of which, a court has adjudicated another
child as neglected or dependent based upon allegations of sexual or physical
abuse, or a court of competent jurisdiction has determined that such abuse has
caused the death of another child;
(VI) An identifiable pattern of sexual abuse of the child; or
(VII) The torture of or extreme cruelty to the child, a sibling of the child, or
another child of either parent;
(c) That the child or youth is adjudicated dependent or neglected and all of
the following exist:
(I) That an appropriate treatment plan approved by the court has not been
reasonably complied with by the parent or parents or has not been successful or
that the court has previously found, pursuant to section 19-3-508 (1)(e), that an
appropriate treatment plan could not be devised. In a county designated pursuant
to section 19-1-123, if a child or youth is under six years of age at the time a petition
is filed in accordance with section 19-3-501 (2), the court shall not find that a parent
is or parents are in reasonable compliance with or to have been successful at a
court-approved treatment plan when:
(A) The parent has not attended family time with the child or youth as set
forth in the treatment plan, unless good cause can be shown for failing to attend; or
(B) The parent exhibits the same problems addressed in the treatment plan
without adequate improvement, including but not limited to improvement in the
relationship with the child, and is unable or unwilling to provide nurturing and safe
parenting sufficiently adequate to meet the child's physical, emotional, and mental
health needs and conditions despite earlier intervention and treatment for the
family. The court may receive testimony regarding the family's progress under the
treatment plan from the child's physician or therapist, foster parent, educational or
religious teachers, CASA volunteer, or caseworker.
(II) That the parent is unfit; and
(III) That the conduct or condition of the parent or parents is unlikely to
change within a reasonable time.
(2) In determining unfitness, conduct, or condition for purposes of paragraph
(c) of subsection (1) of this section, the court shall find that continuation of the legal
relationship between parent and child is likely to result in grave risk of death or
serious bodily injury to the child or that the conduct or condition of the parent or
parents renders the parent or parents unable or unwilling to give the child
reasonable parental care to include, at a minimum, nurturing and safe parenting
sufficiently adequate to meet the child's physical, emotional, and mental health
needs and conditions. In making such determinations, the court shall consider, but
not be limited to, the following:
(a) Any one of the bases for a finding of parental unfitness set forth in
paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section;
(b) Conduct towards the child of a physically or sexually abusive nature;
(c) History of violent behavior;
(d) A single incident of life-threatening or serious bodily injury or
disfigurement of the child;
(e) Excessive use of intoxicating liquors or controlled substances, as defined
in section 18-18-102 (5), C.R.S., which affects the ability to care and provide for the
child;
(f) Neglect of the child;
(g) Injury or death of a sibling due to proven parental abuse or neglect,
murder, voluntary manslaughter, or circumstances in which a parent aided, abetted,
or attempted the commission of or conspired or solicited to commit murder of a
child's sibling;
(h) Reasonable efforts by child-caring agencies which have been unable to
rehabilitate the parent or parents;
(i) That any parent who is a named respondent in the termination proceeding
has had prior involvement with the department of human services concerning an
incident of abuse or neglect involving the child and a subsequent incident of abuse
or neglect occurs;
(j) Whether a parent committed felony assault that resulted in serious bodily
injury to the child or to another child of the parent;
(k) That the child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the
county department for fifteen of the most recent twenty-two months, unless:
(I) The child is placed with a relative of the child;
(II) The county department or a state agency has documented in the case
plan, which shall be available for court review, that filing such a motion would not
be in the best interests of the child;
(III) Where required to make reasonable efforts, services identified as
necessary for the safe return of the child to the child's home have not been
provided to the family consistent with the time period in the case plan; or
(IV) The child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the county
department for such period of time due to circumstances beyond the control of the
parent such as incarceration of the parent for a reasonable period of time, court
delays or continuances that are not attributable to the parent, or such other
reasonable circumstances that the court finds are beyond the control of the parent;
(l) Whether, on two or more occasions, a child in the physical custody of the
parent has been adjudicated dependent or neglected in a proceeding under this
article or comparable proceedings under the laws of another state or the federal
government;
(m) Whether, on one or more prior occasions, a parent has had his or her
parent-child legal relationship terminated pursuant to this article or section 19-5-105 or comparable proceedings under the laws of another state or the federal
government.
(3) In considering the termination of the parent-child legal relationship, the
court shall give primary consideration to the physical, mental, and emotional
conditions and needs of the child. The court shall review and order, if necessary, an
evaluation of the child's physical, mental, and emotional conditions. For the purpose
of determining termination of the parent-child legal relationship, written reports
and other materials relating to the child's mental, physical, and social history may
be received and considered by the court along with other evidence; but the court, if
so requested by the child, his parent or guardian, or any other interested party, shall
require that the person who wrote the report or prepared the material appear as a
witness and be subject to both direct and cross-examination. In the absence of such
request, the court may order the person who prepared the report or other material
to appear if it finds that the interest of the child so requires.