Chapter 34 - § 34.3 • WHEN THE CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM IS INVOLVED WITH GRANDCHILDREN

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 34.3 • WHEN THE CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM IS INVOLVED WITH GRANDCHILDREN

§ 34.3.1—Introduction

All Colorado families have a fundamental right to raise their children without state interference unless acts or omissions of the parents threaten the health or welfare of the child. The Colorado Children's Code, Title 19 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, provides the statutory framework governing such state intervention. The specific purposes are set forth in C.R.S. § 19-1-102. Among the identified goals is the requirement to preserve and strengthen family ties whenever possible. C.R.S. § 19-1-102(1)(b). To that end, the Code requires the state to make inquiry into the availability of, and permits the state to give preference to, grandparents and extended family for placement of children who must be removed from the custody of their parents when their welfare and safety might otherwise be endangered. The purpose of the Code is also to ensure long-term permanency planning for any child who has been removed from his or her own home. C.R.S. § 19-1-102(1.5)(a)(III). Colorado provides for the consideration of permanency through placement, custody, or adoption by grandparents or extended family. The following is a roadmap through the specific sections of the Children's Code that allow for the participation of, or provide specific rights to, grandparents and extended family.

§ 34.3.2—Preference for Grandparents or Kin When Children Removed from Parents' Custody

When the court determines it is necessary to remove a child from the care of his or her parents to provide safety, the court may give preference to awarding legal custody to the child's grandparent who is "appropriate, capable, willing, and available to care for the child, if the court finds there is no suitable natural or adoptive parent available." C.R.S. § 19-1-115(1)(a). If the court awards the legal custody to an agency, such as the local county department of human services, that agency is vested with the authority to determine where and with whom the child shall live, subject to approval of the court. C.R.S. § 19-1-115(3)(a). The agency vested with the legal custody may also give preference to the child's grandparent who is appropriate, capable, willing, and able to care for the child. Id. Once the court awards the legal custody, it may not be removed without the custodian's consent until he or she is given notice and an opportunity to be heard. C.R.S. § 19-1-115(5).

The primary goal of the Children's Code is to provide reasonable efforts to rehabilitate the family and reunify children with their parents whenever possible. Therefore, awards of legal custody pursuant to the Code, including awards of custody to grandparents, shall not be permanent but shall be for a determinate period of time, C.R.S. § 19-1-115(4)(a), and shall be reviewed by the court periodically, C.R.S. §§ 19-1-115(4)(b) and (c).

Pursuant to C.R.S. §§ 19-3-401(1), (1.3), and (1.5), a child may be taken into temporary custody by a law enforcement officer without order of the courtif:

• The child is abandoned, lost, or seriously endangered in the child's surroundings or seriously endangers others, and immediate removal appears necessary for the child's protection or the protection of others;
• There are reasonable grounds to believe that the child has run away or escaped from the child's parents, guardian, or legal custodian;
• An arrest warrant has been issued for the child, the child's parent, or the child's guardian; or
• An emergency exists and the child is seriously in danger.

When a child is taken into temporary custody, the officer must notify the parent, guardian, or legal custodian without unnecessary delay. C.R.S. § 19-3-402(1). If it is necessary for the child's welfare to be placed out of the child's home, preference may be given to placing the child with the child's grandparent who is appropriate, capable, willing, and available to care for the child. C.R.S. § 19-3-402(2)(a). When a child has been placed outside of the parents' home, the court must hold a temporary custody hearing within 48 hours to determine whether such temporary custody outside the home should continue (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays). C.R.S. § 19-3-403(2). If the department of human services is granted temporary custody, the hearing shall occur within 72 hours. C.R.S. § 19-3-403(3.5). If the child has not been placed already with a grandparent, at the temporary custody hearing the grandparent may request to be given the temporary care of the child. C.R.S. § 19-3-403(1).

Since a temporary custody hearing happens very quickly, grandparents or other extended family may not be aware of it. The Colorado legislature recognizes that children develop attachments to caregivers and that there is a risk to the emotional development and safety of children if they suffer multiple disruptions in caregivers. The Children's Code places an affirmative duty on the court to ensure that all appropriate grandparents or extended family members can be considered for placement whenever a child is placed outside the home of his or her parents. A specific form affidavit and advisement, prepared by the state court administrator, shall be available to each judicial district and given to each parent attending a temporary custody hearing. C.R.S. § 19-3-403(3.6)(a)(I). The form affidavit and advisement shall advise and require the parent to list the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of, and any comments concerning the appropriateness of the child's potential placement with, other relatives and kin who have a significant relationship with the child. Id. The parents are required to complete the form affidavit and advisement no later than seven business days after the temporary custody hearing or prior to the next hearing on the matter, whichever comes first, and the local county...