The Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman (CPO) is seeking an institute of higher education to administer focus groups and additional research to support the work of the Timothy Montoya Task Force to Prevent Children from Running Away from Out-of-Home Placement (Task Force). The Task Force will sit for two years. This 24-member task force will be housed in the CPO and is comprised of a diverse set of professionals, families and those with lived experience.
The Task Force must address nine directives which span a complex web of legal, regulatory, medical, therapeutic and financial considerations. These include, but are not limited to, analysis of the root causes of why children run away from placements, the legal and regulatory frameworks currently in place and how entities across child protection – including facilities, law enforcement and child welfare services – will need to coordinate to address these issues. These issues are complex and will require that members be provided with educational materials to consider these difficult policy issues. They require the Task Force meetings be structured in a way that allows for open discussion, while also ensuring the group produces tangible results. The Task Force may develop recommendations and must produce at least two written reports detailing its analysis, work and possible recommendations.
The CPO must contract with an institution of higher education, which will conduct focus groups with children in out-of-home placements, youth adults who are 22 or younger who have aged out of the child protection system and out-of-home placement providers. These focus groups will gather insight and information to help determine the root cause of why children and youth run away from out-of-home placements, current practices for responding to incidents and desired changes. The Task Force will receive the results of the focus groups no later than April 2023 and will use that information to guide its discussions.
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