Reggie Bicha, executive director of the Colorado Department of Human Services, addresses a legislative panel in November about an audit that found deficiencies in the state’s child welfare system. (Photo By Helen H. Richardson/ The Denver Post)
Public trust in the child welfare system and law enforcement will be among the issues Democrats raise in the legislative session that begins Wednesday, the party’s Senate leaders said Monday.
Sen. Jesse Ulibarri, D-Commerce City, said Senate Democrats would seek to build public trust by increasing transparency in how decisions on how to protect abused or neglected children, “making sure the most vulnerable among us, specifically kids who are in the foster care system, have adequate support and aren’t falling through the cracks.”
In 2012, a Denver Post investigative package called that in the previous five years 175 children in Colorado had died of abuse or neglect, including 72 who were known to case workers charged with protecting them.
A state audit released in November indicated the Colorado Department of Human Services has failed to properly supervise county child welfare services in deciding whether an investigation was warranted in abuse and neglect cases.
“We’ve witnessed some deficiencies in the system, and have worked very hard to fix those deficiencies and will continue that work in this session,” Ulibarri said.
On police abuse issues, Ulibarri said legislators
have had ongoing discussions the last eight months with law enforcement, judicial officials and community members about racial profiling and police violence.
“We want to ensure as we move forward there is a strong level of trust between our law enforcement agencies and our communities,” he said. “When we talk about those issues, the policy solutions vary widely.”
Legislators could decide on police wearing cameras, but there’s no agreements in Democratic ranks on hiring special prosecutors to automatically try cases involving law enforcement officers.
“The members of this body have a long history of working with law enforcement,” Ulibarri said.
