Colorado § 26-5-119 - Equity, diversity, and inclusion in child welfare system - data collection - assessment - resource and training expansion - reporting - definitions.

§ 26-5-119. Equity, diversity, and inclusion in child welfare system - data collection - assessment - resource and training expansion - reporting - definitions.

(1) To promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in the child welfare system; expand access to culturally and linguistically appropriate service providers; and enhance equity training for child welfare staff and entities, the state department shall, as soon as practicable but no later than June 30, 2025, and each June 30 thereafter, work with county departments and other child welfare stakeholders, including stakeholders directly impacted by or involved in the child welfare system, to update the existing annual departmental equity, diversity, and inclusion report that is available on the state department's website. Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the state department shall submit the report to the senate health and human services committee and house health and human services committee, or their successor committees, beginning September 2025 and each subsequent year. Updates must:

(a) Use aggregated and de-identified data from the statewide comprehensive child welfare case management system, as well as other state and national child welfare clearinghouses, as appropriate. The updated report must include, at a minimum, an analysis of the disproportionalities and disparities impacting different demographic groups of children and youth and their families at key decision points in the child welfare system. The demographic data analyzed pursuant to this subsection (1)(a) must include, if available, but is not limited to:

(I) Race;

(II) Ethnicity;

(III) Language;

(IV) Gender expression;

(V) Disability status;

(VI) Sexual orientation;

(VII) National origin; and

(VIII) Income;

(b) Identify additional necessary demographic or other data about children, families, and people working in the child welfare system that is not currently collected in the statewide comprehensive child welfare case management system, the child welfare worker training system, or other components and data systems of the child welfare system, and, in collaboration with counties, determine internal or external processes and make recommendations for improving data collection and reporting statewide;

(c) Provide, in collaboration with counties, an updated report on the state's progress in addressing data collection and data entry challenges in the statewide comprehensive child welfare case management system to ensure accurate reporting of demographic data; and

(d) Provide, in collaboration with counties, an updated report on the state's progress in training child welfare staff on:

(I) Protocols for requesting demographic information from children and youth and their families;

(II) Improvements to the statewide comprehensive child welfare case management system for accurate reporting of client responses consistent with national best practices for data collection of demographic information; and

(III) Improvements to practices for families to self-report demographic information to counties;

(e) In partnership with the office of the child protection ombudsman, created in section 19-3.3-102, report on any efforts to implement the recommendations from the mandatory reporter task force final report, pursuant to section 19-3-304.2 (10), on training mandatory reporters how to decrease the disproportionate impacts and disparities that impact the child welfare system; and

(f) Report on the state's progress in training the child welfare workforce in reducing bias and in promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion, and on progress in the training's alignment with current research and best practices in promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.

(2) (a) The state department shall strengthen equity, diversity, and inclusion training for child welfare staff to ensure all children and families are equitably served by the child welfare system. Equity, diversity, and inclusion training must be provided as a component of the required annual child welfare work training for child welfare workers, and equity, diversity, and inclusion training must be included with the training with the child welfare training academy for new child welfare staff established in section 26-5-109.

(b) County and state child welfare workers, supervisors, and directors shall participate in the training provided pursuant to this subsection (2) to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion. Qualified trainers with experience in promoting and teaching principles and strategies of equity, diversity, and inclusion in child welfare must provide the training. Training topics may include, but are not limited to:

(I) The historical inequities in Colorado's child welfare and education systems;

(II) Implicit and explicit bias;

(III) Reading data addressing disproportionalities;

(IV) Addressing disproportionalities in child welfare systems;

(V) Identifying and defeating bias;

(VI) Effective communication on racial and ethnic identity with families to collect data and provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services; and

(VII) How to positively engage families in decision-making to better support families of varying backgrounds.

(c) The training must be evaluated for its impact and outcomes, including, but not limited to, the training's impact in reducing bias among participants, improving positive family engagement, and increasing family engagement in decision-making.

(d) The state department shall consider providing equity, diversity, and inclusion training to other entities and agencies involved in child welfare matters to ensure proficiency in addressing disparities and disproportionality in the state's child welfare system.

(3) Any changes to the child welfare allocations funding model established in section 26-5-103.7 must consider resources to improve equitable outcomes.

(4) For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Disparity" means a situation in which inequitable outcomes are experienced by one racial, ethnic, or other demographic group as compared to another racial, ethnic, or other demographic group at the same decision-making point in time.

(b) "Disproportionality" means a situation in which the proportion of one group in the child welfare population is either proportionately overrepresented or underrepresented when compared to the general population.

(c) "Equity" means a point when all people achieve equal outcomes, are treated fairly and justly, and when demographic factors do not determine or influence child welfare outcomes.

(d) "Key decision points" include, but are not limited to, a child's or youth's referral, assessment, founded report, entry into foster care, time during foster care, and exit from foster care.

Source: L. 2024: Entire section added, (SB 24-200), ch. 453, p. 3146, § 3, effective August 7.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 24-200, see section 1 of chapter 453, Session Laws of Colorado 2024.

26-5.3 ARTICLE 5.3

Emergency Assistance for Families with Children at Imminent Risk of Out-of-Home Placement Act

26-5.3-101. Short title.

26-5.3-102. Legislative declaration.

26-5.3-103. Definitions.

26-5.3-104. Emergency assistance for families with children at imminent risk of being placed out of the home.

26-5.3-105. Eligibility requirements - period of eligibility - services available.

26-5.3-106. State's savings - cash fund created - use of money in fund - plan required.