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.