The Family-Friendly Courts Act

The Family-Friendly Courts Act, C.R.S. § 13-3-113, is intended to assist families with children when those families are required to interact with the court system.  The Act does not limit interaction to court appearances, but all court-related matters including juvenile, domestic and other proceedings and meetings with probation officers. Citing a 1999 report entitled, “Creating Family Friendly Courts in Colorado: Children’s Centers for the Courthouse,” the legislative declaration of the Act recognizes that many families or family members who are required to attend court proceedings are responsible for the care of young children, whose presence in the courtroom can present obstacles to their caretakers’ effective and complete participation in court proceedings. Those same individuals or families may also benefit from the availability of information and referrals to various community resources. The legislature also found that many individuals have service needs ordered by the court involving their children including supervised visitation and supervised exchange when funding is available.

Pursuant to the Act, Colorado judicial districts are eligible to apply to the Colorado State Court Administrator’s Office for Family-Friendly Court funds. If you are a judicial district or a provider of services working with a judicial district, please see the Amplifund webpage for more information on applying for funds and click here to email application questions.  If you are a provider of services or a party in a court case, please contact the self-help center at your local courthouse for more information about services in your area.