A.  Emergency Custody

C.R.S. § 19-3-401(1)
A law enforcement officer may remove a child without a court order if the child is in immediate danger, such as if the child is:
  • Abandoned;
  • Lost;
  • Seriously endangered;
  • A runaway;
  • With a parent under an arrest warrant for violating a custody order.
C.R.S. § 19-3-401(3)(b)
A law enforcement officer, upon the recommendation of DHS, a physician, a nurse, or a physician’s assistant, may detain a newborn child in hospital while an order of the court is being obtained.

C.R.S. § 19-3-401(3)(c)
Court orders for custody of a newborn child are not required if:
  • The newborn child is affected by substance abuse or demonstrates withdrawal symptoms;
  • The newborn child’s only identifiable birth parent or parents have been determined by a physician, registered nurse, or qualified mental health professional to be mentally ill or gravely disabled; or
  • The newborn child is subject to an environment that will expose the child to a laboratory for manufacturing illegal drugs.
C.R.S. § 19-3-402(2)
The law enforcement officer must release the child to the parent or other responsible adult unless placement out of the home is necessary to the child’s best interests and welfare. The judge may condition the child’s release or require a written promise to bring the child to court.

C.R.S. § 19-3-405
DHS may remove a child only with a court order. The court may issue an ex parte protective custody order, if continuing the child in the home or in the responsible person’s custody presents a danger to the child’s life or health in the foreseeable future.

DHS, law enforcement, hospital administrators and physicians who has a child suspected of being neglected or abused may also request such an order. The order may be written or verbal and it expires in three court days. DHS must be notified to begin dependency and neglect (D&N) proceedings.

C.R.S. § 19-3-405(2)(b) and (4)
The court may issue orders to protect the child without removal. An emergency protective order may restrain a person from threatening, molesting, injuring or contacting the child or from interfering with the child’s supervision. The order expires in 72 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sunday, and legal holidays.

C.R.S. § 19-3-404
The court may order emergency caretaker services into the home. This option avoids a foster care placement. The emergency caretaker remains until a parent, guardian or legal custodian enters the home and expresses a willingness and apparent ability to resume charge of the child. The order expires in 72 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. (Emergency caregiver services are not available in every county.)

C.R.S. § 19-3-403(8)
Any law enforcement officer, DHS employee or other person authorized by the court or statute to take or retain custody of a child has good faith immunity from civil or criminal liability. Immunity also extends to transporting the child and releasing the child from custody. Good faith is presumed.

Malik v. Arapahoe County DHS, 987 F.Supp. 868 (D. Colo. 1997)
Malik v. Arapahoe County DHS held that qualified immunity did not protect a police officer who requested an ex parte protective custody order knowing the child was not in danger. The police officer had contacted the mother about pornographic pictures of her daughter. The mother explained that they had been taken six months prior by her brother, who lived in another state. When the officer asked for an interview with her daughter, the mother hired an attorney to negotiate the terms of the interview.

After delays by the attorney, the officer obtained an ex parte removal order without telling the court about the mother’s attorney, or that the alleged perpetrator did not live with the child. After he interviewed the girl, he immediately released her to her mother. The federal district court found that these allegations, if proven in court, would establish a violation of the mother’s First Amendment rights to familial association and privacy and her Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable seizures.