M.S. v. People, 90SC169

• Citation: 812 P.2d 632
• Decision Date: 03 June 1991
• Docket Number: No. 90SC169,90SC169
• Parties: Concerning M.S., Mother, and C.S., Father, Petitioners, v. The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Respondent, In the Interest of L.R.S., Child.
• Court: Supreme Court of Colorado

Page 632

812 P.2d 632

Concerning M.S., Mother, and C.S., Father, Petitioners, v. The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Respondent, In the Interest of L.R.S., Child.

No. 90SC169.

Supreme Court of Colorado,

En Banc.

June 3, 1991.

Calvin Lee, Glenwood Springs, for petitioners.

Kathleen H. Taylor, Craig, for respondent.

Polly St. James, Steamboat Springs, for amicus curiae Routt County Dept. of Social Services.

Justice LOHR delivered the Opinion of the Court.

In People in the Interest of L.R.S. and Concerning M.S. and C.S., 791 P.2d 1215 (Colo.App.1990), the Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed an order of the Moffat County District Court directing the petitioners, M.S. and C.S., to reimburse the Moffat County Department of Social Services (Department) at the rate of $264.00 per month until the full cost incurred by the Department for residential placement of the petitioners' developmentally disabled child, L.R.S., is recovered. The court of appeals construed the statutes governing parental support obligations to require that the parents pay the entire cost of residential placement through monthly payments based on their financial ability even if this necessitates continuation of the payments after the placement is no longer in effect. We granted certiorari and now reverse. ¹

I.

The petitioners, M.S. and C.S. (parents), have a developmentally disabled daughter, L.R.S. When L.R.S. was sixteen, school authorities recommended placing her in a residential facility equipped to provide suitable treatment for handicapped children. The parents had difficulties in finding as well as paying for suitable placement, so they approached the Department. After discussions with the Department, the parents voluntarily agreed to an adjudication of dependency and neglect pursuant to section 19-3-102(1)(e), 8B C.R.S. (1990 Supp.). After appropriate proceedings, the district court adjudicated L.R.S. dependent and neglected on May 26, 1988, and transferred legal custody to the Department. L.R.S. was referred to a community centered board to evaluate her eligibility for local programs for the developmentally disabled, ² but she was ineligible because such programs did not accept persons under eighteen. The community centered board recommended that the Department place L.R.S. in residential care. The Department placed L.R.S. at the Roundup Fellowship facility in Colorado Springs.

As the parents could not afford the $2,152 monthly cost, the Department agreed to pay that placement cost, while the parents would pay the Department a monthly fee based upon the parents' financial ability. The monthly fee initially was set by the court at $221, and the parents were not responsible for the remaining $1,931 per month. ³ At the time L.R.S. was initially placed at Roundup Fellowship, the Department's policy required monthly contributions only for the duration of a child's placement. The parental contributions would cease upon the child's removal from residential placement, and the parents would have no obligation for that portion of the residential treatment costs that had not been covered by the parents' prior monthly payments.

The Department subsequently changed its policy to require parents to pay the total cost of residential placement even if this required continuation of payments following completion of the period of placement. ⁴ The Department sought a court order directing the parents to make payments in accordance with the new policy for costs incurred after January 1, 1989. On January 23, 1989, the Moffat County District Court ordered the parents to pay monthly installments of $264 ⁵ until the Department is completely reimbursed, but stayed the order to permit the parents to challenge its validity by further proceedings in district court. On February 22, 1989, after hearing oral argument, the district court determined that the Department's new policy was consistent with the applicable statutes, and reinstated its January 23 order.

Thereafter, the district court held a hearing to review L.R.S.'s placement. Since L.R.S. had attained the age of eighteen, the Department asked that she be transferred to a local community-based placement facility. The parents objected to this transfer because they believed, based on discussions with the Roundup Fellowship staff, that L.R.S. would regress if removed from that placement. After hearing testimony, the district court found that the Roundup Fellowship placement was optimal and that it would be in the interest of L.R.S. that she remain at that facility. On March 29, 1989, the district court ordered continuation of the placement at the Roundup Fellowship facility until L.R.S. turns twenty-one. The anticipated cost of this additional period of placement, beginning January 1, 1989, is $54,000.

The parents appealed the February 22 order, which imposed liability for the total cost of placement. ⁶ The court of appeals affirmed that order and held that the parents are required to reimburse the Department for the entire cost of L.R.S.'s placement. People in the Interest of L.R.S., 791 P.2d at 1216. This ruling rested on a construction of the statutes defining parental obligations for child care costs incurred by state or county agencies.

II.

Article 3 of the Colorado Children's Code, §§ 19-3-101 to -702, 8B C.R.S. (1990 Supp.), governs dependency and neglect proceedings. A child may be neglected or dependent because she lacks proper care through no fault of the parents. § 19-3-102(1)(e). In this case, the parents were unable to find suitable, affordable care for their developmentally disabled daughter. Because of their inability to provide L.R.S. with appropriate care, they agreed to a proceeding whereby L.R.S. was adjudicated a neglected or dependent child. Legal custody of L.R.S. was transferred to the Department, which then had the responsibility to provide L.R.S. with appropriate care and treatment. This adjudication procedure allows parents with limited financial ability to obtain proper treatment for their developmentally disabled children, and thereby furthers the legislative purpose of securing for such children the care that will best serve their welfare and the interests of society. § 19-1-102(1)(a); cf. § 27-10.5-101, 11B C.R.S. (1989) (a purpose of the statutes concerning care and treatment of the developmentally disabled is to provide appropriate programs for developmentally disabled persons regardless of their ages). The best interests of the child, rather than the parents' finances, determine what care the child receives.

Although this voluntary adjudication procedure vested legal custody of L.R.S. with the Department, the parents were not completely relieved of responsibility for her care and support. The Colorado Children's Code provides that when the court vests legal custody of a child with a publicly supported agency, the court must order the parent

to pay a fee, based on the parent's ability to pay, to cover the costs of ... providing for residential care of the child. When custody of the child is given to the county department of social services, such fee for residential care shall be in accordance with the fee requirements as provided by rule of the department of social services, and such fee shall apply, to the extent unpaid, to the entire period of placement.

§ 19-1-115(4)(d), 8B C.R.S. (1990 Supp.). This section imposes an obligation on the parents to contribute towards the costs of their child's residential placement. This court-ordered fee applies to the entire period of placement, "from the date of admission into care, but not the day of discharge." Rule 7.802.711, 12 CCR 2509-9 (1988). The amount of this fee is based on the parents' ability to pay, and is calculated according to the formula contained in Rule 7.802.713, 12 CCR 2509-9 (1988). Thus, under section 19-1-115(4)(d), the parents pay a fee computed according to their ability to pay, in accordance with fee requirements established by rule, for the purpose of covering the costs of placement. ⁷

Section 26-5-102, 11B C.R.S. (1989), concerning provision of child welfare services, ⁸ imposes a parental support obligation that complements section 19-1-115(4)(d). See § 26-5-103, 11B C.R.S. (1989). The state department of social services shall adopt rules and regulations to establish "a fee schedule based upon ability to pay, requiring those persons legally responsible for the child who are financially able as determined by the state department to pay for all or a portion of the services provided under this article." ⁹ As with section 19-1-115(4)(d), the parents' obligation is computed according to their ability to pay, and the purpose of the fee is to help pay the costs of child welfare services provided to qualifying children.

When the Department reviewed its parental reimbursement policy in October 1988, it decided that section 14-7-102, 6B C.R.S. (1987), also applies. That section creates an obligation of the parents to repay the entire cost of the support of their child committed under any law of this state to any state institution or to any private institution where the child is kept at the expense of the county or state. §§ 14-7-101, -102, 6B C.R.S. (1987). The county may recover

such sum for care, support, and maintenance of the child as may be reasonable therefor, and in no case shall such sum be less than the per capita monthly or yearly amount of expense in the institution in which the child is confined or the actual expense incurred by the state or county for the care and maintenance of such child.

§ 14-7-102. This section requires parental reimbursement of the entire cost of placement, and does not condition the parents' obligation on their financial ability to pay.

III.

A.

Determination of the parents' financial support obligation entails an analysis of these overlapping statutory provisions. When construing statutes, the court must determine and give effect to the intent of the legislature, ...