The Office of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman (CPO) has had a record-setting year for case closures. The CPO submitted its Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Annual Report to the Colorado General Assembly on September 1, noting two of the most pressing issues facing the state’s child protection systems: abuse and neglect.
Of the CPO’s closed cases during the fiscal year, 30 percent involved concerns regarding how child welfare services handled reports of abuse and neglect. Access to services and personnel issues were the second and third-highest concerns, appearing in 21 and 19 percent of cases, respectively.
“Our ability to dig into more than 1,000 cases a year gives us a lens into child protection systems that no other state agency has,” said Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman Stephanie Villafuerte. “We are able to identify issues impacting how services are delivered and take innovative, inclusive approaches to addressing such concerns.”
The CPO opened a record number of cases for the fourth consecutive year. The office received 1,119 contacts from people seeking information regarding Colorado’s child protection systems, marking a 14 percent increase over the previous fiscal year. This was accompanied by a record 1,083 case closures – a 17 percent annual increase.
The CPO also reported an 80 percent jump in cases initiated by youth currently or formerly in the Division of Youth Services, foster care or other placements.
“We have continued to prioritize our outreach to youth in Colorado,” Villafuerte said. “We have also continued to expand and refine our work to address questions and concerns regarding behavioral health services, residential services, early childhood services and others.”
In the fall of 2022, the CPO launched two statewide task forces under the Policy Collaborative for Children & Families to address youth who run away from out-of-home placement and the effectiveness of the state’s mandatory child abuse reporting law. The report also includes an outline of the agency’s work addressing specific practice concerns and a presentation of systemic issues to the Colorado Child Welfare System Interim Study Committee.
The complete report is available at coloradocpo.org/performance-reports.
