Duties of the office of the respondent parents' counsel

(1) The office has the following duties, at a minimum: (a) Enhancing the provision of respondent parent counsel services in Colorado by: (I) Ensuring the provision and availability of high-quality legal representation for parents involved in dependency and neglect proceedings brought pursuant to article 3 of title 19, C.R.S., and as provided for in section 19-3-202, C.R.S.; and (II) Making recommendations for minimum practice standards to which attorneys serving as respondent parent counsel shall be held; (b) Establishing fair and realistic state rates by which to compensate respondent parent counsel. The state rates must take into consideration any caseload limitations placed upon respondent parent counsel and must be sufficient to attract and retain high-quality, experienced attorneys to serve as respondent parent counsel. (c) Enforcing, as appropriate, the provisions of this section; (d) Working cooperatively with the judicial districts to establish pilot programs, as appropriate, designed to enhance the quality of respondent parent counsel at the local level; and (e) Annually reviewing and evaluating the office's performance to determine whether the office is effectively and efficiently meeting the goals of improving child and family well-being and the duties set forth in this section. The report must be submitted on or before January 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, to the state court administrator's office. (2) The rate contracted for attorney time pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this section for fiscal year 2023-24 is one hundred dollars per hour. The hourly rate must be increased annually by no more than five dollars each year until the hourly rate is at least seventy-five percent of the rate set pursuant to the federal "Criminal Justice Act Revision of 1986", 18 U.S.C. sec. 3006A, as amended, for indigent representation in federal court. The hourly rate may be adjusted in subsequent fiscal years to maintain the hourly rate at or above seventy-five percent of the rate set pursuant to the federal "Criminal Justice Act Revision of 1986", 18 U.S.C. sec. 3006A, as amended, for indigent representation in federal court. (3) Employees of the office are prohibited from providing direct legal representation to respondent parents. For the purpose of determining eligibility for federal public service loan forgiveness, an independent contractor, including an attorney, a social worker, a family advocate, or a parent advocate, who is providing or has provided legal services to respondent parents pursuant to the contractor's contract has a conflict that prohibits the contractor from providing these services as a state employee. The director or the director's designee is authorized to sign a certification for any current or past independent contractor that certifies that the contractor appears to be eligible for federal public service loan forgiveness as allowed by federal law or regulations. With the authorization of an independent contractor, the director or the director's designee may share information, including the contractor's name, the contractor's social security number or federal employer identification number, and the total number of hours billed by the contractor by calendar year, with other judicial agencies for the purpose of certifying apparent past, current, and future eligibility for public service loan forgiveness allowed by federal law or regulations.