A.  Motion to Terminate Parental Rights

C.R.S. § 19-3-602(1)
A party files a motion to terminate parental rights. The motion must be in writing and allege the factual grounds. It must be filed at least thirty days before the hearing. A separate motion is not required if termination is requested in the dependency and neglect (D&N) petition.

People in the Interest of M.C., 94 P.3d 1220 (Colo. App. 2004)
C.R.S. § 14-13-204(3)
Under the UCCJEA, if a child custody action was pending in another state when the D&N case was filed in Colorado, the juvenile court would not have continuing jurisdiction to hear the termination hearing in Colorado, unless the action in the other state ended.

C.R.S. § 19-3-604(1) and (2)






















42 U.S.C. § 675(5)(E)
C.R.S. § 19-1-115(6) and (7)
To avoid adoption delays, the court should check to make sure the termination motion includes both parents. This is especially important if the other parent is missing or unknown. Also, it is important that both parents receive notice of the D&N adjudication hearing. The court should also determine whether the case must comply with ICWA requirements.
  • DHS must file a termination motion in any of the following circumstances:
  • The child has been in foster care for fifteen of the most recent twenty-two months, unless:
    • The child is placed with a relative;
    • DHS has documented in the case plan that filing such a motion would not be in the best interests of the child;
    • Services identified as necessary for the safe return of the child to the child’s home have not been provided to the family consistent with the time period in the case plan; or
    • The child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the county department for such period of time due to circumstances beyond the control of the parent, such as incarceration of the parent for a reasonable period of time, court delays or continuances that are not attributable to the parent, or such other reasonable circumstances that the court finds are beyond the control of the parent.
  • The parent has subjected the child to “aggravated circumstances” as described in sections 19-3-604(1) and (2), such as someone abandoned, tortured, chronically abused or sexually abused the child;
  • The parental rights of the parent with respect to a sibling have been involuntarily terminated;
  • The parent has been convicted of any of the following:
    • Murder of another child of the parent;
    • Voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent;
    • Aiding, abetting, attempting, conspiring, or soliciting to commit the crimes of murder or voluntary manslaughter of the child or of another child of the parent; or
    • Felony assault resulting in serious bodily injury to the child or to another child of the parent.
C.R.S. § 19-3-603

People in the Interest of K.C., 685 P.2d 1377 (Colo. App. 1984)
Note that reasonable efforts findings are not required in most of these circumstances.

For missing parents, an affidavit of unknown whereabouts is required. If the motion alleges abandonment by an unknown parent, the party who initiated the termination must file an affidavit stating specifically what efforts were made to find the parent. It must be filed no later than ten days before the hearing.

People in the Interest of M.M., 726 P.2d 1108 (Colo. 1986)
The termination statute is not unconstitutional because it lacks notice requirements. 
People in the Interest of J.E.B., 854 P.2d 1372 (Colo. App. 1993)
Notice of a motion to terminate may be provided to the party or to the party’s attorney of record. There is no requirement to serve both.

The court may require the caseworker to submit a letter detailing the evidence and reasoning that led to the conclusion that the court should grant the motion to terminate the parent-child relationship. This letter may help all parties to be prepared, and often promotes settlement discussions that serve the child’s best interests.