The federal government's dereliction allows states to fall short on meeting minimum child welfare standards. Below is information specific to Colorado.

CFSR Results Summary: In its Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) process, HHS determines whether each state is in substantial conformity with 7 specific outcomes (pertaining to the areas of safety, permanency and family and child well-being) and 7 systemic factors (relating to the quality of services delivered to children and families and the outcomes they experience).  In the first two rounds of the CFSR, HHS has concluded that Colorado was:

Round 1 (2002)

• NOT in substantial conformity with 6 of the 7 Outcomes
• NOT in substantial conformity with 1 of the 7 Systemic Factors

Round 2 (2009)   

• NOT in substantial conformity with 7 of the 7 Outcomes
• NOT in substantial conformity with 5 of the 7 Systemic Factors

Although federal law mandates that any state found not to be operating in substantial conformity during an initial or subsequent review must begin a full review within two years after approval of the state's program improvement plan, HHS has announced that Colorado will not undergo Round 3 of the CFSR until FY 2017 (see CFSR Technical Bulletin #7 (March 2014)).

Documents from the U.S. Health & Human Services Children's Bureau

• Child and Family Services Review Reports and Results
  
  
  • Colorado Performance Improvement Plan, 2011 (Round 2)
  • Final Report: Colorado Child and Family Services Review, 2009 (Round 2)
  • Colorado Performance Improvement Plan, 2002 (Round 1)
  • Final Report: Colorado Child and Family Services Review, 2002 (Round 1)
• Title IV-E State Reports and Program Improvement Plans (PIPs)
  
  
  • Initial Primary (FY 2003)
  • Primary Review (FY 2006)
  • Report Addendum
  • Subsequent Primary Review (FY 2009)
  • Subsequent Primary Review (FY 2012)
• Other Documents / Reports
  
  
  • Colorado AFCARS Assessment Review (2006)
  • Colorado section from HHS' Child Welfare Outcomes, 2009-2012, Report to Congress

Non-HHS Oversight Reports and Audits

• Colorado Office of Children, Youth & Families, Non-Certified Kinship Provider File Review Fact Sheet (Dec. 2014)
• Office of Colorado's Child Protection Ombudsman, Investigative Report, Case #10577, Pueblo County (Nov. 2014)
• Colorado Office of the State Auditor, Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Performance Review (Oct. 2014)
• Colorado Office of the State Auditor, Colorado Department of Human Services: Colorado Child Welfare County Workload Study (Aug. 2014)
• Colorado Office of the State Auditor, Department of Human Services, Child Protection Ombudsman Program Performance Review (June 2014)
• Office of Colorado's Child Protection Ombudsman, 2012-2013 Annual Report (Sept. 1, 2013)

Child Welfare In the News*

• Denver caseworker charged with falsifying records in fatality case (Denver Post - January 22, 2015) A former Denver child protection worker falsified records to make it look like she had checked on a newborn baby later beaten to death even though she did nothing to protect the infant, the district attorney's office said Wednesday.
  
• Colorado audit finds foster care check problems (Colorado Springs Gazette - December 18, 2014) Counties aren't properly conducting background checks before placing foster children in the care of relatives, according to a first-of-its-kind review by the Colorado Department of Human Services.
• Hickenlooper seeks $8.2 million for 130 new child protection workers (The Denver Post - December 09, 2014) Counties would be responsible for paying 20 percent of the $8.2 million funding increase. The state would pick up most of the remainder, with federal funds responsible for about $100,000 of the cost.
• Report released about safety lapse in Pueblo abuse case (Includes video) (KOAA - December 10, 2014) A state report looking into missteps by social workers in Pueblo County in a 2013 child abuse case is now public. Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman Dennis Goodwin had to wait to release the results of his investigation until the criminal case against the accused abusers was finished. The five page paper asserts that policy and practice violations occurred during the course of the family's involvement with Pueblo County Social Services.
• Ombudsman investigating after DHS placed children with sex offender, convicted child abuser (Includes video) (7 News Denver - December 03, 2014)
  Colorado's child welfare ombudsman is now investigating how and why Denver Human Services placed four children with a registered sex offender, and then with a convicted child abuser -- violating state law in both cases.
• Colorado must dig in on child welfare (Opinion) (Denver Post - November 15, 2014) Colorado needs to exert greater control over how counties conduct abuse and neglect investigations if this state is ever going to make major inroads in improving its child welfare system.
• Audit finds cracks in Colorado investigations of child abuse, neglect (Denver Post - November 12, 2014) The Colorado Department of Human Services failed to properly supervise county child welfare services as they decided whether allegations of child abuse and neglect merited investigation, a state audit has found.
• CDHS director calls for review after CALL7 investigation reveals child safety concerns (Includes video) (7News Denver - September 22, 2014) In response to ongoing CALL7 Investigation that revealed serious child safety errors by Denver Human Services, Colorado Department of Human Services Executive Director Reggie Bicha on Monday called for a review of state rules and statutes.
• Colorado Department of Human Services acknowledges lack of reporting requirements for county errors (Includes auto play video) (7 News Denver - September 16, 2014) Responding to an ongoing CALL7 Investigation about a series of child safety errors, Colorado Department of Human Services officials on Tuesday acknowledged the department does not require counties to report such failures.
• Foster care youth less likely to graduate than homeless kids (Denver Post - September 14, 2014) Public officials and child advocates in Colorado have long known that students in foster care lag behind academically but have lacked the data to quantify it, a necessary step for finding solutions. Also: Faces of the invisible achievement gap:
• Denver DHS admits fingerprint, background check failures, after multiple denials (Includes video) (7 News Denver - August 28, 2014) The Denver Department of Human Services this week admitted that hundreds of fingerprint checks required in child welfare cases were not properly completed, despite repeatedly denying the problems in multiple interviews with CALL7 Investigator John Ferrugia.
• Editorial: Colorado child welfare system needs more than additional staff (Denver Post - August 27, 2014) One only need look at the particulars of the regular parade of horribles involving dead or neglected children who had contact with the welfare system. It has been obvious for quite some time the system is overstressed.
• Colorado needs 574 more child-welfare caseworkers, study finds (Denver Post - August 25, 2014) Colorado's child-welfare system is overburdened and may need 574 more child protection workers and 122 supervisors to handle caseloads, a workload study by the state auditor found.
• Sources: Fingerprint checks not completed by Denver Department of Human Services (Includes video) (7 News Denver - August 18, 2014) Children abused or neglected by their parents are removed by Denver Human Services and placed into other homes for their protection. However, a CALL7 investigation has found that state-mandated safety checks were never completed in Denver homes, where children were placed with other family members.
  
  

*news summaries taken from daily newsfeed service of HHS' Child Welfare Information Gateway