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722B1F1EA00F65D4872589DB0074D2EC Hearing Summary




PUBLIC
BILL SUMMARY For OVERVIEW BY THE JUDICIAL BRANCH AND RELATED DEPARTMENTS AND THEIR ROLES IN THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM

INTERIM COMMITTEE  COLORADO'S CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM INTERIM STUDY COMMITTEE
Date Jun 27, 2023      
Location Old State Library



Overview by the Judicial Branch and Related Departments and Their Roles in the Child Welfare System - Committee Discussion Only

03:16:04 PM  
The committee came back to order.
03:16:33 PM  
Megan Kearsley, Research
Analyst, Office of the State Court Administrator, presented to the committee
on the roles and responsibilities of the Judicial Branch in the child welfare
system.  She provided a handout to the committee (Attachment J).  She
reviewed statistics related to dependency and neglect cases and spoke about
the federally funded Court Improvement Program. She discussed the best
practices court teams that identify strategies and interventions for court
improvement, as well as with the multi-disciplinary Court Improvement Program
Task Force.
03:27:24 PM  
Chris Henderson,
Executive Director, Office of the Child Representative (OCR), presented
to the committee.  The presentation was provided to the committee
(Attachment K), along with a letter with recommended areas of study and
information on  Colorado’s Expedited Permanency Planning Provisions
(Attachment L).  He discussed that the OCR gives children and youth
a voice in Colorado legal proceedings through high-quality legal representation
that protects and promotes their safety, interests, and rights, and that
Colorado is a national leader in this area.  Mr. Henderson discussed
the independent contractor model used by the OCR, with the exception of
the Colorado Springs office.  He discussed the complex nature of the
cases that involve the OCR.  Mr. Henderson discussed the different
roles of a guardian ad litem and a counsel for youth.  He reviewed
potential policy matters the committee could consider, including addressing
matters related to Family First policies and kinship care.
03:38:27 PM  
Stephanie Villafuerte,
Child Protection Ombudsman, presented to the committee on the Ombudsman's
Office.  A copy of the presentation was provided to the committee
(Attachment M).  She discussed the roles and responsibilities of the
Ombudsman's Office, which primarily involves problem-solving services.
 Ms. Villafuerte discussed the importance of looking at child welfare
broadly and the challenges and tensions in the system.  She discussed
the need to pay more attention to families and the inability of families
to access systems.  She discussed the inability to scale innovative
programs across counties in Colorado.  Ms. Villafuerte reviewed an
issue brief that was provided to the committee (Attachment N).  The
issue brief highlights issues and possible solutions with the child welfare
system regarding parents and caseworkers contacts, creating caseworker
standards, addressing concerns with the current safety accessment tool
used by child welfare services; and addressing laws or regulations about
residential treatment facilities.
03:56:13 PM  
Melissa Thompson,
Executive Director, Office of the Respondent Parent’s Counsel (ORPC),
and Tara Doxtater, Parent Advocate, ORPC, presented to the committee.  A
copy of the presentation was provided to the committee (Attachment O).
 Ms. Thompson stated that Colorado terminates parental rights more
often than 45 other states.  
04:01:50 PM  
Ms. Doxtater shared her experience as a parent advocate and her personal experience with the child welfare system.
04:04:35 PM  
Ms. Thompson discussed
the overrepresentation of certain populations in the child welfare system.
 She discussed data related foster care youth, included failed adoptions,
high school graduation rates, and mental health outcomes.  She highlighted
a letter that was provided to the committee (Attachment P) that includes
potential legislative ideas.  She discussed reducing system involvement
including reforming child abuse and neglect investigations and repealing
expedited permanency planning.  The representatives from the ORPC
also provided a document from Family Integrity and Justice Works concerning
design changes to the child welfare system (Attachment Q).
04:16:28 PM  
The panelists responded
to questions from the committee.  Ms. Kearsley addressed questions
about court proceedings, hearing quality, and quality legal representation.
 In response to a question, Ms. Thompson stated the ORPC opened in
2016 and has not been audited.  Ms. Thompson and Ms. Doxtater explained
the training and role of parent advocates.
04:28:03 PM  
Ms. Kearsley and
Mr. Henderson responded to questions about the statutory timelines for
various dependency and neglect cases. Ms. Villiafuerte responded to questions
about providing the Ombudsman's Office the ability to initiate investigations,
access records, and issue reports.  She continued to responded to
questions about the safety assessment tools used in child welfare.  Ms.
Thompson discussed the cyclical nature of the child welfare system in response
to questions from the committee.
04:39:22 PM  
Ms. Villiafuerte and Ms. Thompson responded to questions about the assessment tools used by child welfare departments. Mr. Henderson and Ms. Thompson responded to questions about permanency placement timelines. Ms. Villiafuerte and Ms. Thompson responded to question about establishing standards and accountability for caseworkers.
04:53:39 PM  
Representative Young
provided concluding remarks.  She provided an overview of topics to
be addressed at future committee meetings.






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