§ 19-7-307. Petition – Form and Content

1. A youth or a participating youth may file a petition on the youth’s own behalf at any time. Or, if such a petition has not yet been filed and a voluntary services agreement remains in effect after ninety days, a county department shall file a petition with the court initiating a proceeding pursuant to this part 3 titled “The people of the state of Colorado, in the matter of _____, a youth in transition”. The petition must be verified and the statements may be made upon information and belief.
2. The petition must plainly set forth the facts that bring the participating youth under the court’s jurisdiction. The petition must also state the participating youth’s name, age, and county where the participating youth self-attests the participating youth resides.
3. In each case where removal of a participating youth from the home is sought, the petition must either state that reasonable efforts were made to prevent foster care, including a summary of those efforts, or, if no services to prevent out-of-home placement were provided, the petition must contain an explanation of why such services were not provided or a description of the emergency that precluded the use of services to prevent foster care or out-of-home placement. Assignment of legal authority for physical placement of a participating youth to a county department for purposes of placement in a supervised independent living placement constitutes a removal and is foster care.
4. Each petition filed for a foster youth in transition pursuant to this part 3 must include the following statements:
   1. That the participating youth retains all the adult rights and responsibilities that the participating youth would otherwise have, as described in section 19-7-304 (5); and
   2. That by consenting to the facts set forth in the petition and the jurisdiction of the court, the participating youth may be required to attend court at least once every six months pursuant to section 19-3-702. The participating youth may request that the case be dismissed at any time, forgoing the benefits and obligations of the transition program.
5. In addition to providing notice to the participating youth, the court shall ensure that notice of all hearings and reviews held regarding the participating youth is provided to licensed foster parents with whom a participating youth is placed, not including adults with whom a participating youth lives through a supervised independent living placement. Licensed foster parents have the right to be heard at such hearings and reviews but must not be made a party to the action solely on the basis of notice and the right to be heard.
6. The petition must be accompanied by a copy of the voluntary services agreement executed pursuant to section 19-7-306 and, for a participating youth entering the transition program directly from an open case pursuant to article 3 of this title 19, the petition must also include a current copy of the participating youth’s roadmap to success.

Source: L. 2021: Entire part added, (HB 21-1094), ch. 340, p. 2206, § 1, effective June 25.