News

Timothy Montoya Task Force meets during National Runaway Prevention Month

Coinciding with National Runaway Prevention Month, the second meeting of the Timothy Montoya Task Force to Prevent Children from Running Away from Out-of-Home Placement was hosted by the Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman (CPO) on Wednesday. Task force members began the meeting by discussing their takeaways from September’s inaugural meeting where they heard the […]

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Child Protection Ombudsman hosts first meeting of Timothy Montoya Task Force

Group begins two-year project to address youth running away from out-of-home placements The Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman hosted the first meeting of the new Timothy Montoya Task Force to Prevent Children from Running Away from Out-of-Home Placement on Wednesday. “As we sit here today, there are many youth on the run who have

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CPO’s Juvenile Facilities Roundtable Hosts a Facilitated Discussion to Explore A ‘Smaller Is Better’ Treatment Model for Youth in Colorado’s Commitment Facilities

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel facilitated a discussion with youth advocates to identify barriers to implementing smaller, community-based and homelike treatment facilities for Colorado’s committed youth. Every quarter, the CPO hosts the Roundtable on Juvenile Facilities (Roundtable). These public meetings provide youth advocates a space

CPO’s Juvenile Facilities Roundtable Hosts a Facilitated Discussion to Explore A ‘Smaller Is Better’ Treatment Model for Youth in Colorado’s Commitment Facilities Read More »

CPO’s Juvenile Facilities Roundtable Hosts Presentation on the ‘Smaller is Better’ Treatment Model for Youth in Commitment

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado presented research about how the implementation of smaller, community-based and homelike treatment facilities are impacting committed youth. Every quarter, the CPO hosts the Roundtable on Juvenile Facilities (Roundtable). These public meetings provide youth advocates a space to learn and share information about topics that are impacting youth in

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CPO’s Juvenile Facilities Roundtable Hosts Presentation on Substance Use Disorder Services

The Office of Behavioral Health discussed the availability of substance use disorder services for adolescents involved in the state’s juvenile justice system. Every quarter, the CPO hosts the Roundtable on Juvenile Facilities (Roundtable). These public meetings provide youth advocates a space to learn and share information about topics that are impacting youth in Colorado’s juvenile detention or commitment

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Searching for the Why: Understanding Why Children Run from Residential Treatment Centers Will Help Us Ensure Their Safety

Youth in our state’s residential treatment facilities are running away in record numbers. This is not news. Rather, it is a three-decades-old problem that is long overdue for a solution. In May 2021, The Colorado Sun and 9News did a three-part series on the seriousness of the situation in Colorado. The series highlighted a broken

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A New Approach: How a New Method of Investigating Allegations of Child Abuse and Neglect Can Help Children and Their Caregivers

The CPO discusses how one study may inform the way Colorado responds to child abuse and neglect investigations. On May 26, 2021, Tiffany Madrid, the CPO’s Director of Legislative Affairs and Policy, sat down with Dr. Kristin Klopfenstein (bottom window), the director of the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab and Dr. Anne DePrince (top left

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An afternoon with the Child Protection Ombudsman Board chairs

The CPO’s Karen Nielsen, Director of Administrative Services, sat down with the CPO Board’s first chair and his successor to discuss how the agency has grown and changed. The primary purpose of this exclusive interview is to share with you how the Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman Board was created and to introduce you

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Part Four — One Year of COVID: CPO analysts describe the impacts of the pandemic on the child protection system.

One year ago, as the COVID-19 pandemic settled into Colorado, the Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman (CPO) staff sat together around a conference table to discuss what the next few weeks would entail. Like many agencies, we anticipated staff would work remotely for 2 to 3 weeks. Maybe a month. This year marks the

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