Office of the Respondent Parents' Counsel

C.R.S. tit. 13, art. 92

in effect

C.R.S. § 13-92-101 Legislative declaration

13-92-101. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds and declares that: (a) Respondent parents' counsel plays a critical role in helping achieve the best outcomes for children involved in dependency and neglect proceedings by providing effective legal representation for parents in dependency and neglect proceedings, protecting due process and statutory rights, presenting balanced information to judges, and promoting the preservation of family relationships when appropriate; (b) There is a need to establish additional and equitable funding to compensate respondent parents' counsel; and (c) A clear set of practice standards for respondent parents' counsel needs to be established and made available to all parties involved in dependency and neglect proceedings. (2) Therefore, the general assembly declares that it is in the best interests of the children and parents of the state of Colorado to have an independent office to oversee the respondent parents' counsel to improve the quality of legal representation for parents involved in dependency and neglect proceedings and who often do not have the financial means to afford legal representation. (3) It is the intent of the general assembly to establish a respondent parents' counsel governing commission by July 1, 2015, and the office of the respondent parents' counsel in the state judicial department, beginning January 1, 2016. It is the further intent of the general assembly that all existing and new state paid respondent parent counsel appointments be transferred on July 1, 2016, to the operational structure recommended in the final report to the office of the state court administrator by the respondent parents' counsel work group, due on or before September 30, 2014, and set forth in section 13-92-103 (1)(b). (4) (a) To implement the recommendations from the respondent parents' counsel work group, as referenced in subsection (3) of this section, the state judicial department shall include an appropriate fiscal request to the joint budget committee on or before November 1, 2014. (b) The costs associated with the establishment of the office, including any associated FTE, shall be paid for by a transfer from the state judicial department mandated costs line item. It is the further intent of the general assembly that, for fiscal year 2015-16 and fiscal years thereafter, an appropriation shall be made to the office of the respondent parents' counsel for the purpose of payment of all financial obligations previously covered by the state judicial department mandated costs line item relating to the provision of services provided by the respondent parents' counsel as set forth in this article.

C.R.S. § 13-92-102 Definitions

13-92-102. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Child" means a person under eighteen years of age. (1.5) "Commission" means the respondent parents' counsel governing commission established in section 13-92-103. (2) "Department" means the judicial department. (2.5) "Director" means the director of the office of the respondent parents' counsel. (3) "Office" means the office of the respondent parents' counsel established in section 13-92-103. (4) "Parent" means a natural parent of a child, as may be established pursuant to article 4 of title 19, C.R.S., a parent by adoption, or a legal guardian.

C.R.S. § 13-92-103 Respondent parents' counsel - commission - office - duties - qualifications of director

13-92-103. Respondent parents' counsel - commission - office - duties - qualifications of director. (1) (a) On and after January 1, 2016, the office of the respondent parents' counsel is created within the judicial department. It is the responsibility of the office to work cooperatively with local judicial districts and attorneys to form a partnership between those entities and persons, parents, and the state for the purpose of ensuring the provision of uniform, high-quality legal representation for parents involved in judicial dependency and neglect proceedings in Colorado and who lack the financial means to afford legal representation. (b) As of July 1, 2016, all existing respondent parent counsel appointments must be transferred to the office and, after July 1, 2016, the office shall make all new respondent parent counsel appointments. (2) (a) The Colorado supreme court shall appoint a nine-member respondent parents' counsel governing commission on or before July 1, 2015. In appointing the membership of the commission, the court shall, to the extent practicable, include persons from throughout the state and persons with disabilities and take into consideration race, gender, and the ethnic diversity of the state. The court shall make the appointments as follows: (I) No more than five members of the commission may be from the same political party; (II) The members must represent each of the congressional districts in the state; (III) At least six members must be attorneys admitted to practice law in this state, three of whom have experience in serving as a respondent parent counsel; (IV) The remaining three members may be selected as appropriate, but the supreme court is encouraged to appoint at least one member who was a former respondent parent; and (V) Commission members must not currently be under contract with the office or employed by the state department of human services, a county department of human or social services, or be serving currently as a city or county attorney, judge, magistrate, court-appointed special advocate, guardian ad litem, or counsel for youth. (b) Commission members serve for terms of four years; except that, of the members first appointed, five shall serve for terms of two years. The supreme court shall fill any vacancies on the commission for the remainder of any unexpired term. (c) The supreme court shall establish procedures for the operation of the commission. (d) Commission members shall serve without compensation but must be reimbursed for actual and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. (e) Expenses incurred by the commission must be paid from the general operating budget of the office of the respondent parents' counsel. (3) The commission has the following duties: (a) On or before January 1, 2016, and as necessary thereafter, to appoint, and discharge for cause, a person to serve as the director of the office; (b) To fill any vacancy in the directorship; and (c) To work cooperatively with the director to provide governance to the office, to provide fiscal oversight of the general operating budget of the office, to participate in funding decisions relating to the provision of respondent parent counsel, and to assist with the duties of the office concerning respondent parent counsel training, as needed. (4) (a) The director must have at least five years of experience as a licensed attorney prior to appointment, and either be licensed to practice law in Colorado at the time of appointment or be able to become licensed to practice law in Colorado within six months after appointment, and be familiar with the unique demands of representing respondent parents in dependency and neglect cases in Colorado. The director shall devote the director's full time to the performance of the director's duties as director and shall not engage in the private practice of law. t the time of appointment or be able to become licensed to practice law in Colorado within six months after appointment, and be familiar with the unique demands of representing respondent parents in dependency and neglect cases in Colorado. The director shall devote the director's full time to the performance of the director's duties as director and shall not engage in the private practice of law. (b) The general assembly shall fix the director's compensation, which may not be reduced during his or her appointment.

C.R.S. § 13-92-104 Duties of the office of the respondent parents' counsel

13-92-104. Duties of the office of the respondent parents' counsel. (1) The office has the following duties, at a minimum: (a) Enhancing the provision of respondent parent counsel services in Colorado by: (I) Ensuring the provision and availability of high-quality legal representation for parents involved in dependency and neglect proceedings brought pursuant to article 3 of title 19, C.R.S., and as provided for in section 19-3-202, C.R.S.; and (II) Making recommendations for minimum practice standards to which attorneys serving as respondent parent counsel shall be held; (b) Establishing fair and realistic state rates by which to compensate respondent parent counsel. The state rates must take into consideration any caseload limitations placed upon respondent parent counsel and must be sufficient to attract and retain high-quality, experienced attorneys to serve as respondent parent counsel. (c) Enforcing, as appropriate, the provisions of this section; (d) Working cooperatively with the judicial districts to establish pilot programs, as appropriate, designed to enhance the quality of respondent parent counsel at the local level; and (e) Annually reviewing and evaluating the office's performance to determine whether the office is effectively and efficiently meeting the goals of improving child and family well-being and the duties set forth in this section. The report must be submitted on or before January 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, to the state court administrator's office. (2) The rate contracted for attorney time pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this section for fiscal year 2023-24 is one hundred dollars per hour. The hourly rate must be increased annually by no more than five dollars each year until the hourly rate is at least seventy-five percent of the rate set pursuant to the federal "Criminal Justice Act Revision of 1986", 18 U.S.C. sec. 3006A, as amended, for indigent representation in federal court. The hourly rate may be adjusted in subsequent fiscal years to maintain the hourly rate at or above seventy-five percent of the rate set pursuant to the federal "Criminal Justice Act Revision of 1986", 18 U.S.C. sec. 3006A, as amended, for indigent representation in federal court. (3) Employees of the office are prohibited from providing direct legal representation to respondent parents. For the purpose of determining eligibility for federal public service loan forgiveness, an independent contractor, including an attorney, a social worker, a family advocate, or a parent advocate, who is providing or has provided legal services to respondent parents pursuant to the contractor's contract has a conflict that prohibits the contractor from providing these services as a state employee. The director or the director's designee is authorized to sign a certification for any current or past independent contractor that certifies that the contractor appears to be eligible for federal public service loan forgiveness as allowed by federal law or regulations. With the authorization of an independent contractor, the director or the director's designee may share information, including the contractor's name, the contractor's social security number or federal employer identification number, and the total number of hours billed by the contractor by calendar year, with other judicial agencies for the purpose of certifying apparent past, current, and future eligibility for public service loan forgiveness allowed by federal law or regulations.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-13.docxFetched: 10/6/2026