Provider Services FAQs

 No, but their business models may change.

Children and youth in foster care should grow up in the least restrictive setting. Sometimes, short-term treatment can provide the services and stability a child or youth needs before they transition to a family-like setting, where they are better able to address their past traumatic experiences.

Family First creates a new facility license type called a qualified residential treatment program (QRTP). To ensure these residential programs are effective and therapeutic, a QRTP must:

• Be designed to be treatment-focused and temporary
• Provide access to 24-hour nursing
• Provide six months of services after a young person has transitioned out of the program
• Be accredited by a national accrediting entity

Family First limits the use of federal funding to four types of congregate care placements:

1. A QRTP
2. A setting specializing in providing prenatal or parenting supports for young people
3. A supervised independent living setting for young adults age 18-21
4. A setting that provides high-quality residential care and support services to trafficking survivors or those at risk of being trafficked 

Licensed group homes and group centers can continue to operate and serve children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities, children and youth placed through Colorado Medicaid, private placements and young people who are transitioning from a secure Division of Youth Services facility into a community-based placement.

To continue to serve children and youth who have experienced abuse or neglect and who cannot safely live with their parent or caregiver, group homes and group centers may consider changing their business models.

The Colorado Department of Human Services is working with group homes and group centers to provide more information and resources so that:

• Group homes can become foster homes, certified to care for six young people
• Group centers, which have rotating staff, may become QRTPs
• Group homes and/or group centers can provide community-based, evidence-based services designed to prevent moving a child/youth from their home

No, but they should grow up with a family whenever possible.

Placement in a residential child care facility, group home and group centers will not be disrupted once Colorado implements Family First.

Whenever possible, caseworkers look for kinship providers – family members and other trusted adults – to care for a young person while their parent(s) address safety concerns. Throughout a child welfare case, caseworkers are required to conduct a diligent search for possible kinship providers to provide a safe, temporary home for children and youth who have been removed from home. This requirement does not change.

If no kinship family or foster family is available, children and youth may remain in their same group home or group center.

As of August 2021, the CDHS Division of Child Welfare has received 23 applications from programs seeking to become QRTPs. Track this progress on Family First Dashboard.

It is currently unknown how many young people will qualify or not qualify for placement in a QRTP. This determination will be made using an independent assessment process, currently rolling out across Colorado. Counties are not required to assess children and teens who were in out-of-home care prior to implementation, unless a young person is transferred.

All children and youth who were in a Residential Child Care Facility or a Specialized Group Facility (group home or group center) prior to the implementation of Family First will be able to remain in those facilities, and Colorado will be able to claim IV-E reimbursement for the duration of the youth’s  placement. The Family First requirements for QRTP will only be required for new placements after Family First implementation.

If there are no QRTP options, counties cannot place a child or youth in a non-QRTP institutional care facility and be reimbursed with IV-E funds. If a child or youth has been removed to a facility that does not qualify under Family First, the state and county cost-sharing will remain the same – 80/20 – but the State will contribute the full 80 percent because federal IV-E funding will not be available. For a IV-E-eligible young person in an out-of-home, Family First-eligible setting, the State will continue to share costs 80/20 with counties, with 50 percent of the State’s portion coming from federal funds.

Each QRTP will collaborate with the child or youth, family,  county department of human/social services or the Division of Youth Services, and the family engagement and permanency team to determine the level and type of aftercare support and services the child or youth and family will need, and how those services will be provided.

The QRTP will be required to provide individualized aftercare support for six months, which in some cases might be consultation and guidance to the treatment provider working with the child or youth and family in another region of the state. It may be determined that the QRTP is not the service provider that best fits the needs of the child or family.

The intention is for aftercare support to be tailored to the needs of the child or youth and family.

The CDHS Division of Child Welfare presented on Family First to a large group of providers and counties in June 2018. Subsequently, DCW has met with providers individually and in small groups. DCW has also had ongoing conversations with providers to discuss options and to provide technical assistance regarding the impact and expectations of the legislation. A Provider Forum was held on August 29, 2019, to continue to educate and support providers and a follow-up session is scheduled for October 24, 2019.  Additional information sessions will be scheduled as needed.  Throughout 2020 and the first half of 2021, CDHS met individually and collectively with providers to educate them on the changes resulting from the passing of Family First.  DCW continues to support the transition of each provider through technical assistance provided by the licensing specialist.

The licensing category for Specialized Group Facilities (SGF) will remain in rule and statute, and SGFs may continue to operate under that license category. However, the standards for funding young people’s out-of-home care changed with Family First, and are highly likely to reduce the number of children and youth living in SGFs from county departments of human/social services.

SGFs may want to consider adjusting their business models in order to accommodate specialized populations or referrals from sources other than county departments of human/social services. The specialized populations include children and youth who are:

• Survivors of or at-risk of  trafficking
• Pregnant or parenting children and youth
• Independent living youth age 18 to 21

These populations are not held to the same funding standards as other children and youth eligible for out-of-home placements from county departments. Other options for a SGF include becoming a provider for the Children’s Habilitation Residential Program (CHRP) with the Department of Health Care Policy and Finance or serving privately placed young people. While these options may be considered by SGF owners, it is important to note that CDHS cannot ensure that SGFs will continue to attract enough children or youth to maintain their current business models.

SGFs may also consider relinquishing their SGF license and converting to a QRTP. In order to become a QRTP, a SGF must first obtain a license as a Residential Child Care Facility (RCCF) and then apply to become a QRTP, which is a RCCF service type. SGFs interested in this option should contact their Licensing Specialist to learn about the process. 

Specialized Group Homes  (SGH) may also consider relinquishing their SGF license to become certified as a foster home serving up to six children or youth. For additional information on this option, a SGH may contact their sponsoring agency or county or their Licensing Specialist.

Read more about regulations impacting QRTPs, find process maps and required documentation on the QRTP Process section of this website.

An agency must hold a license for a Residential Child Care Facility before an application to add the QRTP service type is submitted to CDHS.

A PDF of the entire application should be emailed to your assigned licensing specialist.  An original application for each facility should be sent with the application fee of $500 (one fee per agency/governing body) to:

Attn:  Provider Services Unit 
Colorado Department of Human Services, Division of Child Welfare
1575 Sherman Street, 2nd floor
Denver, CO  80203

Download the application.

On the first line check “Add Service Type”.  On the third line, check YES (there is a current license) and enter the license number and “RCCF” for the license type. In the second section, check the box for “Residential Child Care Facility”  and the line for “Qualified Residential Treatment Provider.”

All attachments listed on the Attachment Document for QRTP applications must be included in the application packet including attachment #3 (the Trauma-Informed Care Model).   The licensing specialist will forward the Trauma-Informed Care Model to the Office of Behavioral Health.  This section of the application needs to be its own document so it can be forwarded independently.    

Review the Trauma-Informed Care Model standards and application on our website. The agency self -assessment is a tool for internal review in preparation for submitting the application for the Trauma-Informed Care Model.

The application for the Trauma Informed Care Model is within the link for “The Colorado Qualified Residential Treatment Program Trauma-Informed Care Model.” The application questions are embedded in the document. This completed document must be submitted to the licensing specialist for your agency for consideration. 

The rule set is scheduled for publication on October 1, 2021.

Your Licensing Specialist should contact you with the status of your application within two weeks of when they receive it.

CDHS did not receive approval from ACF to act as an accrediting entity for QRTP. 

Site visits will occur quarterly for newly approved QRTPs through the first year post-approval. Violations of rule will be noted on the Report of Inspection (ROI.) Technical assistance will be provided to support providers to come into compliance with the published rules.