Representative Landgraf and Representative Kraft Tharp, bill sponsors, presented House Bill 20-1317.
The bill makes several changes to the operations of the Colorado Children's Trust Fund (CCTF) and the membership of its board.
CCTF board membership and powers. The bill increases the membership of the CCTF board from 9 to 17 members. The 8 new members include the director of the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF); the director of the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA); the Child Protection Ombudsman; two members who represent county leadership in public health, human, or social services; one member who is a parent or representative of a parent organization; and two members appointed by the leader of each house of the General Assembly. The bill imposes a two term limit on board members.
The bill also renames the fund as the "Colorado Child Abuse Prevention Trust Fund" and expands the duties and powers of the board accordingly. Namely, it authorizes the board to advise various entities on child maltreatment prevention, develop strategies to decrease its incidence, and to monitor local child maltreatment prevention plans.
CCTF revenue and spending. Under current law, the CCTF board is only allowed to spend 75 percent of money credited to the CCTF until the total amount of assets in the fund exceeds $5 million, and once this threshold is reached, court docket fees are no longer deposited into the fund. This bill repeals these statutory restrictions on both fee collection to and spending from the fund.
Reporting and repeal deadlines. The bill extends the reporting and repeal deadlines by four years. It extends the deadline for the Department of Human Services (DHS) to provide a report to the General Assembly evaluating CCTF expenditures and impacts of grants to November 1, 2025. The bill also extends the repeal date of the CCTF and board to July 1, 2026.
