In re People in Interest of G.D.M.

2026 CO 43. No. 26SA91. Safe Haven Law—Dependency and Neglect—Abandonment—CRS § 19-3-304.5—Parent’s Right to Anonymity and Confidentiality.

June 8, 2026

The supreme court held that a parent properly invoking Colorado’s Safe Haven Law, CRS § 19-3-304.5, is entitled to anonymity and confidentiality. Accordingly, a county department of human or social services (a county department) may not take steps to discover the identity of a parent who surrenders a newborn pursuant to the statute, and, if it nevertheless learns that identity, may not contact family members to search for a potential placement. And because parents who fall under the protective mantle of the Safe Haven Law are entitled to anonymity and confidentiality, a county department may not treat proceedings under this law as it would other abandonment cases. Instead, when a newborn is abandoned under the terms of the Safe Haven Law, a county department must, as soon as possible, (1) place the child with a potential adoptive parent, and (2) move to terminate the parents’ parental rights while respecting their right to anonymity and confidentiality.

The juvenile court reached the same conclusions. Accordingly, the court discharged its order to show cause.