Governor inks child welfare training bill
Follows more than a dozen deaths in a year
Peter Marcus, DDN Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
http://www.thedenverdailynews.com/article.php?aID=4284
Following more than a dozen deaths of Colorado children in one year, the governor yesterday inked a bill that will train welfare caseworkers on how to better protect children.
The Child Welfare Training Academy will train approximately 400 new caseworkers and their supervisors. It stems from legislation, Senate Bill 164, sponsored by Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, and Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver.
“In a tough economic time like this, we should all be extremely proud of this legislation and the new training academy,” said Gov. Bill Ritter. “This will save lives. The academy will give child-welfare caseworkers the tools they need to protect kids and keep them safe.”
The state’s child-welfare system cares for children from about 14,000 families per year. In 2007, however, concerns were raised when 13 children in Colorado died as a result of abuse and neglect. The state’s child protection system was criticized for not protecting the children.
Neveah Gallegos
One case was 3-year-old Neveah Gallegos, who was suffocated, placed in a garbage bag and then buried in her pink princess tennis shoes underneath a tree stump and debris in a Denver ravine.
The girl’s mother and the mother’s boyfriend were only recently indicted related to the murder.
Critics said it was unacceptable that the case slipped past the welfare system’s radar, especially considering the mother’s boyfriend was a registered sex offender, and that little Neveah had been treated at an emergency room for vaginal bleeding.
Chandler Grafner
Seven-year-old Chandler Grafner was another child among the 13 to die that year due to abuse and neglect. He weighed only 34 pounds when he was found dead. Grafner’s biological parents recently filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against child-welfare agencies in Denver and Jefferson counties.
The suit claims that the Department of Human Services in Jefferson County failed to adequately investigate whether Grafner’s foster parents were fit to supply a foster home. The suit goes on to claim that child-welfare agencies in both counties then failed to keep Grafner safe while living in the foster home.
There were even reports at the time that surfaced from Grafner’s school indicating abuse.
The 13 tragic cases prompted a state review of the child-welfare system, which found a lack of communication between workers, as well as poor training practices, among other issues.
Karen Beye, executive director of the Colorado Department of Human Services, said she is hopeful that the new training academy will cut back on such tragedies.
“The committee’s goal is to make sure all children in the public welfare system have access to quality services and to professionals with the knowledge, skills and abilities to make decisions that will help keep them safe and secure,” said Beye of the governor’s Child Welfare Action Committee, which recommended the training academy.
Ritter called for the action committee after the incidents of 2007.
Newell said the new training program is absolutely necessary to ensure the safety of the state’s children.
“We cannot allow one more fatality in our child protective services,” she said. “These deaths are unacceptable and unconscionable, but thanks to Senate Bill 164, we will soon be making headway to keep children safe … Each of these children will be better cared for and protected.”
