Stories detail DHS shortcomings

Stories detail DHS shortcomings
Attendees call for additional oversight
BY NATE TAYLOR • NATETAYLOR @COLORADOAN.COM • JULY 23, 2010

Three state lawmakers from Larimer County heard story after story Thursday afternoon from parents and those who have been "entangled" with the county's Department of Human Services calling for additional oversight of the agency.



About 50 Larimer County residents attended an open forum hosted by Reps. BJ Nikkel, R-Loveland, and John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, and Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud. About half of those people spoke; a majority of them were parents.

DHS services in Colorado are administered by counties and supervised by the state of Colorado.

The forum was held to encourage residents to share their experiences and thoughts on how to improve child welfare.

A majority of the speakers were parents sharing stories about their negative experiences with Larimer County DHS. Many of those parents said they've denied allegations raised by DHS caseworkers and accused department employees of lying, fabricating and abusing power.

"When did parents lose their rights to be parents? I can tell you: It's the moment DHS intersects with your family," said Sharon Goodnight, a parent whose child was removed from her home. "You're not criminals, but you're given allegations, allegations that you can never face, ever. From that point forward, DHS owns your children."

Added Ron Markwood, who said he's tried to help a family contacted by DHS: "There's no visibility and no transparency with any of these people. There's no accountability."

The three lawmakers, who all served on a bipartisan legislative panel in April hoping to reform child welfare in Colorado, tried during Thursday's forum to balance the complaints they heard without hearing both sides of the stories.

Linda Weinerman, executive director of the Colorado Office of the Child's Representative, explained that DHS struggles to work in a positive direction with parents who deny wrongdoing.

"If a parent denies the allegation, there's a higher level of scrutiny because it's hard to make a safety plan if you deny there is a safety issue," Weinerman said.

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20100723/NEWS01/7230333