Colorado § 26.5-4-116 - Recovery from recipient - estate.

§ 26.5-4-116. Recovery from recipient - estate.

(1) (a) If, at any time during the continuance of child care assistance, the recipient becomes possessed of property having a value in excess of that amount set pursuant to section 26.5-4-106 (4) and department rules or receives an increase in income, the recipient shall notify the county department of the possession of the property or receipt of the income, and the county department may either terminate the child care assistance or alter the amount of child care assistance in accordance with the circumstances and department rules.

(b) To the extent not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, if the recipient is found to have committed an intentional program violation, the recipient is disqualified from participation in CCCAP for twelve months for the first incident, twenty-four months for a second incident, and permanently for a third or subsequent incident. This disqualification is mandatory and is in addition to any other penalty imposed by law.

(c) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, any previously provided excess child care assistance to which the recipient was not entitled is recoverable by the county, or by a county contracted to administer the centralized member integrity service pursuant to section 25.5-1-210, as a debt owed. If the debt owed is due to fraudulently obtained child care assistance or fraudulently obtained overpayments of child care assistance, the recovery of the debt must be distributed to the centralized member integrity service cash fund created in section 25.5-1-210 and the county in a proportion determined by department rule. If the debt owed is due to excess child care assistance paid for which the recipient was ineligible but that was not fraudulently obtained, the recovery of that debt must be distributed to the state and the county in proportion to the amount of child care assistance paid by each respectively. On an amount of child care assistance fraudulently obtained, interest must be charged and paid to the county department, or a county contracted to administer the centralized member integrity service pursuant to section 25.5-1-210, calculated at the legal rate and calculated from the date the sum was paid to a provider on behalf of the recipient to the date the sum is recovered.

(d) If the debt for fraudulently obtained child care assistance, fraudulently obtained overpayments of child care assistance, or excess child care assistance paid for which the recipient was ineligible has been reduced to a judgment in a court of record in this state, the county department, or a county contracted to administer the centralized member integrity service pursuant to section 25.5-1-210, may seek a continuing garnishment to collect the debt pursuant to article 54.5 of title 13.

(2) If, upon the death or mental incompetency of a recipient, the inventory of the recipient's estate shows assets in excess of the amount that the recipient was allowed to have in order to receive child care assistance, or if it is shown that the recipient was otherwise ineligible for child care assistance, then the claim of the county, or of a county contracted to administer the centralized member integrity service pursuant to section 25.5-1-210, and state for the excess child care assistance paid for which the recipient was ineligible, if filed as required by section 15-12-804, has priority as a debt given preference pursuant to section 15-12-805 (1)(f.7).

(3) When a recipient was ineligible for child care assistance solely because of property in excess of that permitted by department rules pursuant to section 26.5-4-106 (4), the amount for which the recipient is liable is the amount by which the property exceeded the amount allowable under the rules or the total amount of child care assistance received, whichever is the lesser amount. Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, actions for the recovery of these sums must be prosecuted by the county department, a county contracted to administer the centralized member integrity service pursuant to section 25.5-1-210, or the department in a court of record that has jurisdiction.

(4) The department and a county department, or a county contracted to administer the centralized member integrity service pursuant to section 25.5-1-210, may elect not to attempt recovery of an overpayment of child care assistance from an individual who is no longer receiving public assistance or child care assistance if the overpayment amount is less than thirty-five dollars. If the overpayment amount owed by an individual who is no longer receiving public assistance or child care assistance is thirty-five dollars or more, the department and the county department, or a county contracted to administer the centralized member integrity service pursuant to section 25.5-1-210, may determine, consistent with the six-year time limitation for the execution on judgments involving state debt, that it is no longer cost-effective to continue to pursue recovery of the overpayment.

Source: L. 2022: Entire article added, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 681, § 3, effective July 1. L. 2026: Entire section amended, (HB 26-1429), ch. 374, p. 2318, § 20, effective June 4.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 26-1429, see section 1 of chapter 374, Session Laws of Colorado 2026.