The child welfare system in Colorado, known as Child Protection Services (CPS), is not funded equally among the state’s various counties, which is having serious consequences in some poorer communities. Funding inequities have plagued CPS throughout Colorado counties since 1994 when the state began providing what it referred to as “core service” aid; while some counties were initially more aggressive in trying to secure funding for child welfare programs, those counties that were not as visible or aggressive did not receive as much funding for their CPS. This discrepancy in child welfare service funding has been dramatically amplified over the years as the populations for counties have grown significantly.

What is possibly worse than some counties not being able to provide the child welfare services that some families desperately need is the fact that, in many cases, the residents of these counties are poorer than counties with more CPS funding; additionally, some of the poorest residents are the individuals who need the most help when it comes to family support. In one of the saddest reported cases of a family not having the child welfare support it needed, an infant was killed; this death was the result of a homicide that occurred when a grandmother, who had primary custody of the infant and needed to someone to watch the child for a short period of time, had left the child with a step-son, who killed the baby and stuffed her body into a suitcase.

While Colorado law makers are scrambling to try to revise the antiquated statutes associated with distributing funds for child welfare services, unfortunately, it will take some time before anything is finalized and the people truly in need of family support services get the help they need. In spite of this uphill battle, however, those who need help regarding child welfare matters may be able to get the support they need by working with a skilled and trust family lawyer at Ellmann and Ellmann, P.C.