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Current Deputy Ombudsman and national ombudsman leader selected to oversee Colorado agency DENVER (May 7, 2026) — The Office of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman (CPO) announced today that Deputy Ombudsman Jordan Steffen will succeed Stephanie Villafuerte as Colorado’s next Child Protection Ombudsman, effective June 22, 2026. Steffen was selected by the CPO Board of […]

Letter from the Child Protection Ombudsman: Reflecting on a Decade of Service with the Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman Dear Colleagues, Partners and Friends, As I prepare to leave my position with the Office of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman, I feel deeply thankful and proud of all we’ve achieved together during the past

Members of a task force created by the Colorado General Assembly believe Colorado can be a national leader when it comes to how it prevents and finds youth who run away from placement in foster care and residential treatment facilities.  In its final report, The Timothy Montoya Task Force to Prevent Children from Running Away

A mandatory reporter is a person who is required by state law to make a report of child abuse and/or neglect if they suspect it may be occurring. Most states require people with certain occupations – such as doctors or teachers – to be mandatory reporters, and some states have placed this requirement on all

Click here to download the full issue brief It’s not uncommon for young people in Colorado youth detention facilities to suffer fractured bones, broken teeth, cuts and deep bruises as staff attempt to physically restrain them. Videos of use of force incidents in Colorado Department of Human Services-Division of Youth Services (DYS) facilities during the

Laws regarding child abuse and neglect are largely created by state governments. This means that there are, essentially, 50 different approaches to protect youth and stop abuse and neglect. Increasingly, states have started to examine these systems and ask a crucial question: Do child abuse and neglect mandatory reporting laws prevent child abuse and neglect

The Office of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman released a new report from the University of Denver’s Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab that provides an unprecedented look at the lived experiences of youth who have run away from foster care or residential treatment facilities as well as the experiences of current treatment providers. “Not all