CO SB087

Establishes certification requirements for foster care homes (including kinship foster care homes) through county departments and child placement agencies instead of only state licensing, with standardized background checks including fingerprint-based criminal history records, ICON system checks, child abuse/neglect database checks, and sex offender registry checks.

Defines "kinship foster care home" to include placements with relatives, family-like relationships, or persons with prior significant relationships to the child; kinship foster care providers are eligible for foster care reimbursement and must meet the same certification standards as other foster care homes.

Requires comprehensive background checks for all foster care applicants and adult residents before child placement, with specific disqualifying offenses including child abuse, crimes of violence, unlawful sexual behavior, domestic violence felonies, and patterns of misdemeanor convictions within specified timeframes.

Establishes background check requirements for noncertified kinship care placements and emergency placements, requiring county departments to conduct initial criminal history checks before placement and follow-up checks within 5-15 days, with procedures to remove children if disqualifying factors are discovered.

Requires state board to promulgate rules by January 1, 2016 for foster care and kinship care certification, including annual recertification with on-site visits, health assessments of foster parents, documentation of background check completion, and procedures for addressing disqualifying factors discovered during screening.