19-5-109. Birth parent access to records related to relinquishment of parental rights.
Statute text
(1) (a) Except for relinquishments ordered pursuant to section 19-5-105.5 (6.6) or 19-5-105.7 (9) or when the subsequent termination of the parent-child legal relationship is the result of a dependency and neglect action, in those cases in which a parent consents to the relinquishment of his or her child, the custodian of records shall provide to the relinquishing birth parent to whom the document pertains a copy of the relinquishment records, in the possession of the custodian of records, that are signed by the relinquishing birth parent or by a parent, guardian, custodian, or legal representative on behalf of the relinquishing birth parent and any of the following records listed in this paragraph (a) in which the relinquishing birth parent is named, including:
(I) The original birth certificate of the child who is being relinquished;
(II) The petition to relinquish;
(III) The final order of relinquishment;
(IV) The affidavit of counseling, excluding any attachments and excluding any notes or prerelinquishment counseling documents;
(V) The temporary waiver of custody;
(VI) Expedited relinquishment documents, if applicable;
(VII) A relinquishment interrogatory from a birth parent;
(VIII) The order for publication of relinquishment;
(IX) The notice to terminate the parent-child legal relationship; and
(X) The medical records of a birth mother related to the pregnancy and birth, which records may only be released by the health-care provider, hospital, or maternity home that created the record.
(b) The custodian of records shall provide the records described in paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) to the relinquishing birth parent at the time of relinquishment of the child or at the time the document is created.
(2) If the records described in subsection (1) of this section were not provided to a birth parent at the time of the relinquishment of the child or at the time the document was created and if the subsequent termination of the parent-child legal relationship was not the result of a dependency or neglect action, then upon written request and proof of identification of the birth parent, the custodian of records shall provide access to and copies of the records described in subsection (1) of this section to the birth parent. Nothing in this section prevents the release of the records described in subsection (1) of this section to a birth parent who was a minor at the time of the relinquishment of a child in circumstances where the record was signed by a parent, guardian, legal custodian, or legal representative on behalf of the relinquishing birth parent.
(3) A licensed child placement agency is not liable to any person for the failure of a birth parent to request copies of the records described in subsection (1) of this section pursuant to the provisions of subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section. A licensed child placement agency or succeeding custodian of records is not liable to any person for failure to produce a copy of a record that did not exist pursuant to the provisions of the Colorado Revised Statutes or rules at the time of the relinquishment of the child.
History
Source: L. 2014: Entire section added, (HB 14-1042), ch. 261, p. 1050, 2, effective August 6; IP(1)(a) amended, (HB 14-1162), ch. 167, p. 595, 10, effective August 6.
Annotations
Law reviews. For article, "The Adoptee Trap, the Accidental Beneficiary, and the Rational Testator", see 42 Colo. Law. 29 (Feb. 2013); for comment, "Two Legal Mothers: Cementing Parental Rights for Lesbian Parents in Colorado", see 91 U. Colo. L. Rev. 1247 (2020).