§ 26-6-903 — Definitions

Colorado § 26-6-903

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 26: Human
• Art.: Child Care Centers

Text

As used in this part 9, unless the context otherwise
requires:

(1) Affiliate of a licensee means:

(a) A person or entity that owns more than five percent of the ownership
interest in the business operated by the licensee or the applicant for a license; or

(b) A person who is directly responsible for the care and welfare of children
served; or

(c) An executive, officer, member of the governing board, or employee of a
licensee; or

(d) A relative of a licensee, which relative provides care to children at the
licensee's facility or agency or is otherwise involved in the management or
operations of the licensee's facility or agency.

(2) Application means a declaration of intent to obtain or continue a license
or certificate for a residential or day treatment child care facility or child placement
agency.

(3) Certificate means a legal document granting permission to operate a
foster care home or a kinship foster care home.

(4) Certification means the process by which a county department of
human or social services, a child placement agency, or a federally recognized tribe
pursuant to applicable federal law approves the operation of a foster care home or
a kinship foster care home.

(5) Child care center means a facility, by whatever name known, that is
maintained for twenty-four-hour care for five or more children, unless otherwise
specified in this subsection (5), who are not related to the owner, operator, or
manager of the facility, whether the facility is operated with or without
compensation for such care and with or without stated educational purposes. The
term includes, but is not limited to, facilities commonly known as residential child
care facilities, day treatment facilities, specialized group facilities, secure
residential treatment centers, and respite child care facilities.

(6) Child placement agency or agency means a corporation, partnership,
association, firm, agency, institution, or person unrelated to the child being placed,
who places, facilitates placement for a fee, or arranges for placement for care of a
child under eighteen years of age with a family, person, or institution. A child
placement agency may place, facilitate placement, or arrange for the placement of
a child for the purpose of adoption, foster care, treatment foster care, or
therapeutic foster care. The natural parents or guardian of a child who place the
child for care with a facility licensed as a family child care home or child care
center, as defined in section 26.5-5-303, are not a child placement agency.

(7) Cradle care home means a facility that is certified by a child placement
agency for the care of a child, or children in the case of multiple-birth siblings, who
is twelve months of age or younger, in a place of residence for the purpose of
providing twenty-four-hour family care for six months or less in anticipation of a
voluntary relinquishment of the child or children, pursuant to article 5 of title 19, or
while a county prepares an expedited permanency plan for an infant in its custody.

(8) (a) (I) Day treatment center means a facility that:

(A) Except as provided in subsection (8)(a)(II) of this section, provides less
than twenty-four-hour care for groups of five or more children who are three years
of age or older, but less than twenty-one years of age; and

(B) Provides a structured program of various types of psycho-social and
behavioral treatment to prevent or reduce the need for placement of the child out
of the home or community.

(II) Nothing in this subsection (8) prohibits a day treatment center from
allowing a person who reaches twenty-one years of age after the commencement
of an academic year from attending an educational program at the day treatment
center through the end of the semester in which the twenty-first birthday occurs or
until the person completes the educational program, whichever comes first.

(b) Day treatment center does not include special education programs
operated by a public or private school system or programs that are licensed by the
department of early childhood for less than twenty-four-hour care of children, such
as a child care center.

(9) Department or state department means the state department of
human services.

(10) Foster care home means a home that is certified by a county
department or a child placement agency pursuant to section 26-6-910, or a
federally recognized tribe pursuant to applicable federal law, for child care in a
place of residence of a family or person for the purpose of providing twenty-four-hour family foster care for a child or youth less than twenty-one years of age. A
foster care home may include foster care for a child or youth who is unrelated to
the head of the home. The term includes a foster care home that receives a child for
regular twenty-four-hour care and a home that receives a child or youth from a
state-operated institution for child care or from a child placement agency. Foster
care home also includes those homes licensed by the department pursuant to
section 26-6-905 that receive neither money from the counties nor children or
youth placed by the counties.

(11) Governing body means the individual, partnership, corporation, or
association in which the ultimate authority and legal responsibility is vested for the
administration and operation of a residential or day treatment child care facility or a
child placement agency.

(12) Guardian means a person who is entrusted by law with the care of a
child under eighteen years of age.

(13) Homeless youth shelter means a facility that, in addition to other
services it may provide, provides services and mass temporary shelter for a period
of three days or more to youths who are at least eleven years of age or older and
who otherwise are homeless youth as that term is defined in section 26-5.7-102 (2).

(14) ICON means the computerized database of court records known as the
integrated Colorado online network used by the state judicial department.

(15) Kin means a relative of the child, a person ascribed by the family as
having a family-like relationship with the child, or a person that has a prior
significant relationship with the child. These relationships take into account cultural
values and continuity of significant relationships with the child.

(16) Kinship foster care home means a kinship foster care home that has
been certified pursuant to section 26-6-910 to care for a relative or kin only. A
kinship foster care home provides twenty-four-hour foster care for a child or youth
who is a relative or kin, who is less than twenty-one years of age, and who is eligible
for the same foster care reimbursement, assistance, and other supports as foster
care homes pursuant to section 26-6-904.5. Kinship foster care home does not
include non-certified kinship care as that term is defined in subsection (21.5) of this
section.

(17) License means a legal document issued pursuant to this part 9
granting permission to operate a residential or day treatment child care facility or
child placement agency. A license may be in the form of a provisional, probationary,
permanent, or time-limited license.

(18) Licensee means the entity or individual to which a license is issued and
that has the legal capacity to enter into an agreement or contract, assume
obligations, incur and pay debts, sue and be sued in its own right, and be held
responsible for its actions. A licensee may be a governing body.

(19) Licensing means, except as otherwise provided in subsection (10) of
this section, the process by which the department approves a facility or agency for
the purpose of conducting business as a residential or day treatment child care
facility or child placement agency.

(20) Medical foster care means a program of foster care that provides
home-based care for medically fragile children and youth who would otherwise be
confined to a hospital or institutional setting and includes, but is not limited to:

(a) Infants impacted by prenatal drug and alcohol abuse;

(b) Children with developmental disabilities that require ongoing medical
intervention;

(c) Children and youth diagnosed with acquired immune deficiency syndrome
or human immunodeficiency virus;

(d) Children with a failure to thrive or other nutritional disorders; and

(e) Children dependent on technology such as respirators, tracheotomy
tubes, or ventilators to survive.

(21) (a) Negative licensing action means a final agency action resulting in
the denial of an application, the imposition of fines, or the suspension or revocation
of a license issued pursuant to this part 9 or the demotion of such a license to a
probationary license.

(b) As used in this subsection (21), final agency action means the
determination made by the department, after the opportunity for a hearing, to deny,
suspend, revoke, or demote to probationary status a license issued pursuant to this
part 9 or an agreement between the department and the licensee concerning the
demotion of such a license to a probationary license.

(21.5) Non-certified kinship care means kinship care that is provided to a
child or youth who is less than twenty-one years of age by a relative or kin who has
a significant relationship with the child or youth and who has either chosen not to
pursue the certification process or who has not met the certification requirements
for a kinship foster care home as set forth in this part 9.

(22) Out-of-home placement provider consortium means a group of service
providers that are formally organized and managed to achieve the goals of the
county, group of counties, or mental health agency contracting for additional
services other than treatment-related or child maintenance services.

(23) Person means a corporation, partnership, association, firm, agency,
institution, or individual.

(24) Place of residence means the place or abode where a person actually
lives and provides child care.

(25) Qualified individual means a trained professional or licensed clinician,
as defined in the federal Family First Prevention Services Act. A qualified
individual must be approved to serve as a qualified individual according to the
state plan. A qualified individual must not be an interested party or participant in
the juvenile court proceeding and must be free of any personal or business
relationship that would cause a conflict of interest in evaluating the child, juvenile,
or youth or making recommendations concerning the child's, juvenile's, or youth's
placement and therapeutic needs according to the federal Title IV-E state plan or
any waiver in accordance with 42 U.S.C. sec. 675a.

(26) Qualified residential treatment program means a licensed and
accredited program that has a trauma-informed treatment model that is designed
to address the child's or youth's needs, including clinical needs, as appropriate, of
children and youth with serious emotional or behavioral disorders or disturbances in
accordance with the federal Family First Prevention Services Act, 42 U.S.C. 672
(k)(4), and is able to implement the treatment identified for the child or youth by the
assessment of the child or youth required in section 19-1-115 (4)(e)(I).

(27) Related means any of the following relationships by blood, marriage,
or adoption: Parent, grandparent, brother, sister, stepparent, stepbrother,
stepsister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, or cousin.

(28) Relative means any of the following relationships by blood, marriage,
or adoption: Parent, grandparent, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, brother,
sister, stepparent, stepbrother, stepsister, stepson, stepdaughter, uncle, aunt,
niece, nephew, or cousin.

(29) Residential child care facility means a facility licensed by the state
department pursuant to this part 9 to provide twenty-four-hour group care and
treatment for five or more children operated under private, public, or nonprofit
sponsorship. Residential child care facility includes community-based residential
child care facilities; qualified residential treatment programs, as defined in section
26-5.4-102 (2); shelter facilities; and psychiatric residential treatment facilities as
defined in section 25.5-4-103 (19.5). A residential child care facility may be eligible
for designation by the executive director of the state department pursuant to
article 65 of title 27. A child who is admitted to a residential child care facility must
be:

(a) Five years of age or older but less than eighteen years of age; or

(b) Less than twenty-one years of age and placed by court order or voluntary
placement; or

(c) Accompanied by a parent if less than five years of age.

(30) Residential or day treatment child care facility or facility means a
residential child care facility, including a qualified residential treatment program,
psychiatric residential treatment program, shelter care program, and homeless
youth program; specialized group facility, including a group home and group center;
day treatment center; secure residential treatment center; respite child care center;
or homeless youth shelter, including a host family home.

(31) Respite child care center means a facility for the purpose of providing
temporary twenty-four-hour group care for three or more children or youth who are
placed in certified foster care homes or approved noncertified kinship care homes,
and children or youth with open cases through a regional accountable entity. A
respite child care center is not a treatment facility, but rather its primary purpose is
providing recreational activities, peer engagement, and skill development to the
children and youth in its care. A respite child care center serves children and youth
from five years of age to twenty-one years of age. A respite child care center may
offer care for only part of a day. For purposes of this subsection (31), respite child
care means an alternate form of care to enable caregivers to be temporarily
relieved of caregiving responsibilities.

(32) Secure residential treatment center means a facility operated under
private ownership that is licensed by the department pursuant to this part 9 to
provide twenty-four-hour group care and treatment in a secure setting for five or
more children or persons up to the age of twenty-one years over whom the juvenile
court retains jurisdiction pursuant to section 19-2.5-103 (6) who are committed by a
court, pursuant to an adjudication of delinquency or pursuant to a determination of
guilt of a delinquent act or having been convicted as an adult and sentenced for an
act that would be a crime if committed in Colorado, or in the committing jurisdiction,
to be placed in a secure facility. Secure residential treatment center does not
include a state-owned psychiatric residential treatment facility as defined in
subsection (34.5) of this section.

(33) Sibling means one or more individuals having one or both parents in
common.

(34) (a) Specialized group facility means a facility sponsored and
supervised by a county department or a licensed child placement agency for the
purpose of providing twenty-four-hour care for three or more children, but fewer
than twelve children, whose special needs can best be met through the medium of a
small group. A child who is admitted to a specialized group facility must be:

(I) At least seven years of age or older but less than eighteen years of age;

(II) Less than twenty-one years of age and placed by court order or voluntary
placement; or

(III) Accompanied by a parent or legal guardian if less than seven years of
age.

(b) Specialized group facility includes specialized group homes and
specialized group centers.

(34.5) State-owned psychiatric residential treatment facility means a
psychiatric residential treatment facility, as defined in section 25.5-4-103, that is
operated on state-owned property and may have a secure perimeter fence.

(35) Therapeutic foster care means a program of foster care that
incorporates treatment for the special physical, psychological, or emotional needs
of a child placed with specially trained foster parents, but does not include medical
foster care.

(36) Treatment foster care means a clinically effective alternative to a
residential treatment facility that combines the treatment technologies typically
associated with more restrictive settings with a nurturing and individualized family
environment.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2022: Entire part added, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 784, � 17, effective July 1. L. 2024: (4), (10), and (16) amended and (21.5) added, (SB 24-008), ch. 289, p. 1933, � 7, effective September 1. L. 2025: (32) amended and (34.5) added, (HB 25-1172), ch. 155, p. 628, � 4, effective August 6.