Page 1
February 16, 2024 HB 24-1120
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 24-0675
Rep. Evans
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
February 16, 2024
House Health & Human Services
Shukria Maktabi | 303-866-4720
shukria.maktabi@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: RESOURCES FOR PERSONS IN CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☐ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☐ TABOR Refund
☒ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
The bill makes several changes involving persons found responsible for child abuse
and neglect in the areas of appeal rights and legal representation, the timing of
hearings, and notice provided about their case and process. Starting in FY 2024-25,
the bill increases state and local expenditures on an ongoing basis.
Appropriation
Summary:
For FY 2024-25, the bill requires an appropriation of $3.2 million to multiple state
agencies.
Fiscal Note
Status:
The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts Under HB 24-1120
Budget Year
FY 2024-25
Out Year
FY 2025-26
Revenue - -
Expenditures General Fund $2,671,024 $2,425,372
Federal Funds $494,707 $518,265
Centrally Appropriated $163,456 $194,153
Total Expenditures $3,329,187 $3,137,790
Total FTE 14.0 FTE 14.0 FTE
Transfers - -
Other Budget Impacts General Fund Reserve $400,654 $363,806
Page 2
February 16, 2024 HB 24-1120
Summary of Legislation
When a person has been found responsible for child abuse or neglect by a county department
of human services, the bill modifies what information the county must provide to the person
when it records the finding in the state child welfare data system, including the fact of the case,
the circumstances in which information in the data system may be provided to others, and
information on the appeals process and legal representation. If a person appeals the finding and
requests a hearing, the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) must schedule a
hearing within 120 days after receiving the request, and the person has the right to be
represented by counsel, including by the Office of the Respondent Parents’ Counsel (ORPC).
Background
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 the statewide children welfare data system (known as
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 CDHS
receives the appeal and settlement discussions between the person and the CDHS may begin.
The parties then have 120 days to come to an agreement. Through these discussions, the CDHS
may overturn a county's findings or enter into a settlement agreement with the individual to
modify the background check results that are generated by the person's information in TRAILS.
The person may request an administrative hearing with an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) at any
time in this process or the CDHS may forward the case for a hearing if it appears the case will
not be settled within the 120 days. 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. Under current law, there is not an established
timeframe for hearings to be held after it is requested.
Assumptions
New appeals. For FY 2023-24, the CDHS reports that there are 7,700 events logged in the child
welfare data system that person deemed responsible for child abuse and neglect may appeal to
the CDHS. Of these events, it is estimated that 22 percent of them also have a dependency and
neglect petition. Of the 1,694 events with a dependency and neglect petition, it is assumed that
50 percent of cases will appeal the finding of child abuse or neglect. The CDHS currently
receives around 100 appeals per year associated with dependency and neglect cases, resulting
in a net increase of 747 additional appeals per year. Of the 747 new appeals, 507 are assumed to
be settled and 240 will request a hearing to take place, based on the current rates of hearings
and settlements. New appeals are expected to have legal representation provided by the ORPC.
Page 3
February 16, 2024 HB 24-1120
State Expenditures
The bill increases state expenditures in the CDHS, the Department of Personnel and
Administration (DPA), and the ORPC by $3.3 million in FY 2024-25 and $3.1 million in
FY 2025-26, paid from the General Fund and federal funds. Expenditures are shown in Table 2
and detailed below.
Table 2
Expenditures Under HB 24-1120
FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26
Department of Human Services
Personal Services $246,293 $292,473
Operating Expenses $4,096 $4,864
Capital Outlay Costs $26,680 -
Legal Services $1,362,901 $1,017, 247
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
$59,317 $70,438
FTE – Personal Services 3.2 FTE 3.8 FTE
FTE – Legal Services 5.9 FTE 4.4 FTE
CDHS Subtotal $1,699,287 $1,385,022
Department of Personnel and Administration
Personal Services $359,942 $422,459
Operating Expenses $5,248 $6,144
Capital Outlay Costs $33,350 -
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
$82,724 $96,947
FTE – Personal Services 4.1 FTE 4.8 FTE
DPA Subtotal $481,264 $525,550
Office of the Respondent Parents’ Counsel
Personal Services $130,112 $162,640
Operating Expenses $1,024 $1,280
Capital Outlay Costs $6,670 -
Contract Attorney $989,415 $1,036,530
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
$21,415 $26,768
FTE – Personal Services 0.8 FTE 1.0 FTE
ORPC Subtotal $1,148,636 $1,227,218
General Fund $632,514 $682,185
Federal Funds $494,707 $518,265
Centrally Appropriated $21,415 $26,768
Total Costs $3,329,186 $3,137,792
Total FTE 14.0 FTE 14.0 FTE
1
Centrally appropriated costs are not included in the bill's appropriation. Page 4
February 16, 2024 HB 24-1120
Department of Human Services. Starting in FY 2024-25, expenditures in the CDHS will increase
to hire additional appeals staff and to cover increased legal services and hearing costs.
Staffing. The CDHS requires 6.8 FTE to respond to the assumed increase of appeals. The
fiscal note estimates that an FTE can respond to 250 appeals per year and under the bill, the
fiscal note assumes the department will receive a total of 1,797 appeals. Since the CDHS
already has 3.0 FTE for this purpose, this results in a need of 3.8 FTE. Staff costs are assumed
to start on September 1, 2024, and include personal services, operating, and capital outlay
costs outlined in Table 2.
Legal services. Currently, the average cost for cases that are referred to the Department of
Law (whether it is ultimately settled or goes in front of a full hearing) is $4,238, which
includes costs for case preparation and redaction of certain case materials shared with
appellants. Based on the number of appeals outlined in the Assumption Section, legal
service costs in the DHS are estimated to increase by $1.0 million per year for an additional
7,946 hours of legal services at a rate of $128, which equates to 4.4 FTE in the Department of
Law. Costs in FY 2024-25 are prorated for a September start date. Costs in FY 2024-25 also
include 2,700 hours (equivalent of 1.5 FTE) for general counsel for rulemaking to implement
the bill.
Administrative law judge billing. In addition to legal services cost, the CDHS will also be
billed for additional hearings in front of ALJs. More information on these costs can be found
below in the Department of Personnel and Administration section.
Department of Personnel and Administration. Starting in FY 2024-25, expenditures in the
Office of Administrative Courts in the DPA will increase to hire additional ALJs and support staff
to hold additional hearings.
Staffing. The DPA will require 4.8 FTE to hold additional administrative hearings. The fiscal
note assumes that of the new appeals outlined in the assumption section, about 30 percent,
or 240 appeals, will heard before an ALJ. Hearings on average last about 29 hours resulting
in a need of 3.3 FTE ALJs. In addition, the DPA will require 13 hours per case for support
staff, resulting in a need for an additional 1.5 FTE. Staffing costs assume a
September 1, 2024, start date and include personnel services, operating expensive, and
capital outlay costs, as shown in Table 2.
Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel. Starting in FY 2024-25, expenditures in the ORPC will
increase to hire additional staff and to reimburse contract attorneys, as described below.
Staffing. The ORPC requires 1.0 FTE to support and train attorneys on the appeals process
and screen additional requests for ORPC attorneys. Staff is assumed to begin on September
1, 2024, and includes personnel services, operating expenses, and capital outlay costs shown
in Table 2.
Page 5
February 16, 2024 HB 24-1120
Contract attorney. Starting in FY 2024-25, costs to the ORPC will increase to pay contract
attorneys for their hours of working on appeals. The fiscal note assumes that cases that end
in a settlement will take 5 hours of attorney time, and cases that end up at appeal will take
about 29 hours. In addition, the fiscal note assumes that about 30 percent of the assumed
new appeals will go in front of an ALJ and will require 29 hours of work. Contract attorneys
are paid a rate of $105 per hour in FY 2024-25 and $110 in FY 2025-26. Costs in FY 2024-25
are prorated for a September 1, 2024 start date. Finally, the fiscal note also assumes that
50 percent of costs will be eligible for federal reimbursement using Title IV-E funding from
the CDHS.
Office of the Child’s Representative. Expenditures in the OCR will increase to the extent
guardians ad litem are involved with administrative appeals. At the time of this writing, it is
unknown how many GALs will be appointed for administrative hearings, therefore the fiscal note
assumes that any additional resources will be sought through the annual budget process. For
informational purposes, GALs receive a contract rate of $100 per hour.
Centrally appropriated costs. Pursuant to a Joint Budget Committee policy, certain costs
associated with this bill are addressed through the annual budget process and centrally
appropriated in the Long Bill or supplemental appropriations bills, rather than in this bill. These
costs, which include employee insurance and supplemental employee retirement payments, are
shown in Table 2 above.
Other Budget Impacts
General Fund reserve. Under current law, an amount equal to 15 percent of General Fund
appropriations must be set aside in the General Fund statutory reserve. Based on this fiscal note,
the bill is expected to increase the amount of General Fund held in reserve by the amounts
shown in Table 1, decreasing the amount of General Fund available for other purposes.
Local Government
Workload for county departments of human services will be impacted by the bill to provide the
additional information in written notices to individuals, as required by the bill.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect 90 days following adjournment of the General Assembly sine die, assuming
no referendum petition is filed.
Page 6
February 16, 2024 HB 24-1120
State Appropriations
For FY 2024-25, the bill requires a total appropriation of $3,165,731 including:
$2,038,510 from the General Fund to the Department of Human Services and 3.2 FTE. Of
this amount, $1,362,901 and an additional 5.9 FTE is reappropriated to the Department of
Law for legal services and $398,540 and an additional 4.1 FTE is reappropriated to the
Department of Personnel and Administration for administrative law hearings; and
$1,127,221 and 0.8 FTE to the Office of the Respondent Parents’ Counsel in the Judicial
Department, of which $632,514 is from the General Fund and $494,707 is from federal
Title IV-E funds.
Departmental Difference
The fiscal note received a range of differing assumptions from departments on the potential
impact of the bill. The CDHS estimates that 75 percent of events logged in TRAILS with an
associated dependency and neglect case will appeal their case under the bill. The ORPC
estimates that 20 percent of cases will be appealed. The fiscal note assumes that 50 percent of
cases will be appealed, in between these two estimates. More information about total costs
estimated by departments may be found below.
Departments of Human Services, Law, and Personnel and Administration. Using the CDHS
assumption, the CDHS, Department of Law, and DPA estimate that the cost of the bill will total
$12.6 million ($8.5 for DHS with $7.7 million going to Law, and $3.3 million for the DPA) once
fully implemented. These costs are based on the assumption that 75 percent of new cases with a
petition for dependency and neglect will choose to appeal under the bill. The fiscal note
assumes that 50 percent of those cases will appeal based on feedback that many parties with
dependency and neglect petitions admit to the findings records in TRAILS as part of the
dependency and neglect process, and would be unlikely to appeal administrative decisions.
In addition, the CDHS and DPA cost estimates assume that a hearing must take place within
120 days from when the individuals initiates the appeal process. Under this assumption, the
CDHS would be required to prepare for a potential hearing whenever an appeal is received to
ensure a hearing is held within 120 days. The fiscal note assumes that costs for hearings and any
preparation required for a hearing, will only be required if and when a hearing is explicitly
requested by the individual or the state at any point during the appeals or settlement process,
after which the department must schedule and prepare the hearing in 120 days. The fiscal note
assumes that only 30 percent will end up at hearing based on the current rate of cases being
sent from the CDHS for hearing.
Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel. The ORPC estimates that the bill will increase their
costs by about $616,000. This is based on the assumption that 99 percent of cases will take
5 hours of work, and 1 percent of cases will go to hearing and require 27 hours of work. The
fiscal note estimates that 30 percent of new cases will go to hearing, based on the current rate
of cases being sent to a hearing and assumes about 29 hours of work, in line with the case time
reported by ALJs. In addition, the ORPC estimates that only 20 percent of cases will appeal due Page 7
February 16, 2024 HB 24-1120
to the high number of dependency and neglect cases that involve admissions to the findings of
child abuse and neglect. The fiscal note assumes that 50 percent of cases will appeal, after
taking into account the perspectives of all affected departments.
State and Local Government Contacts
Child Welfare Counties Early Childhood
Human Services Judicial 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 the General Assembly website.