HB 26-1298

HB 26-1298, also known as Background Checks for Child Welfare Placements, updates Colorado’s laws to ensure that background checks for people who take care of children in the child welfare system meet federal standards set by the FBI. This change is necessary because the current method doesn’t comply with these federal requirements, and a grace period allowing Colorado to continue using its own methods will end in May 2026. The bill gives counties and the state’s human services department the authority they need to perform these background checks correctly. Since it has been signed into law, this means that the necessary changes are now official and must be implemented by the specified deadline.

Official Summary

The act gives county departments of human or social services and the Colorado department of human services (department) the statutory authority needed to conduct the required fingerprint-based criminal history record checks for individuals who provide out-of-home care for child-welfare-involved youth in accordance with the federal bureau of investigation's standards.     For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, the general assembly anticipates that the department will receive $350,000 in federal funds to implement the act, and $350,000 is appropriated to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology to implement the act. The $350,000 appropriation is from reappropriated funds received from the department.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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