Colorado’s human services agency needs stronger outside monitoring to make sure it corrects a situation that led to for people with developmental disabilities, according to a new investigation.
Disability Law Colorado, an advocacy organization for people with disabilities, issued its report this week. The group determined that the state violated the rights of some residents at the Pueblo Regional Center when it conducted the body inspections in late March.
The findings echo that found that the Department of Human Services violated state policy and federal law when it ordered body checks of residents at state-run group homes as part of an abuse inquiry.
The new report — from Kasey Daniel, an attorney at goes further, recommending additional outside oversight as part of a corrective-action plan.
The report calls for continuous monitoring to see whether changes are made, for outside quality assurance investigators and for public release of future reports.
Also, the state should perform therapy for residents who were subjected to the body inspections and offer training to them and guardians about their rights.
DHS spokeswoman Alicia Caldwell said the agency is working to improve its consent process, set up a quality-control committee and put in place a policy that requires abuse allegations to be reported within 24 hours.
