Colorado’s office of the Child Protection Ombudsman opened 1,119 cases and closed 1,083 in the most recent fiscal year, the agency announced.

The office oversees the effectiveness of Colorado’s state and local child welfare networks, according to its website. It’s independent from any state or local department of human services offices.

Case closures increased 17% and new cases, based on contacts to the agency seeking help or information, increased 14%, according to a report released Sept. 1 by the ombudsman’s office. 

Among closed cases during the last fiscal year, two-thirds had been initiated by caregivers. Professionals made up 13% of those initiating cases.

Of the cases closed by the office, 30% involved concerns about how child welfare services handled abuse and neglect reports, the agency said. Access to services was the second-highest subject of closed cases.

State Child Protection Ombudsman sees 15% yearly increase in cases

“Our ability to dig into more than 1,000 cases a year gives us a lens into child protection systems that no other state agency has,” said Child Protection Ombudsman Stephanie Villafuerte in a statement. “We are able to identify issues impacting how services are delivered and take innovative, inclusive approaches to addressing such concerns.”

Cases opened by the agency have grown each fiscal year since 2018-2019, from 575 to 1,119.

State task force to scrutinize Colorado’s mandatory reporting law following 7-year-old Olivia Gant’s death

The office attributed the steady increase in cases brought to the office to the growing role of the child protection ombudsman, which transitioned to its current form as an independent state agency seven years ago, and to its outreach and public policy initiatives. The office has grown from three full-time employees to 11 and two contract positions, according to a news release.

The Office of the Child Protection Ombudsman launched two statewide task forces last year. One has been tasked with scrutinizing the effectiveness of the state’s mandatory child abuse reporting law. The death of 7-year-old Olivia Gant in 2017 prompted the task force’s creation and a report from the Office of the Child Protection Ombudsman. Gant’s mother claimed her daughter was terminally ill and was accused of seeking unnecessary and dangerous medical care for her from Children’s Hospital Colorado. But suspicions by hospital employees of medical child abuse weren’t reported to outside authorities. 

The other task force is meant to address issues of children running away from out-of-home placements. Timothy Montoya, 12, ran away from the Tennyson Center for Children in Denver and was hit and killed by a car.

Colorado office to review child deaths independently from state