Colorado § 26.5-3-202 - Legislative declaration.

§ 26.5-3-202. Legislative declaration.

(1) The general assembly finds that:

(a) Child abuse and neglect are a threat to the family unit and impose major expenses on society;

(b) There is a need to assist private and public agencies in identifying, planning, and establishing statewide programs for the prevention of child abuse and neglect; and

(c) The types of trauma experienced by children who are under eighteen years of age include childhood emotional, physical, and sexual abuse; emotional and physical neglect; housing insecurity and poverty; and household challenges, including growing up in a household with substance abuse, mental health disorders, violence, or parental incarceration. Adverse childhood experiences such as these have been shown to have a lifelong impact on health, behavior, and age of mortality.

(2) It is the purpose of this part 2 to promote primary and secondary prevention programs that are designed to prevent child trauma and maltreatment before it occurs, lessen the occurrence of child abuse and neglect, and mitigate the impacts of adverse childhood experiences to reduce the need for state intervention through child welfare actions and economic support for families experiencing poverty.

Source: L. 2022: Entire article added with relocations, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 606, § 3, effective July 1.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 19-3.5-102 as it existed prior to 2022.