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Colorado: Human Services

May 21, 2009 - 10:21 am
NEWS FEED: Denver Post

Children's safety net tightened

Two years ago this month, 7-year-old Chandler Grafner starved to death in the bottom of a linen closet in a case of child abuse that outraged Coloradans and shone a light on holes in the state's child-welfare safety net.

The deaths of 12 other children that came to public attention a year later underscored those flaws.

A new law that took effect Tuesday is aimed at mending holes in that safety net by requiring every new social worker in Colorado to attend state training on how to better recognize and document cases of child abuse.

The law requires state training and certification for county and city workers, some of whom may not have received standardized on-the-job education at the local level, according to Gov.

Read More at Denver Post >
There have been 55 comments posted in response to this story.

February 23, 2009 - 09:36 am
NEWS FEED: Denver Post

Denver looks at shortfall's human toll

Facing a $29 million shortfall in the next 18 months, Denver's Department of Human Services is slashing services and has convinced Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper that he needs to plug some of the gap by dipping into city reserves and tapping federal aid.

In his weekly meeting with the City Council on Tuesday, the mayor said the agency needs financial help.

To cover the growing shortfall, the agency is putting new limits on who can apply for child-care assistance for the working poor. A program that tries to place foster children with relatives and a worker-retraining program are also getting cut.

The agency also is backing away from a commitment it made last year to add 65 workers to help protect children from abuse.

Read More at Denver Post >
There have been 23 comments posted in response to this story.

February 11, 2009 - 03:34 am
NEWS FEED: Denver Post

Denver looks at shortfall's human toll

Facing a $29 million shortfall in the next 18 months, Denver's Department of Human Services is slashing services and has convinced Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper that he needs to plug some of the gap by dipping into city reserves and tapping federal aid.

In his weekly meeting with the City Council on Tuesday, the mayor said the agency needs financial help.

To cover the growing shortfall, the agency is putting new limits on who can apply for child-care assistance for the working poor. A program that tries to place foster children with relatives and a worker-retraining program are also getting cut.

The agency also is backing away from a commitment it made last year to add 65 workers to help protect children from abuse.

Read More at Denver Post >
There have been 21 comments posted in response to this story.