Housed in the Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman (CPO), the Mandatory Reporting Task Force was created by the Colorado General Assembly with the passage of HB22-1240. The task force will analyze the effectiveness of and issues with the law requiring individuals from specific professions to report suspected child abuse to authorities, including: Meeting 13 …
Next Meeting: May 3, 2023 (8:00-11:00 am) Housed in the Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman, the Timothy Montoya Task Force to Prevent Children from Running Away from Out-of-Home Placement was created by the Colorado General Assembly with the passage of HB22-1375 and formed in September 2022. Named after 12-year-old Timothy Montoya who was hit …
Timothy Montoya Task Force to Prevent Youth from Running from Out-of-Home Placement Read More »
Colorado, like many other states in the country, has had a series of high-profile cases that raise questions about the effectiveness of mandatory reporting laws. The Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman (CPO) has received dozens of inquiries from citizens, professionals and mandatory reporters themselves, seeking clarification regarding what the law requires of them. These …
When a child dies in Colorado, there is no consistent and transparent process that guarantees all systems – including law enforcement, schools and hospitals – are notified of their roles. This includes cases in which the child died of abuse and neglect. Conversely, there is no accountability mechanism for ensuring that all systems capable of …
Every year, thousands of Colorado children are removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect by their parents or caretakers. These children are often placed in foster care, group homes and/or residential child care facilities. Many have been exposed to drug addiction, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and domestic violence. Some have been …
Strengthening Colorado’s Foster Youth Protection Laws Read More »
County human service departments respond to 40,000 reports of possible child abuse or neglect throughout Colorado each year. Roughly 100 times a day, child protection workers serve as first responders to these reports, typically by entering families’ homes at their own risk. As the spread of COVID-19 overwhelmed Colorado, the reports of abuse or neglect …
Unlike most state agencies in Colorado, the Division of Youth Services (DYS) – which is overseen by the Colorado Department of Human Services – develops its polices internally among agency leadership with no opportunity for outside entities to participate or observe. This raised questions about whether the DYS operates in compliance with state laws that …
