On May 28, 2024, the Colorado General Assembly passed HB 24-1046, Concerning Measures to Enhance Child Welfare System Tools. This bill was passed in response to concerns that current child welfare tools are not effective in assessing safety and risk for children involved in child welfare cases. The purpose of the legislation is to evaluate these tools and if necessary, make recommendations to enhance their effectiveness and operability.
This bill requires the Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman (CPO), established in section 19-3.3-102 to select and contract with a third-party evaluator to conduct an audit of the Colorado Safety and Risk Assessment tools. The CPO seeks a part-time vendor to assist in the selection process of the third-party evaluator and to manage the corresponding evaluation process. The applicant chosen for this project would be required to facilitate the selection process. This includes developing the request for proposal (RFP) for the third-party evaluator (if not already completed), reviewing the proposals, and ultimately selecting a qualified evaluator. The third-party evaluator must be selected by January 15, 2025.
Additionally, this position is responsible for the management of the evaluation process including but not limited to, ensuring the evaluator has access to the relevant state agencies, data and resources necessary to complete the audit process. Additionally, this person will be responsible for ensuring the evaluator is compliant with the deadlines set forth in HB 24-1046 and for communicating with the CPO on a regular basis with updates on the project. The third-party evaluation must be completed by March 1, 2026.
