Colorado CPO

As the COVID-19 outbreak stretches into the spring, children and families across Colorado continue to face uncertainty and hardship. During the past weeks, the Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman has continued to respond to concerns from Colorado citizens, monitor statewide policies that will impact services, support child protection workers and connect with youth impacted […]

As the outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted all of Colorado’s crucial services, the Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman has remained concerned about the lack of protective equipment provided to child protection workers. These county department employees continue to respond to reports of abuse and neglect, entering homes and other locations without the equipment necessary

On average, there are more than 620 youth in custody every day in Colorado. Consistently, there are 40 to 100 youth living in each of the Division of Youth Services’ secure facilities. Because these youth are housed together – living in close proximity of each other – they are at greater risk for infection. Many

The Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman (CPO) continues to monitor and respond to the evolving circumstances surrounding the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. As child protection agencies across Colorado respond to the rapidly changing situation, the CPO is committed to assisting children, families and agency partners to ensure services are accessible and information is provided in a timely manner.

This week, CPO Stephanie Villafuerte spoke with The Colorado Sun  and 9NEWS about our special initiative to reform the child fatality review system. This year, our agency is committed to working with stakeholders to address gaps in our state’s child fatality review system so we can reduce the number of child deaths in Colorado. “The