Colorado § 26.5-5-304 - Application of part - definition.

§ 26.5-5-304. Application of part - definition.

(1) This part 3 does not apply to:

(a) Special schools or classes operated primarily for religious instruction or for a single skill-building purpose, as defined in department rule;

(b) A child care facility that is approved, certified, or licensed by any other state agency, by a tribal government department or agency, or by a federal government department or agency, that has standards for operation of the facility and inspects or monitors the facility;

(c) Facilities operated in connection with a church, shopping center, or business where children are cared for during short periods of time while parents, persons in charge of such children, or employees of the church, shopping center, or business whose children are being cared for at such location are attending church services at such location or shopping, patronizing, or working on the premises of any such business;

(d) Occasional care of children that has no apparent pattern and occurs with or without compensation;

(e) The care of a child by a person in the person's private residence when the parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody of such child gives consent to such care and when the person giving such care is not regularly engaged in the business of giving such care; or

(f) (I) An individual who provides less than twenty-four-hour child care in the individual's permanent place of residence when one of the following conditions is met:

(A) The children being cared for are related to the caregiver, are children who are related to each other as siblings from a single family that is unrelated to the caregiver, or a combination of such children; or

(B) There are no more than four children being cared for, with no more than two children under two years of age from multiple families, regardless of the children's relation to the caregiver.

(II) An individual providing child care in a place of residence authorized pursuant to subsection (1)(f)(I) of this section shall notify the parents of the children in the individual's care that the individual is operating under a legal license exemption and that the state has not verified the health and safety of the care setting or performed background checks on the individual or anyone else residing in the residence.

(III) On or before July 1, 2021, and every year thereafter, the department shall report the number of complaints filed against child care providers who are claiming an exemption from licensing pursuant to subsection (1)(f)(I)(B) of this section.

(IV) Repealed.

(2) As used in this section, "short periods of time" means fewer than three hours in any twenty-four-hour period.

(3) A licensee or governing body that has had its license suspended pursuant to section 24-4-104 or has received a final agency action resulting in the revocation of a license issued pursuant to this part 3 is prohibited from operating pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, except when the children being cared for are related to the caregiver.

(4) The department shall provide education and information in an accessible manner, in plain language, and in prevalent languages on the state licensing website for child care providers who are exempt pursuant to this section but are interested in becoming a licensed child care provider.

(5) On or before December 31, 2021, and ongoing thereafter, the department shall report on the portion of its state child care provider website that is accessible to families, and in an accessible and prominent manner, the name and location of any child care provider who is operating outside the exemptions described in this section and to whom one or more cease-and-desist orders have been issued. If more than one cease-and-desist order has been issued to the same provider, the website must include the total number of such orders. This requirement for website posting for child care providers who are operating outside the exemptions described in this section must be made public by electronic means, in a consumer-friendly and easily accessible format, organized by provider, and include the date or dates of the cease-and-desist order or orders.

Source: L. 2022: Entire article added with relocations, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 728, § 3, effective July 1. L. 2023: IP(1)(f)(I) amended, (HB 23-1235), ch. 434, p. 2548, § 11, effective June 7. L. 2024: (4) amended, (HB 24-1009), ch. 472, p. 3319, § 3, effective June 6. L. 2026: (1)(b) amended and (1)(f)(IV) repealed, (HB 26-1259), ch. 119, p. 508, § 12, effective May 5.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 26-6-103 as it existed prior to 2022.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 24-1009, see section 1 of chapter 472, Session Laws of Colorado 2024.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "Child Care and Tort Liability", see 18 Colo. Law. 1949 (1989).