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House committee approves extending Colorado Safe Haven surrender window from 72 hours to 30 days
Summary
After panels of medical professionals, child‑welfare advocates and lived‑experience witnesses, the committee adopted a sponsor amendment directing CDHS rulemaking on reunification and voted unanimously (13–0) to send HB26‑1024 to the Committee of the Whole; proponents say 30 days aligns law with clinical reality and national norms.
House Bill 26‑1024 would extend Colorado's Safe Haven surrender window from the current 72 hours to 30 days, sponsors told the Health & Human Services Committee, arguing the change better matches the clinical course of postpartum vulnerability and national practice.
Rep. Kelty and Rep. Bridal, sponsors of the measure, said many other states have adopted a 30‑day standard and that an extension gives parents more time to consider options while preserving anonymous, "no‑questions" surrender as a last‑resort safety option. "Giving a mother 30 days instead of just 72 hours is not radical. It is reasonable," said Shannon Burke, an early witness who urged support.
Supporters included medical professionals, Safe Haven advocates and mental‑health organizations. Sarah Wagner of Colorado Safe Haven for Newborns told the committee Colorado is an outlier with a 72‑hour limit and cited El Paso County's experience as grounds for change: "Published CDHS reports show El Paso County accounts for 25 of Colorado's 87 safe‑haven cases," she said, adding that other states had not reported a surge in surrenders after extending windows.
Opponents and some adoptee advocates raised concerns that extending the statutory window risks conflating anonymous safe‑haven surrender with the formal relinquishment and adoption process. "Safe haven is truly abandonment, whereas relinquishment is a different, more formal process," said Richard Erlov of an adoptee/advocacy group, urging protections for reunification and counsel before permanent legal steps are taken.
Sponsors offered and the committee adopted an amendment (L003) directing the Colorado Department of Human Services to adopt rules establishing the process if a parent seeks reunification after a surrender; sponsors said the amendment addresses several adoption‑system questions raised during testimony. With the amendment adopted, the committee advanced HB26‑1024 to the Committee of the Whole by a recorded vote of 13–0.
Next steps: The bill will be considered by the Committee of the Whole, where any additional amendments and fiscal or operational questions for CDHS will be addressed.
