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February 13, 2023 HB 23-1160
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 23-0745
Rep. Evans
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
February 13, 2023
House Public & Behavioral Health
Shukria Maktabi | 303-866-4720
shukria.maktabi@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: COLORADO TRAILS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☐ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☐ TABOR Refund
☒ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
This bill would prohibit the Department of Human Services from putting a person
suspected of child abuse or neglect into the state's child welfare information system
until a hearing finds sufficient evidence to support the allegations and the person has
exhausted or waived their right to appeal. The bill increases state and local
government expenditures on an ongoing basis beginning in FY 2023-24.
Appropriation
Summary:
For FY 2023-24, the bill requires an appropriation of $53.3 million to multiple state
agencies.
Fiscal Note
Status:
The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts Under HB 23-1160
Budget Year
FY 2023-24
Out Year
FY 2024-25
Revenue - -
Expenditures General Fund $53,308,413 $64,427,691
Total FTE 226.9 FTE 302.5 FTE
Transfers - -
Other Budget Impacts General Fund Reserve $7,996,262 $9,664,154
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February 13, 2023 HB 23-1160
Summary of Legislation
This bill prohibits the Department of Human Services (CDHS) from entering a person suspected of
child abuse or neglect into state child welfare data system (TRAILS) until after:
the CDHS sends a notice to the person suspected of child abuse or neglect of its intention to put
the individual into TRAILS; and
the person suspected of child abuse or neglect requests a hearing in front of an administrative law
judge (ALJ) within 90 days, the ALJ finds there is sufficient evidence to support the allegations,
and the person has exhausted or waived their right to appeal.
A person suspected of child abuse or neglect has the right to be represented by counsel. If the
allegations are substantiated and a person is listed in TRAILS, the DHS must determine a length of
time the person will be listed in TRAILS that is proportionate to the severity of the crime.
The bill also prevents a finding from being entered against a person under 13 years old and allows
agencies to keep records of unsubstantiated reports to aid in future assessments, but not to release
them for the public or employment purposes.
Background
TRAILS. TRAILS is the state's comprehensive child welfare information system that is required by
federal law. The system is a central registry for substantiated findings related to child abuse and
neglect. Among its various functions, TRAILS is also used as:
• a reporting tool for the number of assessments, investigations, and the ongoing provision of child
welfare services;
• a delivery and payment tool for child welfare prevention services and other referrals;
• a delivery and payment tool for child welfare placement services and post-adoption services;
• a tool for the coordination of child care licensing investigations;
• a tool for background check activities for child care licensing; and
• a coordination and documentation tool for licensing activities for foster parents and other
placement providers.
Appeals. Under current law, when a county department of human services finds, through the
preponderance of the evidence, that allegations of child abuse or neglect are founded, the county
department lists those finding in TRAILS. Upon listing, counties are required to notify the person
being listed in TRAILS of the finding and their right to appeal the finding. When a person chooses to
appeal, the DHS receives the appeal and settlement discussions between the person and the DHS may
begin. The parties then have 120 days to come to an agreement. Through these discussions, the DHS
may overturn a county's findings or enter into a settlement agreement that may modify the
background check results that are generated by the person's information in TRAILS. The person may
request an administrative hearing with an ALJ at any time in this process. If the appeal is filed, a
hearing is held and the ALJ will issue an initial decision. The DHS then reviews this decision and
enters a final agency decision. Final agency decisions are subject to judicial review.
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February 13, 2023 HB 23-1160
Assumptions
Concerning the administrative hearings required to determine if child abuse and neglect findings can
be entered into TRAILS by the CDHS, the fiscal note makes the following assumptions.
Each year 109,200 written notices will be sent to individuals involved in a report of child abuse or
neglect and there will be approximately 7,700 additional hearings in front of an ALJ.
For each hearing, CDHS will require legal services from the Department of Law (DOL) at a cost of
$2,912 per hearing, on average.
75 percent of persons with hearings will require counsel from the Office of Respondent Parents’
Counsel (ORPC) and each case will require about 27.5 hours of legal representation at a cost of $85
per hour.
State Expenditures
The bill increases state expenditures in CDHS, DPA, and ORPC by about $53.3 million in FY 2023-24
and $64.4 million in FY 2024-25, paid from the General Fund. It may also increase workload for the
Judicial Department and require capital construction or leased space beginning FY 2023-24.
Expenditures are shown in Table 2 and detailed below.
Table 2
Expenditures Under HB 23-1160
FY 2023-24 FY 2024-25
Department of Human Services
Personal Services $5,749,091 $7,665,457
Operating Expenses $145,125 $174,150
Capital Outlay Costs $860,430 -
Employee insurance and supplemental retirement $1,627,252 $2,168,921
Legal Services $18,685,333 $22,422,400
Mailing Costs $68,796 $68,796
FTE – Personal Services 96.8 FTE 129.0 FTE
FTE – Legal Services 98.2 FTE 117.8 FTE
CDHS Subtotal $27,136,027 $32,499,724
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February 13, 2023 HB 23-1160
Table 2 Cont.
Expenditures Under HB 23-1160
Department of Personnel and Administration
Personal Services $11,726,163 $15,634,884
Operating Expenses $195,075 $234,225
Capital Outlay Costs $1,153,910 -
Employee insurance and supplemental retirement $2,563,476 $3,418,344
FTE – Personal Services 130.1 FTE 173.5 FTE
DPA Subtotal $15,638,624 $19,287,453
Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel
Attorney Representation $10,533,762 $12,640,514
ORPC Subtotal $10,533,762 $12,640,514
Total $53,308,413 $64,427,691
Total FTE 226.9 FTE 302.5 FTE
Department of Human Services. The bill will increase state expenditures in the DHS as shown in
Table 2 above. These costs include additional staff, legal services, administrative hearing costs, and
mailing costs.
Staffing costs. This bill will require 129 FTE of social services specialists and other staff beginning
in FY 2023-24 to provide written notification and compile other information for persons requesting
a hearing. Based on the amount of work currently required during appeals of founded cases of
child abuse and neglect entered into TRAILS, the fiscal note assumes that each FTE can process
14 written notifications and compile 5 information packets per hour. The FTE amounts above also
include supervisory, administrative, legal, and data system staff to support this work. Staffing
costs reflect standard operating and capital outlay costs. First-year costs are prorated for a
September 1 start date and the General Fund paydate shift.
Legal services. Based on the workload described in the Assumptions section of the fiscal note, the
DHS will require over 200,000 hours of legal services for the Department of Law to represent the
DHS in the initial TRAILS hearings. Legal services are provided by the at a rate of $105.75 per
hour. Costs in the Department of Law are reappropriated from DHS and are prorated for a
September 1 start date.
Administrative hearings. The DHS will have costs to pay for administrative hearings conducted
by the Office of Administrative Courts in Department of Personnel and Administration. These
costs are outlined on the next page of this fiscal note.
Mailing. Costs will increase to send notices through certified mail and to print reports, as required
by the bill. The fiscal note assumes that mailing 2,100 notifications per week will cost $0.63 each.
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February 13, 2023 HB 23-1160
Office of Administrative Courts (DPA). The DPA will require an additional 125.0 FTE of ALJs
starting in FY 2023-24 to hear cases concerning the entry of child abuse and neglect cases into TRAILS.
This additional staff also includes supervising judges. In addition, the DPA will require 48.0 FTE
technicians to manage the court docket and provide administrative support to the ALJs. The fiscal
note assumes 28.7 hours of an ALJ and 14 hours of a technician are required per hearing, determined
based on DPA’s current number of cases and the length of cases. Staffing costs reflect standard
operating and capital outlay costs. Costs in the DPA are reappropriated from DHS and first-year costs
are prorated for a September 1 start date and the General Fund paydate shift.
Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel. Expenditures in ORPC will increase by to provide counsel
to indigent persons at hearings regarding the entry of case information into TRAILS. The fiscal note
assumes an attorney rate of $85 an hour. The number of cases in which counsel will be required and
the hours per cases are outlined in the Assumptions section. The first year of costs are prorated for a
September 1 start date.
Department of Law. In addition to legal services to DHS in administrative courts detailed above, if
parties were to appeal the ALJ decision to district court, additional legal services will be required for
these cases. Because it is unknown how many cases will be appealed to the courts, the fiscal note
assumes that any increase in funding will be handled through the annual budget process.
Judicial Department. To the extent that there are more cases appealed to the trial courts, expenditures
and workload will increase in the trial courts to hear these additional cases. Because it is unknown
how many cases will be appealed to the courts, the fiscal note assumes that any increase in funding
will be handled through the annual budget process.
Capital construction. Due to large amount of FTE, capital projects may be required in order to house
all the additional FTE. At this time, the fiscal note does not include costs for leased space or any capital
construction. It is assumed that affected departments will request any required funding through the
annual budget process.
Employee insurance and supplemental retirement. Pursuant to fiscal note and Joint Budget
Committee policy, centrally appropriated costs for bills involving more than 20 FTE are appropriated
in the bill, rather than through the annual budget process. These costs, which include employee
insurance and supplemental employee retirement payments for the Department of Human Services
and the Department of Personnel and Administration, are estimated to be $4.2 million in FY 2023-24
and $5.6 million in FY 2024-25.
Local Government
Starting in FY 2023-24, expenditures in county departments of human services may increase to attend
more hearings. An exact cost or level of impact to each county cannot be determined at this time.
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February 13, 2023 HB 23-1160
Effective Date
The bill takes effect 90 days following adjournment of the General Assembly sine die, assuming no
referendum petition is filed.
State Appropriations
For FY 2023-24, the bill requires the following General Fund appropriations:
• $42,774,651 to the Department of Human Services and 96.8 FTE. Of this amount $18,685,33 is
reappropriated to the Department of Law with an additional 98.2 FTE and $15,638,624 is
reappropriated to the Department of Personnel and Administration and an additional 130.1 FTE;
and
• $10,533,762 to the Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel.
State and Local Government Contacts
Counties Human Services Information Technology
Law Personnel
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each
fiscal year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit: leg.colorado.gov/fiscalnotes.