The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Colorado Department of Human Services" ...
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"Deaths at the State Hospital"
This ongoing investigation reveals major misconduct by the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo, the largest public psychiatric hospital in the state. The investigative team exposed and detailed the deaths of four patients that resulted from the "mistakes, lack of training, incompetence and possible criminal neglect" carried out by hospital employees. The series also reveals the attempt of state human services officials to cover up the mistakes.
Tags: mental health; patients; grand jury; DA; Pueblo; Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment; database; Pueblo State Hospital; Nexis-Lexis; 441.com; CoCourts.com; Colorado Bureau of Investigation
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"Children Failed, Children Forsaken"
The deaths of 13 children could have been prevented, says the Colorado Department of Human Services. The child welfare system in Colorado is "fraught with incompetence" and mismanagement. Caseworkers are improperly trained, leaving the children "in peril." As of late 2009, new hires and improved caseworker training had not been enforced leaving the situation in the same poor state as it has been for years.
Tags: Colorado Department of Human Services; Denver Department of Human Services; Bill Ritter; child welfare system
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Daycare/Sex Offender Proximity
The state of Colorado is one of 29 states that does not have a law regarding how close a registered sex offender can live to potential victims, such as day care centers. This lack of a "proximity" law led KDVR to investigate just how many sex offenders - specifically pedophiles - were living near child care facilities. They discovered that of about 4,500 sex offenders in Colorado, 64 percent were within 1,500 feet of a day care facility, with many of that 64 percent being pedophiles. There was one situation where a sex offender was living in the same home as a day care owner, who had their license revoked as a result of the investigation.
Tags: Sex offenders; pedophilia; proximity law; Colorado; Department of Human Services; day care centers
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The Accused; To-Do-List
Westword reports on a badly managed database containing more than 100,000 names of people who have supposedly committed child neglect or abuse. The Central Registry of Child Protection, created by the Colorado legislation in 1969, has been plagued with mistakes from its early days, the first story reveals. The follow-up features the findings of a 1990 state audit of the Central Registry, which "showed that numerous people on the list shouldn't have been on it," while "many people convicted such as convicted child abusers, were missing from the list." The reporter depicts how the wrongful listing of a man on the registry upended his and his wife's lives. The story cautions that 43 other states have similar databases on suspected child abusers.
Tags: children; state government; sex offenders; Denver Department of Human Services; child care; day-care; adoptive parent; foster parents; group homes