C.R.S. Section 19-5-208
Petition for adoption

  • open adoption
  • post-adoption contact agreement

(1)

The petition for adoption shall be filed not later than thirty-five days after the date on which the child is first placed in the home of the adoptive applicants for the purpose of adoption unless the court finds that there was reasonable cause or excusable neglect for not filing the petition. The court shall then fix a date for the hearing.

(2)

Every petition for adoption of a child shall be verified by the petitioner and shall be entitled substantially as follows: “In the matter of the petition of .......... for the adoption of a child.” It shall contain:

(a)

The name, date and place of birth, race, and place of residence of each petitioner, including the maiden name of the adopting mother, and the date of marriage, if any, of the petitioners;

(b)

The name, date and place of birth, and place of residence, if known by the petitioner, of the child to be adopted;

(c)

The relationship, if any, of the child to the petitioner;

(d)

The full name by which the child shall be known after adoption;

(e)

The full description of the property, if any, of the child;

(f)

The names of the parents of the child, and the address of each living parent, if known to the petitioner;

(g)

The names and addresses of the guardian of the person and the guardian of the estate of the child, if any have been appointed;

(h)

The name of the agency or person to whom the custody of the child has been given by proper order of court;

(i)

The length of time the child has been in the care and custody of the petitioner;

(j)

Names of other children, both natural and adopted and both living and dead, of the adopting parents;

(k)

The residence and occupation of each petitioner at or about the time of the birth of the child.

(2.5)

Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(a)

Pursuant to the provisions of section 19-1-126, the petition for adoption must:

(I)

Include a statement indicating what continuing inquiries the county department of human or social services or child placement agency has made in determining whether the child who is the subject of the proceeding is an Indian child;

(II)

Identify whether the child is an Indian child; and

(III)

Include the identity of the Indian child’s tribe, if the child is identified as an Indian child.

(b)

If notices were sent to the parent or Indian custodian of the child and to the Indian child’s tribe, pursuant to section 19-1-126, the postal receipts, or copies thereof, shall be attached to the petition for adoption and filed with the court or filed within ten days after the filing of the petition for adoption, as specified in section 19-1-126 (1)(c).

(3)

If the adoption placement is made by the county department of human or social services or a child placement agency, the information required in subsections (2)(b) and (2)(f) of this section must not be included in the petition but transmitted to the court as part of the home study report required in section 19-5-207.

(4)

The petition shall be accompanied by a standardized affidavit form prescribed by the judicial department disclosing any and all fees, costs, or expenses charged or to be charged by any person or agency in connection with the adoption.

(4.5)

Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(a)

An agreement entered into pursuant to this subsection (4.5) is considered an open adoption.

(b)

Only the petitioner may request a post-adoption contact agreement for contact between a child or youth and the birth parent or parents; a birth relative, as set forth in section 19-3-605 (1); or an Indian tribe if the child or youth is a member of the Indian tribe. A post-adoption contact agreement may include provisions for contact, family time, or the exchange of information, and the grounds, if any, on which the adoptive parent may decline to permit contacts or cease providing contact or information. If a child or youth is available for adoption through an expedited relinquishment pursuant to section 19-5-103.5, the contact agreement must be limited to contact between the child or youth and the birth parents and the child’s or youth’s biological siblings.

(c)

If a child is twelve years of age or older, the court shall not order a post-adoption contact agreement unless the child consents to all terms of the contact agreement.

(d)

The court shall include the post-adoption contact agreement in the adoption decree if the court finds the contact agreement is in the child’s best interests, after considering the child’s wishes and any other relevant information.

(e)

A parent who has relinquished parental rights pursuant to section 19-5-104, or whose parental rights have been terminated pursuant to section 19-3-604 or 19-5-105, or any birth relative, as set forth in section 19-3-605 (1), must not be a party to the adoption. Access to the adoption file, with the exception of the post-adoption contact agreement and any pleadings or orders made pursuant to this section to enforce the contact agreement, is governed by part 3 of this article 5.

(f)

A post-adoption contact agreement entered into pursuant to this subsection (4.5) must be submitted to the court on a standardized affidavit form prescribed by the judicial department that contains the following warnings acknowledged by all parties to the contact agreement:

(I)

After the entry of a decree for adoption, an adoption, relinquishment, or termination of parental rights cannot be set aside due to the failure of the adoptive parent, biological parent, a birth relative, or the child to follow the terms of the contact agreement or any subsequent modifications of the agreement; and

(II)

A disagreement between the parties or litigation brought pursuant to section 19-5-217 to enforce or terminate the contact agreement does not affect the validity of the adoption, relinquishment, or termination of parental rights and is not a basis for orders affecting the custody of the child.

(g)

Nothing in this subsection (4.5) permits the court to order ongoing contact or other duties for the petitioner when the petitioner does not request a post-adoption contact agreement as set forth in this subsection (4.5).

(h)

In any case where a post-adoption contact agreement is being considered by the court and a guardian ad litem or counsel for youth is currently appointed for the child or youth pursuant to section 19-3-203, the court shall appoint the guardian ad litem to represent the best interests of the child or youth, or the counsel for youth to represent the position and objectives that the child or youth want, with respect to the contact agreement. The guardian ad litem’s or counsel for youth’s representation in these proceedings is limited solely to making a recommendation as to whether the agreement proposed by the petitioner is in the best interests of the child and should be adopted as proposed. The court shall not make additions or modifications to the agreement in accordance with the recommendations of the guardian ad litem or counsel for youth unless the petitioner consents to the additions or modifications. The duties of the guardian ad litem or counsel for youth terminate upon the entry of the decree of adoption.

(5)

In all stepparent, second parent, custodial, and kinship adoptions, the petition shall contain a statement informing the court whether the prospective adoptive parent was convicted at any time by a court of competent jurisdiction of a felony or misdemeanor in one of the following areas: Child abuse or neglect; spousal abuse; any crime against a child; any crime, the underlying factual basis of which has been found by the court on the record to include an act of domestic violence, as defined in section 18-6-800.3, C.R.S.; violation of a protection order, as described in section 18-6-803.5, C.R.S.; any crime involving violence, rape, sexual assault, or homicide; or any felony physical assault or battery. In addition, the petitioner shall attach to the petition a current criminal history records check paid for by the petitioner.

(6)

In all custodial and kinship adoptions, the petition must contain a statement that the petitioner has consulted with the appropriate local county department of human or social services concerning the possible eligibility of the petitioner and the child for temporary assistance for needy families (TANF), medicaid, subsidized adoption, and other services or public assistance administered by the county department of human or social services.

Source: Section 19-5-208 — Petition for adoption - open adoption - post-adoption contact agreement, https://leg.­colorado.­gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2023-title-19.­pdf (accessed Oct. 20, 2023).

19‑5‑100.2
Legislative declaration
19‑5‑100.5
Applicability of article
19‑5‑101
Termination of the parent-child legal relationship
19‑5‑102
Venue
19‑5‑102.5
Relinquishment hearings - court docket priority
19‑5‑103
Relinquishment procedure - petition - hearings
19‑5‑103.5
Expedited relinquishment procedure - children under one year of age - other birth parents - notice - termination
19‑5‑103.7
Anticipated expedited relinquishment - children under one year of age - notice to other or possible parent - administrative procedures
19‑5‑104
Final order of relinquishment
19‑5‑105
Proceeding to terminate parent-child legal relationship
19‑5‑105.5
Termination of parent-child legal relationship upon a finding that the child was conceived as a result of sexual assault - legislative declaration - definitions
19‑5‑105.7
Termination of parent-child legal relationship in a case of an allegation that a child was conceived as a result of sexual assault but in which no conviction occurred - legislative declaration - definitions
19‑5‑108
When notice of relinquishment proceedings required
19‑5‑109
Birth parent access to records related to relinquishment of parental rights
19‑5‑200.2
Legislative declaration
19‑5‑201
Who may be adopted
19‑5‑202
Who may adopt
19‑5‑202.5
Adoption hearings - termination appeals - court docket priority - exceptions
19‑5‑203
Availability for adoption
19‑5‑203.5
Confirmatory adoption - short title - definitions
19‑5‑204
Venue
19‑5‑205
Adoption decree of foreign country approved
19‑5‑205.5
Nonpublic agency interstate and foreign adoptions - authority for state department to select agencies - legislative declaration
19‑5‑206
Placement for purposes of adoption
19‑5‑207
Written consent and home study report for public adoptions - fingerprint-based criminal history record checks - investigation - rules
19‑5‑207.3
Placement of sibling groups
19‑5‑207.5
Legislative declaration - standardized home studies - adoptive family resource registry - rules
19‑5‑208
Petition for adoption - open adoption - post-adoption contact agreement
19‑5‑209
Petition - written home study reports
19‑5‑210
Hearing on petition
19‑5‑211
Legal effects of final decree
19‑5‑212
Copies of order of adoption - to whom given
19‑5‑213
Compensation for placing child prohibited
19‑5‑213.5
Unauthorized advertising for adoption purposes - exceptions - penalty - definitions
19‑5‑214
Limitation on annulment of adoption - best interests standard
19‑5‑216
Increased access for adoption - study
19‑5‑217
Enforcement or termination of post-adoption contact agreement
19‑5‑301
Legislative declaration
19‑5‑303
Commission created - duties
19‑5‑304
Confidential intermediaries - confidential intermediary services
19‑5‑305
Access to adoption records - contact with parties to adoption - contact preference form and updated medical history statement - definitions
19‑5‑305.5
Access to personal records relating to a former ward of the state home for dependent and neglected children - other eligible parties - definitions
19‑5‑306
Public information campaign
19‑5‑307
Child placement agency - transfer of records
19‑5‑402
Access to nonidentifying information
19‑5‑403
Authority for department to select agencies
Green check means up to date. Up to date

Current through Fall 2024

§ 19-5-208’s source at colorado​.gov