2016 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 26 - Human Services Code
Article 3.1 - Protective Services for Adults at Risk of Mistreatment or Self-Neglect
Part 1 - Protective Services for At-Risk Adults
§ 26-3.1-102. Reporting requirements

(1) (a) A person specified in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1) who observes the mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult or who has reasonable cause to believe that an at-risk adult has been mistreated or is self-neglecting and is at imminent risk of mistreatment or self-neglect is urged to report such fact to a county department not more than twenty-four hours after making the observation or discovery.

(a.5) As required by section 18-6.5-108, C.R.S., certain persons specified in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1) who observe the mistreatment, as defined in section 18-6.5-102 (10.5), C.R.S., of an at-risk elder, as defined in section 18-6.5-102 (3), C.R.S., or an at-risk adult with IDD, as defined in section 18-6.5-102 (2.5), C.R.S., or who have reasonable cause to believe that an at-risk elder or an at-risk adult with IDD has been mistreated or is at imminent risk of mistreatment shall report such fact to a law enforcement agency not more than twenty-four hours after making the observation or discovery.

(b) The following persons, whether paid or unpaid, are urged to report as described in paragraph (a) of this subsection (1):

(I) Any person providing health care or health-care-related services including general medical, surgical, or nursing services; medical, surgical, or nursing speciality services; dental services; vision services; pharmacy services; chiropractic services; or physical, occupational, musical, or other therapies;

(II) Hospital and long-term care facility personnel engaged in the admission, care, or treatment of patients;

(III) First responders, including emergency medical service providers, fire protection personnel, law enforcement officers, and persons employed by, contracting with, or volunteering with any law enforcement agency, including victim advocates;

(IV) Code enforcement officers;

(V) Medical examiners and coroners;

(VI) Veterinarians;

(VII) Psychologists, addiction counselors, professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, and registered psychotherapists, as those persons are defined in article

(VIII) Social workers, as defined in part 4 of article 43 of title 12, C.R.S.;

(IX) Staff of community-centered boards;

(X) Staff, consultants, or independent contractors of service agencies, as defined in section 25.5-10-202 (34), C.R.S.;

(XI) Staff or consultants for a licensed or unlicensed, certified or uncertified, care facility, agency, home, or governing board, including but not limited to long-term care facilities, home care agencies, or home health providers;

(XII) Caretakers, staff members, employees of, or consultants for, a home care placement agency, as defined in section 25-27.5-102 (5), C.R.S.;

(XIII) Persons performing case management or assistant services for at-risk adults;

(XIV) Staff of county departments of human or social services;

(XV) Staff of the state departments of human services, public health and environment, or health care policy and financing;

(XVI) Staff of senior congregate centers or senior research or outreach organizations;

(XVII) Staff, and staff of contracted providers, of area agencies on aging, except the long-term care ombudsmen;

(XVIII) Employees, contractors, and volunteers operating specialized transportation services for at-risk adults;

(XIX) Landlords and staff of housing and housing authority agencies for at-risk adults;

(XX) Court-appointed guardians and conservators;

(XXI) Personnel at schools serving persons in preschool through twelfth grade;

(XXII) Clergy members; except that the reporting requirement described in paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) does not apply to a person who acquires reasonable cause to believe that an at-risk adult has been mistreated or has been exploited or is at imminent risk of mistreatment or exploitation during a communication about which the person may not be examined as a witness pursuant to section 13-90-107 (1) (c), C.R.S., unless the person also acquires such reasonable cause from a source other than such a communication; and

(XXIII) Persons working in financial services industries, including banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and other lending or financial institutions; accountants; mortgage brokers; life insurance agents; and financial planners.

(c) In addition to those persons urged by this subsection (1) to report known or suspected mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult and circumstances or conditions that might reasonably result in mistreatment or self-neglect, any other person may report such known or suspected mistreatment or self-neglect and circumstances or conditions that might reasonably result in mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult to the local law enforcement agency or the county department. Upon receipt of such report, the receiving agency shall prepare a written report within forty-eight hours.

(2) Pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the report must include:

(a) The name and address of the at-risk adult;

(b) The name and address of the at-risk adult's caretaker, if any;

(c) The age, if known, of the at-risk adult;

(d) The nature and extent of the at-risk adult's injury, if any;

(e) The nature and extent of the condition that will reasonably result in mistreatment or self-neglect; and

(f) Any other pertinent information.

(3) A copy of the report prepared by the county department in accordance with subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall be forwarded within twenty-four hours to a local law enforcement agency. A report prepared by a local law enforcement agency shall be forwarded within twenty-four hours to the county department.

(4) A person, including a person specified in subsection (1) of this section, shall not knowingly make a false report of mistreatment or self-neglect to a county department or local law enforcement agency. Any person who willfully violates the provisions of this subsection (4) commits a class 3 misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-501, C.R.S., and shall be liable for damages proximately caused thereby.

(5) Any person, except a perpetrator, complicitor, or coconspirator, who makes a report pursuant to this section shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability on account of such report, testimony, or participation in making such report, so long as such action was taken in good faith and not in reckless disregard of the truth or in violation of subsection (4) of this section.

(6) A person shall not take any discriminatory, disciplinary, or retaliatory action against any person who, in good faith, makes a report or fails to make a report of suspected mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult.

(7) (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (7), reports of the mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult, including the name and address of any at-risk adult, member of said adult's family, or informant, or any other identifying information contained in such reports, is confidential, and is not public information.

(b) Disclosure of a report of the mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult and information relating to an investigation of such a report is permitted only when authorized by a court for good cause. Such disclosure is not be prohibited when:

(I) A criminal complaint, information, or indictment based on the report is filed;

(II) There is a death of a suspected at-risk adult from mistreatment or self-neglect and a law enforcement agency files a formal charge or a grand jury issues an indictment in connection with the death;

(III) Such disclosure is necessary for the coordination of multiple agencies' investigation of a report or for the provision of protective services to an at-risk adult; or

(IV) Such disclosure is necessary for purposes of an audit of a county department of human or social services pursuant to section 26-1-114.5.

(c) Any person who violates any provision of this subsection (7) is guilty of a class 2 petty offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars.