Colorado General AssemblyToggle Main Menu
Agency NameToggle Agency Menu

I_CCWSISC_2023A 08/22/2023 09:07:28 AM Committee Summary

PUBLIC
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING
INTERIM COMMITTEE  COLORADO'S CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM INTERIM STUDY COMMITTEE
Date 08/22/2023
Attendance
Bradley X
Duran E
Evans X
Joseph X
Kirkmeyer X
Kolker X
Michaelson Jenet X
Pugliese *
Zenzinger X
Fields X
Young X
Time 09:07:28 AM to 05:18:34 PM
Place Old State Library
This Meeting was called to order by Young
This Report was prepared by Jerard Brown
Hearing Items Action Taken
Call to Order and Opening Remarks Committee Discussion Only
Presentation from the National Conference of State Legislatures Committee Discussion Only
Q&A with National Conference of State Legislatures Panelists Committee Discussion Only
Other State Perspectives Committee Discussion Only
Q&A with Other State Perspectives Panelists Committee Discussion Only
Presentation from Illuminate Colorado Committee Discussion Only
Q&A with Illuminate Colorado Panelist Committee Discussion Only
Presentation from the Kempe Foundation and Kempe Center Committee Discussion Only
Q&A with Kempe Foundation and Kempe Center Panelists Committee Discussion Only
Presentation from the Family Resource Center Association Committee Discussion Only
Q&A with Family Resource Center Association Panelists Committee Discussion Only
Presentation from the Department of Early Childhood Committee Discussion Only
Q&A with Department of Early Childhood Panelist Committee Discussion Only
Presentation on High Acuity Beds Committee Discussion Only
Q&A with High Acuity Beds Panelists Committee Discussion Only
Presentation on Colorado Trails System Committee Discussion Only
Q&A with Colorado Trails System Panelists Committee Discussion Only
Public Testimony Committee Discussion Only

Call to Order and Opening Remarks - Committee Discussion Only
09:07:38 AM  
Representative Young,
Chair, reviewed the meeting agenda (Attachment A) and upcoming meeting
topics.



Presentation from the National Conference of State Legislatures - Committee Discussion Only

09:11:49 AM  
Jenna Bannon, Associate
Director, and Jill Yordy, Senior Policy Specialist, National Conference
of State Legislatures, provided a presentation to the committee. They discussed
key data related to Colorado's child welfare system, state legislative
trends related to child welfare, ways states are providing economic and
concrete supports to reduce child maltreatment, state reforms to adoption
proceedings, addressing disproportionality, and evidence based programs
to improve Colorado's child welfare systems. A copy of their presentation
and a handout were provided to the committee (Attachments B and C).



Q&A with National Conference of State Legislatures Panelists - Committee Discussion Only
09:29:55 AM  
Committee members
asked the panelists questions. Ms. Bannon responded to a question regarding
neglect definitions around the country.



Other State Perspectives - Committee Discussion Only

09:44:04 AM  
Jennifer Larson,
Electronic Business Project Manager, Division of Child and Family Services,
Utah Department of Health and Human Services, provided a presentation to
the committee. She discussed how Utah has updated its case management system,
which is called the Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System. A handout
was provided to the committee (Attachment D).



Jeff Carrick, Deputy Director, Division of the Children’s System of Care
(CSOC), New Jersey Department of Children and Families, presented to the
committee. He discussed creation of CSOC, the children and families served
by the program, and the core components of the program. A copy of the presentation
was provided to the committee (Attachment E).



Q&A with Other State Perspectives Panelists - Committee Discussion Only
10:02:49 AM  
Committee members
asked the panelists questions.  Mr. Carrick responded to questions
about funding for child welfare services through state and federal funding
and Medicaid.  He stated that system of care was initially funded
through a grant, in response to a question.  Mr. Carrick responded
to questions about the mobile child welfare services that New Jersey provides.



Presentation from Illuminate Colorado - Committee Discussion Only

10:20:50 AM  
Jade Woodard, Executive
Director, Illuminate Colorado, provided a presentation on child maltreatment
prevention. The presentation included an overview of adverse childhood
experiences, protective factors, positive childhood experiences, and several
legislative proposals. A copy of her presentation and handouts from Illuminate
Colorado were provided to the committee (Attachments F through J).



Q&A with Illuminate Colorado Panelist - Committee Discussion Only
10:39:24 AM  
Ms. Woodard responded
to questions  from the committee about mandatory reporter laws and
Colorado's utilization of federal funds.



Presentation from the Kempe Foundation and Kempe Center - Committee Discussion Only

11:04:47 AM  
Michelle Davis, Director
of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Kempe Foundation; Dr. Suzanne
Kerns, Director of Transformative Research, Kempe Center; Kendall Marlowe,
Public Policy Consultant, Kempe Foundation; and Dr. Kathryn Wells, Executive
Director, Kempe Center, presented to the committee. The presentation included
information on the brain science around child maltreatment, overrepresented
populations in the child welfare system, improving the quality of the child
welfare workforce, Colorado's child mental health challenges, improving
the implementation of evidence-based child maltreatment prevention programs,
and their legislative proposals. A copy of their presentation and a handout
were provided to the committee (Attachments K and L).



Q&A with Kempe Foundation and Kempe Center Panelists - Committee Discussion Only
11:05:43 AM  
Committee members
asked the panelists questions. Dr. Wells and Dr. Kerns answered a question
about how to improve the case referral process. Dr. Kerns responded to
a question about how to improve the implementation of maltreatment prevention
programs. Dr. Wells responded to a question about the Kempe Center's involvement
in caseworker training. Dr. Kerns answered a question about developing
Colorado's child welfare workforce. Ms. Davis responded to a question regarding
the role of health care providers in addressing disproportinality in child
welfare. Ms. Davis described the Kempe Foundation's justice, equity, diversity,
and inclusion efforts.



Presentation from the Family Resource Center Association - Committee Discussion Only
11:30:12 AM  
The committee took a brief recess.
11:36:59 AM  
The committee resumed.
11:37:12 AM  
Teri Haymond, Co-Executive
Director, Family Resource Center Association of Colorado, Mandy Watrous-Gale,
Co-Executive Director, Family Resource Center Association of Colorado,
and Shawn Taylor, Interim Executive Director, Families Forward Resource
Center provided a presentation on Family Resource Centers (FRC). They highlighted
the programs to support fathers and babies. A copy of their presentation
was provided to the committee (Attachment M).



Q&A with Family Resource Center Association Panelists - Committee Discussion Only
11:52:17 AM  
Committee members
asked the panel questions. Ms. Watrus-Gale responded to questions about
funding FRCs. Ms. Haymond responded to questions regarding how families
become involved with FRCs.



Presentation from the Department of Early Childhood - Committee Discussion Only
11:59:23 AM  
Kendra Dunn, Director,
Division of Community and Family Support, Department of Early Childhood
(CDEC), presented to the committee. She discussed the CDEC's strategic
plan, and prevention programs, the relationship between child welfare and
child care, and the department's early intervention services. A copy of
the presentation was provided to the committee (Attachment N).



Q&A with Department of Early Childhood Panelist - Committee Discussion Only
12:10:46 PM  
Ms. Dunn responded
to questions from the committee about scaling FRCs, what the department
is doing to work with other departments, and how the state department works
with county departments.



Presentation on High Acuity Beds - Committee Discussion Only

12:23:00 PM  
The committee recessed.
12:48:40 PM  
The committee came
back to order.
12:50:12 PM  
Minna Castillo, Director
of the Office of Children Youth and Families, Colorado Department of Human
Services; Dr. Robert Werthwein, Senior Advisor for Behavioral Health and
Access, Department of Health Care Policy and Financing; Commissioner Scott
James, Weld County; Catania Jones, Director of Children, Youth, and Family
Services, El Paso County Department of Human Services; and Heather Durosko,
Director of Children and Family Initiatives, Colorado Human Services Directors
Association, presented to the committee on high acuity beds. Copies of
the presentations from the state agencies and county departments were provided
to the committee (Attacments O and P).  
12:51:24 PM  
Ms. Castillo discussed
the roles of the various state agencies involved in providing high acuity
services or treatments to youth.  She highlighted the various treatment
settings, including professional foster parents, therapeutic foster homes,
qualified residential treatment programs (QRTPs), and psychiatric residential
treatment facilities (PRTFs).  Ms. Castillo discussed aspects of high
quality needs and the challenges of finding proper treatment facilities.
   
01:09:41 PM  
Ms. Castillo shared
data about youth awaiting placement.  She reviewed the identified
root causes for the lack of availability of specialized treatment beds,
including workforce shortages, insufficient provider rates, lack of clinical
training and oversight, and payor silos.
01:22:21 PM  
Ms. Castillo discussed
possible solutions, including supports for treatment providers, improving
quality of care, and increasing access to responsive treatment.  
01:26:41 PM  
Dr. Werthwein discussed
solutions to key components of care, including standardized assessments,
crisis resolution teams, intensive care coordination, support services,
and speciality placements.
01:33:26 PM  
Commissioner James
discussed his personal story with adopting a child from the child welfare
system.
01:45:32 PM  
Ms. Jones discussed
data showing El Paso County's need for placement options for youth with
high acuity needs.  She provided information about two cases that
recently occurred in El Paso County with youth in need of placements.  
01:51:54 PM  
Ms. Durosko shared
her personal story about her brother who was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder
who died by suicide.  She reviewed data about children who are in
inappropriate settings.  Ms. Durosko reviewed the county priorities
related to high acuity placements, including increasing rates for QRTP
providers.  She discussed information about the treatment continuum
for out-of-home placements, crisis resolution treatment pilots, and establishing
a statewide children's comprehensive behavioral health system of care.
 
02:02:56 PM  
Ms. Durosko reviewed ways to expedite existing efforts, including the need for additional data analysis.



Q&A with High Acuity Beds Panelists - Committee Discussion Only
02:04:47 PM  
Committee members
commented on the information presented by the panelists.  The panelists
responded to questions from the committee about the needs for high acuity
and substance use disorders treatment options.  Dr. Werthwein discussed
developing a system of services for home and community settings for when
youth come home from a residential placements.  In response to questions
from the committee, the panelists discussed related data and assessments
for treatment.
02:29:45 PM  
The panelists continued
to respond to questions from the committee, including questions about establishing
a state-operated, high acuity youth facility and possible changes to rules
and regulations versus legislative solutions to build capacity.  The
panelists and committee members discussed budgetary issues related to high
acuity treatment.    



Presentation on Colorado Trails System - Committee Discussion Only

02:51:16 PM  
Mollie Bradlee, Deputy
Director, Office of Children Youth and Families, Colorado Department of
Human Services, and Robert Belton, Senior Director of Solutions, Delivery,
and Support, Office of Information Technology, presented to the committee
on the Trails System.  A copy of their presentation was provided to
the committee (Attachment Q).  Ms. Bradlee reviewed information about
the Trails System, including the implementation timeline.
03:07:19 PM  
Mr. Belton discussed
the Trails System and technical debt.
03:11:54 PM  
Mary Berg, Executive
Director, Jefferson County Department of Human Services, and Paul Gamiño,
Social Caseworker Manager, Larimer County Department of Human Services,
presented on the Trails System.  A copy of their presentation was
provided to the committee (Attachment R).  Ms. Berg discussed the
lack of functionality and system outages.
03:15:02 PM  
Mr. Gamiño discussed
the impact of outages of the Trails System.  He discussed caseworkers
experiences with the Trails System and lack of functionality in the system.
 Ms. Berg discussed the county history on advocacy about the Trails
System and the county recommendations for Trails System improvements.  



Q&A with Colorado Trails System Panelists - Committee Discussion Only
03:21:42 PM  
The panelists responded to questions from the committee about the Trails System. Mr. Belton discussed recent improvements to the mainframe.
03:43:30 PM  
Mr. Belton further discussed technical debt in response to questions from the committee. Ms. Berg responded to questions about the impact the issues with the Trails System may have on caseworker and county performance evaluations.
03:59:16 PM  
The committee recessed.



Public Testimony - Committee Discussion Only
04:17:15 PM  
The committee came back to order.
04:17:29 PM  
The following people
provided public testimony to the committee on child welfare matters:




- Brian Calkins, representing himself;


- Melanie Jordan, representing Office of Respondent Parents' Counsel;


- Julie Grayson, representing Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children;
and

- Kippi Clausen, representing the Colorado Rural Collaborative for Runaway
and Homeless Youth.



The panelists responded to questions from the committee.  
04:35:02 PM  
The following people
provided public testimony to the committee on child welfare matters:




- Kaitlyn Tollefson, representing herself;

- Stephen Johnson, representing himself; and

- Lauren Smith, representing Elephant Circle.



The panelists respond to comments from committee members.  
05:04:32 PM  
The following people
provided public testimony to the committee on child welfare matters:


- Maralee  Mclean, representing Moms Fight Back;

- Alicia Leal, representing herself; and

- Maria Mantas, representing herself.



Committee members commented on the testimony the panelists provided.
 Written
testimony was provided to the committee (Attachment S).


05:18:34 PM   The committee adjourned.