Child Welfare System – Colorado

Posted on December 7, 2009 by townsend

• Colorado again fails federal test on child protection, By Electa Draper, December 5, 2009, Denver Post: “Colorado’s child-welfare system again fell short of federal standards for protecting the safety and well-being of the state’s kids, according to a comprehensive federal review released Friday. Despite extensive public and political focus on human services following a series of preventable children’s deaths, Colorado’s overall performance, assessed between Oct. 1, 2007, and March 20, 2009, was no better than its substandard showing after the first such review was completed in 2002. ‘There is no measurable improvement. It’s a sobering result,’ said Liz McDonough, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Human Services. Colorado’s child-welfare system, one of 11 in the nation where services are delivered by individual counties instead of the state, demonstrated a lack of consistency and problems with accessibility of services and accountability, said the new report by the federal Department of Health and Human Services…”
• Child welfare in Colorado found lacking, Associated Press, December 5, 2009, New York Times: “Colorado’s child welfare system is not in compliance with federal regulations on child safety and well-being, according to a review released Friday by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The review found that Colorado did not meet standards for abuse in home care and placement stability. The state is also not in compliance with standards measuring child safety and well-being…”