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This page contains an archive of the last 100 entries posted to ProgressNow.org Daily News Digest in the Marriage and Family Issues category. They are listed from newest to oldest. You can find older entries using the search box below.

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Marriage and Family Issues Archives

February 29, 2008

Mother gets 40 years in newborn's death : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/29/mother-gets-40-years-in-newbor...
Two days after a newborn was discovered dead outside a Denver hospital, justice came Thursday for another baby left in the bathroom of a bar nearly four years ago. His mother, Erin Pendleton, shook and cried Thursday as Denver District Court Judge Anne Mansfield sentenced her to the maximum time in prison - 40 years. She pleaded guilty in January to child abuse resulting in death. "This was an infant who died here, and I can't ignore that," Mansfield said after listening to testimony about Pendleton's mental health issues, which various doctors said ranged from bipolar disorder to dissociative disorder.
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Adoption agencies' closings spur review - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8400201...
Three international adoption agencies — including one under investigation for fraud — have announced their closure recently, sparking a review of all such agencies in the state by the Department of Human Services. The CLAAR Foundation in Boulder, which was the target of several lawsuits claiming the agency collected payments but failed to provide service, closed its doors early this month. Boulder police are investigating CLAAR after receiving complaints from people who claimed the agency defrauded them, said Boulder police spokeswoman Sarah Huntley. Friends of Children of Various Nations, in Denver, closed in December, and Commonwealth Adoption International, in Centennial, plans to close in the near future, said Human Services spokeswoman Liz McDonough. None of the agencies could be reached for comment Thursday.
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Mom gets 40 years for leaving newborn to die - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8397399...
Erin Pendleton will spend up to 40 years in prison for leaving her newborn to die in plastic bag she tossed in a restroom trash can at a Cherry Creek sports bar in 2004. An autopsy on the baby boy indicated he was born alive but probably was suffocated by the plastic bag. Pendleton, 32, was sentenced today after pleading guilty on Jan. 18 to child abuse resulting in death, a second-degree felony.
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Police find mother of dead baby : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/29/police-find-mother-of-dead-bab...
Police have found the mother of the baby girl who died after being left in a basket outside a Denver hospital Tuesday. "We're in contact with her," Detective Sharon Hahn, spokeswoman for Denver police, said Thursday. "She's cooperating with the investigation." The woman has not been arrested and police declined to identify her.
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February 28, 2008

Denver adding 40 child-welfare workers : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/child-services-add-40-casework...
Denver is adding 40 child-welfare caseworkers because calls to its abuse-and-neglect hot line have soared in the past two years, largely because of a jump in calls from Denver Public Schools. The rise in calls from the schools followed the story of 7- year-old Chandler Grafner's being starved to death despite warning calls from his school to social workers. Then a principal was charged with failing to report abuse in an incident among students at a middle school. Now, "The schools are calling in any incident they feel bears investigating," said Carmen Carillo, deputy manager of Denver Human Services.
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'04 law fails to save baby : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/28/04-law-fails-to-save-baby/...
In the seven years since Colorado passed a "safe haven" law for newborns, 15 babies have been left with hospitals or firefighters - and just as many have turned up dead. The most recent victim was left in a basket outside Presbyterian/ St. Luke's Medical Center Tuesday night by someone who rang the call button and ran. Denver police, with the help of the hospital and the Denver coroner's office, are investigating, hoping to determine the age of the baby, the cause of death and whether she died before or after she was dropped off. "It's a lose-lose-lose situation," said Jack Cozzens, president of the board of Colorado Safe Haven for Newborns, a group dedicated to raising awareness about the law that allows a parent to turn in a child without fear of prosecution, about cases such as the one Tuesday. "The baby dies, the mother goes to prison and a couple waiting to adopt a child still don't have one."
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Nearly 10% of child-welfare staff not fully trained - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8385327...
State backlogs that stretch five months or more have left nearly 10 percent of the child-care welfare staff in Denver with incomplete training. The lag is putting a crunch on an already overburdened system, said Roxane White, Denver's manager of the Department of Human Services. The problem is that until her workers get the full training, the number of cases they can investigate is limited, meaning other workers are overloaded with too many cases, she said in a briefing to City Council members this week. Liz McDonough, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Human Services, said the state is reserving comment until it finishes its review of what caused 13 high-profile child deaths in the state last year. "Caseloads, caseworker qualifications and training are currently being reviewed," McDonough said. "We're not going to comment beyond that at this point." In a series of e-mails earlier this month, White raised the training issue along with other concerns with state officials.
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Death nixes safe-haven protections - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8385325...
Even though someone left a baby girl outside Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center, apparently intending to qualify under the state's safe-haven law, the infant's death removes any legal protections. The Denver Police Department's homicide unit is investigating, said Detective Sharon Hahn, and prosecutors from the Denver district attorney's office will decide what charges, if any, to file. The Denver coroner's office will determine the cause of death, including whether the baby was dead before she was brought to the hospital, Hahn said. But whether the infant was alive or not when she was left at the hospital at Franklin Street and East 20th Avenue, the statute requires that the child be left "safely." The law also requires the parent to perform any act necessary to protect the health of the child. Someone rang a help button outside the hospital at 7:40 p.m. Tuesday; a security guard immediately went outside and found the baby and brought her inside, Hahn said. The medical staff then pronounced the baby dead, she said. Police are requesting help in identifying the baby's parents. Liz McDonough, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Human Services, said the case will be investigated as a child death.
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February 27, 2008

Child cases drown Denver human svc. staffing - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8372806...
Denver's child-welfare workers are so overloaded with work that the city will spend nearly $2 million from reserves to hire 40 more people to handle bulging caseloads, a top official said Tuesday. Three recent high-profile deaths of children who had been referred to the Denver Department of Human Services prompted a new look at staffing levels, said Roxane White, the director of the agency. In a briefing for City Council members, White said the review showed that the workload has risen drastically while staffing levels have increased minimally. White said the agency plans to tap about $1.9 million of its emergency reserves to increase staffing by about 20 percent. That dollar amount is about one-tenth of the agency's overall emergency reserves.
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February 26, 2008

Top Stories: Child placement agency has a history of violations | kids, crossing, foster : Gazette.com

http://www.gazette.com/articles/kids_33539___article.html/crossing_foster.html...
The agency that placed a 2-year-old El Paso County girl who died while in foster care has fought to keep its license in good standing in recent years. Kids Crossing is a private nonprofit company that provides foster care services through a contract with the El Paso County Department of Human Services, and it operates dozens of foster homes across the Front Range.
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February 25, 2008

E-vorce court: Jury out on clients going digital - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_8353622...
Divorce lawyer Stephen Worrall increasingly sees clients come to his office and excitedly tell him: "You won't believe what I found on my wife's e-mail." The information may be evidentiary dynamite — juicy, sordid and damning. But the veteran attorney immediately will halt the budding sleuth mid-sentence. "We stop them right there and determine how he came about it," he said. The client may have committed a crime, and Worrall doesn't want to be a party to it. Evidence such as e-mails, cellphone records, website records and even Global Positioning System information is increasingly making its way into divorce battles, plotting almost indefensible maps of a cheating spouse's footprints. Electronic evidence has changed the face of divorce. A recent poll by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found that 88 percent of its members surveyed had seen a "dramatic increase" in such evidence.
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February 20, 2008

Home health abuses targeted - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8308695...
Abuses by home caregivers revealed in a new state report — including a woman left dying on a toilet and improper care that resulted in an amputated foot — are prodding lawmakers to seek more oversight of the industry. Legislation filed this week would require agencies providing nursing, physical therapy and basic caregiving in patients' homes to be licensed by the state. Colorado is one of just five states that do not license home health care providers, and the state health department says the inability to set minimum standards of care and perform inspections is resulting in increasing instances of deficiencies. A not-yet-released report from the Department of Public Health and Environment, obtained by The Denver Post, cites some of the most egregious examples of neglect reported in the past three years:
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Boy, 5, recalls details of brother's death : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/20/therapist-recounts-5-year-olds...
Chandler Grafner's 5-year-old brother told a therapist that Chandler had to stay in a closet where he had to "pee and poop" and that he wondered if his brother died because he was hungry. Therapist Tammie Ellis testified in a motions hearing Tuesday afternoon in the case against Jon Phillips, 26, and Sarah Berry, 21, who are charged with first-degree murder in 7- year-old Chandler's death. Chandler died May 8 of starvation, about two months after being removed from school and allegedly kept in a closet for punishment. Chandler's brother told Ellis that Phillips and Berry put Chandler in the closet because he was "bad," Ellis said. He told Ellis that his brother drank bleach water in the closet once when Berry refused to give him anything to drink. Chandler's brother said Chandler was sick and had thrown up the day he died.
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February 19, 2008

Helping homeland orphans - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8301860...
When 11-year-old Ana Dodson returned to her native Peru, she watched barefoot children scavenging through garbage for food. She stepped off a bus nearby. Orphans mobbed her. She gave them teddy bears — and saw herself in their faces. A well-to-do Colorado family adopted Ana as an infant in 1992, and she moved from a mud-and-tin mountainside shantytown near Cusco to a radically different world: a two-story home in a foothills suburb west of Denver with private school, synagogue, horse-riding and sparkling shopping malls. Today, four years after meeting those children in Cusco, Ana, now 16, is leading an effort to help them. "If I hadn't been adopted, I would have no education. I'd probably have a baby," she said recently after class at Colorado Academy with her adoptive mother, Judi.
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February 18, 2008

Adoption agency investigated : County News : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/17/adoption-agency-investigated-boulder-bas...
Boulder police are investigating the business practices of a Boulder-based international adoption agency that closed its doors last week in the face of mounting complaints and lawsuits, a Camera investigation revealed. Police spokeswoman Sarah Huntley confirmed the investigation Friday, saying detectives have been assigned to look into "alleged felonious criminal wrongdoing in relation to adoption practices" at the Claar Foundation, 4141 Arapahoe Ave.
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The Denver Post - Policy probed in kid deaths

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8284228...
The state is investigating whether a change in the rules governing when children should be removed from an abusive home by social workers contributed to a rash of 2007 child-abuse and neglect deaths. The new rule, which took effect last February, has been interpreted by some county child-welfare supervisors as restricting when investigators can remove a child from a potentially abusive family. Those officials say that after the rule went into effect, they saw the number of children remaining with parents alleged to have committed abuse increase dramatically, more than 30 percent in one year in some areas of the state. In Lincoln County, the rule has become a source of concern for child-welfare investigators, said Colette Barksdale, director of that county's Department of Social Services. "I have a very good child-welfare staff, and what they report to me is that they aren't real excited at all about that new tool," she said. "Now, it's pretty concrete and black and white, and it has done away with some of the risk factors."
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February 15, 2008

Ring thief gets 4 years, could do time at boot camp : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/15/ring-thief-gets-4-years-could-...
A former caregiver who stole a diamond ring off the finger of an Alzheimer's patient was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday, with a recommendation by the judge that she attend a boot camp for youthful offenders. Ebony Michelle Butler, 23, pleaded guilty last September to stealing the ring from Jean Mayer, who was a resident at the Spring Ridge Park assisted living center in Wheat Ridge, where Butler worked. In imposing the sentence, Jefferson County District Judge Jack Berryhill rejected pleas from Butler for a probationary sentence, calling her crime "incredible" given the condition of Mayer, who was afflicted with advanced Alzheimer's disease and a brain tumor. "It's not just a theft, it's a breach of trust," Berryhill said.
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February 14, 2008

The Denver Post - Cited homes show little improvement

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8249471...
Two Colorado nursing homes listed among the worst in the nation in November have shown little improvement since, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Kindred Healthcare & Rehab Center of Northglenn and Eagle Ridge at Grand Valley in Grand Junction are listed among "special focus facilities" by the federal agency because of poor inspection records with chronic violations of health and safety requirements.
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2 Sue to Void Ban on Same-Sex Marriage - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/us/14gay.html?ref=us...
A lesbian couple from nearby Englewood are seeking to overturn Colorado’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, in what is thought to be the first challenge to the 2006 ballot initiative that established it. The couple, Kate Burns and Sheila Schroeder, appeared Wednesday before Judge James B. Breese of Denver County Court to face a trespassing charge stemming from a brief sit-in they staged on Sept. 24, when, accompanied by their minister, they were refused a marriage license from the Denver Clerk and Recorder Office. Judge Breese set a trial date of April 14. Earlier this week, Ms. Burns and Ms. Schroeder filed a motion with the court claiming that Amendment 43, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman, violated their constitutional right to equal protection. The measure was approved by 55 percent of Colorado voters 15 months ago. “The American system does not allow for the tyranny of the majority,” said the couple’s lawyer, Mari Newman. “Marriage is a fundamental right, which should be for all Coloradans, not just some Coloradans.”
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February 12, 2008

Women sue over marriage law : Updates : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/12/lesbians-sue-over-marriage/...
A lesbian couple wants to overturn a voter-approved ballot measure that defines marriage in Colorado as the union of one man and one woman. Kate Burns and Sheila Schroeder, of Englewood, on Monday filed suit in Denver County Court, asking that Amendment 43 be declared unconstitutional. The couple unsuccessfully tried to obtain a marriage license last year. Their attorney, Mari Newman, said the case reminds her of laws that used to outlaw interracial marriage but were declared unconstitutional. "The right to marriage is fundamental," Newman said. "The government can't be telling us who we can and cannot marry." The lawsuit claims Amendment 43, which 56 percent of voters approved in 2006, is unconstitutional on several grounds, including it was "religiously motivated" and has the effect "of establishing religion." Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, who helped put the amendment on the ballot, laughed at that argument. "If that's the case," he said, "we can throw out most of our laws because most are based on some moral perspective, and you could argue that is a religious foundation."
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The Denver Post - Same-sex marriage ban challenge set for hearing

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8234845...
The first legal challenge to Colorado's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage goes to court Wednesday, with the goal of unraveling Amendment 43, which voters passed in 2006. The main legal case is misdemeanor trespassing: Catherine Burns and Sheila Schroeder, a lesbian couple from Englewood, went to the Denver Clerk and Recorder's Office on Sept. 24 to get a marriage license. When they were told it was unlawful under state and federal laws, they refused to leave the counter and staged a sit-in until they were cited for a misdemeanor count of trespassing.
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The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Crowley County settles with former employees

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1202828571/7...
Crowley County's former human services director has reached a settlement in his U.S. District Court lawsuit against the county. Robert Keenan, the former director of human services and Eugene Sena, a caseworker, filed a lawsuit against the Colorado Department of Human Services and the county after both were fired by county commissioners in 2005. The two men were placed on paid administrative leave on March 15, 2005, during a state department audit of the county's child welfare program. Ten days later, the commissioners fired Keenan and Sena "for failure to meet established job performance." Sena settled his claims against the county and his case was dismissed in July 2006. The state audit concluded the department suffered from numerous deficiencies.
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February 8, 2008

The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Ritter signs sibling visitation bill

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1202484182/16...
Not only did a group of former foster children come up with an idea for a measure to allow such children to maintain contact with siblings, but they watched Gov. Bill Ritter sign that bill into law Thursday. And as a result, HB1006 became the first bill the governor signed from the 2008 legislative session. "A group of former foster children identified this as something that needed to be addressed," Ritter said. "They wrote the legislation, they found sponsors, they testified in front of committees and they won unanimous support from the Legislature." The bill, introduced by Rep. Cheri Jahn, D-Wheat Ridge, and Sen. Paula Sandoval, D-Denver, requires county human and social service departments to arrange visits between foster children and their siblings if they have been separated and want to stay in touch. Led by two 22-year-olds and with help from Mile High United Way, the former foster children came up with the idea on their own and approached Jahn.
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Headlines: County DHS ramps up oversight of foster care | child, county, dhs - Gazette.com

http://www.gazette.com/articles/child_32868___article.html/county_dhs.html...
El Paso County’s Department of Human Services has increased its oversight of local foster care in response to the death of a 2-year-old allegedly killed by her foster mother. The head of child-welfare investigations for El Paso County DHS is reviewing all reported incidences of injury or medical treatment — no matter how minor — that occur among children in foster homes or institutions. In El Paso County, the foster-care system is outsourced to child-placement agencies, which are private groups licensed by the state to place children, handle adoptions and other child-welfare services. Previously, agencies reported only serious incidences of injury to DHS, as required by state law.
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Catholic group seeks arbitration in hospital sale : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/08/catholic-group-seeks-arbitrati...
A Catholic organization facing a lawsuit by the owners of two metro-area hospitals to block its takeover of the facilities plans to ask a judge to suspend the suit and order both sides into arbitration. The hearing is expected Monday in Denver District Court. The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System said Thursday that a favorable ruling by the judge would allow it to proceed with $300 million in improvements at Exempla Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge and Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette. Lutheran and Good Samaritan hospitals are jointly owned by Sisters of Charity, a Kansas Catholic nonprofit, and Community First Foundation, an Arvada nonprofit. Community First intends to sell its 50 percent share to Sisters of Charity for $311 million.
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The Denver Post - Douglas County boy, 8, wants to live as a girl

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8201821...
The parents of an 8-year-old boy who wants to live and be treated as a girl have been working with the Douglas County School District to allow their child to attend school as a girl. The child attended the unnamed school two years ago, and the family and the district have been talking since last fall about the child re-enrolling, said district spokeswoman Whei Wong. "The discussion has been how best to do it," Wong said Thursday. The goal, she said, is "to ensure the kid feels safe physically and emotionally and other kids don't feel threatened in any way." Wong said some parents have contacted school officials asking for clarification and direction. "Some parents are really concerned and freaked out about it." A concerned parent, who asked not to be identified, told 9News, "I see this as being a very difficult situation to explain to my daughter . . . why someone would not want to be the gender they were born with." A national nonprofit group, TransYouth Family Advocates, has provided assistance in handling the situation.
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Glenwood Springs Post Independent - Task force looks into delegating senior programs

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080208/VALLEYNEWS/569361851...
A task force to decide the future of Senior Programs is focusing on getting an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) in place between municipalities and Garfield County to develop a budget to operate the programs. In a report to Rifle City Council members, city manager John Hier said the task force is looking at placing the administrative functions of the senior nutrition and Traveler programs with the county and contracting with the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority for transportation services. It is also considering coordinating the Regional Service Volunteer Program with Colorado Mountain College. CMC in May 2007 announced that after 30 years, it wanted to unload the programs, which include the senior nutrition program, the Traveler van service and RSVP.
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February 7, 2008

Springs lawmaker's comment about unwed parents deemed offensive | colorado, health, liston - Gazette.com

http://www.gazette.com/articles/colorado_32819___article.html/health_liston.html...
A Colorado Springs lawmaker referred Wednesday to unmarried, pregnant teenagers and the fathers as “sluts” who should be made to feel ashamed for their lack of morals. Rep. Larry Liston’s remarks were made during a discussion with health care professionals at a Republican legislative caucus lunch about Colorado’s high teen pregnancy rate. “In my parents’ day and age, they were sent away, they were shunned, they were called what they are. There was at least a sense of shame,” Liston said of unmarried teen parents. “There’s no sense of shame today. Society condones it. . . . I think it’s wrong. They’re sluts. And I don’t mean just the women. I mean the men, too.” Rep. Stella Garza Hicks, a Colorado Springs Republican who was at the meeting, said afterward she was “disturbed” and “offended” by his use of the term “sluts” to refer to young people who have to live with a mistake they’ve made. “I feel that he owes the apology somewhere, whether it’s to the same group that he spoke to before or someone else,” said Garza Hicks, who did not confront Liston at the time because she said she was so surprised by the statement. “There’s got to be something brought out of this that it doesn’t happen again.”
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The Denver Post - Babysitter charged in December death of tot

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8191177...
A 27-year-old babysitter was formally charged Tuesday in the December death of an 8-month-old boy discovered unconscious and not breathing at his Arapahoe County home. Yvette Nicole Craddock was arrested Jan. 30 at her Denver home for investigation of child abuse causing death in the death of Rashad Maxey. If convicted of the felony charge, Craddock could be sentenced to 16 to 48 years in prison.
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February 4, 2008

Foster kids seek sibling contact : Colorado Government : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/04/foster-kids-seek-sibling-conta...
Renee Manke lost part of her family when social workers took her from her drug-addicted mother years ago. Then, when she and her younger sister were placed in separate foster families, she lost contact with her only sibling - even though the sisters leaned on each other for support through that tumultuous time. Now 22 and on her own, Manke has not seen her little sister in nearly two years. "We got taken away from our parents. Why should we be taken away from the only family we have left? We didn't do anything wrong," Manke said.
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February 1, 2008

Headlines: More bad news for agency | child, death, workers - Gazette.com

http://www.gazette.com/articles/child_32611___article.html/death_workers.html...
It’s called a fatality review — a way for the Colorado Department of Human Services to learn more about the death of a child who has been on its radar in the past five years. Last year, Colorado had so many child deaths requiring a fatality review that, earlier this year, the Colorado Department of Human Services launched a large-scale emergency investigation to look into the causes and what the cases might have in common.
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January 31, 2008

Officer said injuries merited kids' removal : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/31/officer-said-injuries-merited-...
A Denver police officer who did a welfare check on Chandler Grafner last January said she thought he and his brother needed to be removed from their parents' home. Officials at Holm Elementary School had notified social services after 7-year-old Chandler came to school Jan. 17, 2007, with an injured ear and bump on his head. Officer Carrie Maestas said Wednesday that after her welfare check on Jan. 20, 2007, she took the children to the Family Crisis Center for evaluation by Denver social services. The agency determined that the reported abuse was unfounded and allowed the two boys to be returned to Sarah Berry and Jon Phillips. Chandler died May 6 from starvation after being locked in a small closet, according to police reports.
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Two injured children flown to burn center : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/31/two-injured-children-flown-to-...
Two of the four Colorado Springs children who survived a deadly fire allegedly set by their mother have been flown to a top burn center in Galveston, Texas, the local chapter of the Shriners said Wednesday. The two others remain in critical condition at Children's Hospital in Aurora, officials said. A fifth child, 16-month-old Ashya Joseph, died in the fire.
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January 30, 2008

The Denver Post - Foster mom held in death

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8113632...
A 29-year-old foster mother was arrested in the death of a 3-year-old girl she admitted striking on the head and then shaking until the girl's head violently hit the floor, officials said. Michele Baber of Grand Lake was arrested for investigation of felony child abuse and is being held in the Grand County Jail in the death of Daisia Derzon, who was seriously injured Jan. 9 and died three days later, Grand County Sheriff Rodney Johnson said Tuesday. Bail has not been set in the case. Sheriff's investigators were called to Baber's home at 12:57 p.m. on Jan. 9 and found that Daisia had suffered severe injuries to the back of the head, according to Grand County District Court records. Daisia was taken to Children's Hospital in Aurora, where a doctor said she had been struck violently on the back of the head and that it was child abuse.
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Mom, spouses created a rocky home life : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/30/mom-spouses-created-a-rocky-ho...
The children of Maria Joseph appear to have endured a troubled home life even before being horribly burned in a fire allegedly started by their mother.
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January 28, 2008

Program gives aid to teenage parents : Season to Share : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/26/program-gives-aid-to-teenage-p...
One dramatic effect of the counseling Parent Pathways provides to teen parents and their families has been the increasing involvement of young men in the well-being of their children. Parent Pathways provides alternative schooling, direct housing assistance and family education to teenage parents, most of them Hispanic. About one-fourth of fathers get and stay involved. Nationally, statistics show that only one in 10 teen fathers takes any responsibility. "If we can foster the idea of a father being engaged in a positive way, we want to do that," said Executive director Noreen Keleshian.
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The Denver Post - Mayor reassures child-welfare workers

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8095748...
Worried about the morale of Denver's child-welfare investigators who have grappled with a rash of high-profile deaths of children, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper recently sent them a letter of support. "I know this is a difficult time for all of you — these tragic deaths of children affect our entire community," the mayor wrote in a Jan. 14 e-mail. The mayor went on to write that he was "aware also that no one is working harder or with more dedication than you are to understand these fatalities and incorporate the lessons they may provide into your efforts to keep our children safe." The mayor asked Roxane White, director of the city's Department of Human Services, to read his e-mail to the agency's child-welfare team.
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The Denver Post - Parents imprisoned by grief

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8095944...
For many women in prison, the biggest punishment is separation from their children. But when children are in foster care, they are supposed to be safe. That isn't always the case. "What keeps you sane in here is the thought that your kids are protected," said Shannon Derzon, whose three youngest children — ages 3, 4 and 6 — were taken from her in 2006 when she was convicted of dealing methamphetamine and was sentenced to six years in prison. But in a nightmare similar to Lindenberger's, Derzon recently learned from a prison chaplain that her 3-year-old daughter, Daisia, died of a severe head injury while in her Granby foster home. She would never get to see her bossy little angel again. "I wouldn't wish this pain on anybody," Derzon said. "A part of my soul is gone. Grieving is something I'll have to do for the rest of my life." Derzon and Lindenberger were assured the homes their children were placed in were run by loving, experienced foster parents and that their children were safe. But within months after she went to the Buena Vista camp, Lindenberger heard frightening indications her daughter was in jeopardy.
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January 23, 2008

Metro: Program for victims defended | program, coffman, office - Gazette.com

http://www.gazette.com/articles/program_32279___article.html/coffman_office.html...
Secretary of State Mike Coffman slashed his supplemental funding request for the Address Confidentiality Program on Tuesday, but not enough to hold off a lengthy tongue-lashing by one member of the Joint Budget Committee. The program has come under fire because the Secretary of State’s Office spent freely to set it up even though indications are that the revenue is coming in at less than half the expected rate. After State Department officials requested $65,000 to keep it afloat until the program’s July launch, JBC members demanded Coffman explain himself. Coffman said Tuesday that preparation for the program, in which his office can remove the addresses of victims of stalking and domestic violence from public records and redirect their mail to their real home, has come in under the budget they were expecting. But he cut the funding request by two-thirds, down to $20,881, by clearing up a miscommunication over the rent for the program office and by reducing spending in other areas. The budget committee could decide as early as today whether to grant the extra money.
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The Denver Post - Stamp of disapproval for Coffman

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8051860...
Lawmakers blasted Secretary of State Mike Coffman on Tuesday for failing to set up an address-confidentiality program intended to help domestic-violence victims, saying his mismanagement wasted tax money. "You have violated my trust," Sen. John Morse, a Colorado Springs Democrat, told Coffman after the Republican asked for an extra $20,000 for the program. Morse accused Coffman of committing a "deliberate act of rebellion" because he never wanted to run the fake-address program. Coffman called Morse's tirade "goofy" and "ridiculous," saying lawmakers neglected to provide a steady funding source when they called for the program last year. Fines charged to perpetrators of domestic violence are projected to raise about $56,000 this year — far less than the $125,000 originally estimated when the law was passed, Coffman's office said. "I was very reluctant to take on this program," he said. "It came down to a moral issue — concern for those who live in fear." The secretary of state's office has spent $31,000 on the program so far, including about $2,700 on travel for the director to visit similar programs in other states and potential application sites in Colorado. Coffman says he needed about $76,000 total this year for the program and is about $20,000 short. Without the additional money, he likely would have to shut it down before its July start.
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Craig Daily Press / Foster care needs improvement

http://www.craigdailypress.com/news/2008/jan/23/foster_care_needs_improvement/...
Moffat County could do a better job caring for its troubled youths, said Marie Peer, Moffat County Social Services director. But the county, like most rural areas, is limited by its resources, she said. A possible solution: Creating an alternative infrastructure, providing foster homes to some of these youths. But area residents need to volunteer for it to happen, she said. The county currently sends minors adjudicated or, in some cases, charged with a sexual crime to residential treatment facilities in Mesa and Freemont counties, but that might not be the best thing for many of those children, Peer told the Moffat County Commission at its Tuesday meeting.
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January 22, 2008

Plan in Jeffco would align teen services : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/21/plan-in-jeffco-would-align-tee...
Under a recommendation by a University of Colorado sociologist, Jefferson County would have a streamlined system unlike any in the U.S. to help troubled teenagers. The system would be a single entry point into treatment, both for youths in the juvenile- justice system and others who are not criminally charged. The idea comes from Delbert Elliott, who runs the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at CU. Elliott, who was brought in about six months ago by Jeffco's Juvenile Services Planning Committee, discussed his ideas last week with county commissioners. Elliott said the system should operate off one database that can be accessed by the many agencies that work with youths, including schools, police, social service providers and juvenile justice workers.
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The Denver Post - State adds La Junta case to its child-fatality review

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8021912...
State officials will examine social- services' involvement in the home of a 4-year-old girl preceding her death in La Junta, reversing an earlier determination it wasn't needed. The decision was prompted by a Friday Denver Post article that said Rosalia Quintana died after social services workers investigated abuse and neglect allegations in her home. "Looking back on it again, we've decided to review it," Colorado Department of Human Services spokeswoman Liz McDonough said Friday. Rosalia Quintana died Oct. 31 in her La Junta home in southeastern Colorado after at least a half-dozen abuse and neglect complaints were made to the Otero County Department of Human Services, said family members and officials. Rosalia's father, Salvador Quin -tana, 23, and his girlfriend, Carmen Marquez, have been charged with child abuse causing death, said Otero County District Attorney Marty Barta.
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Owenses can file in any county : News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/21/owenses-can-file-in-any-county...
Former Gov. Bill Owens and his wife, Frances, who announced last week they are splitting after 33 years of marriage, live in Arapahoe County but can file their divorce in any county. "It's typical for a divorce to be heard in a jurisdiction where one or both parties live, but it can be moved to another county if both parties agree," said Rob McCallum, spokesman for the State Court Administrator's Office. The couple has said they are not commenting on their divorce as they are now private citizens. Owens, a Republican, served as governor from January 1999 to January 2007. He and his wife were separated for nearly two years during that time. The couple have never commented on what led to their separation.
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January 18, 2008

The Denver Post - La Junta child's death excluded from state audit

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8003368...
A 4-year-old girl who died of abuse or neglect following visits by a child welfare worker to her home was excluded from a state tally of similar deaths and her case will not be reviewed. Rosalia Quintana died Oct. 31 in her La Junta home in southeastern Colorado after abuse and neglect complaints were made to the Otero County Department of Human Services, family members and officials say. Rosalia's father, Salvador Quintana, 23,