Stephanie's Blog

Stephanie Villafuerte joined the Children’s Law Center as its executive director in July 2010. Stephanie is a long time child advocate who has spent 22 years working with children who are victims of physical and sexual abuse and neglect. She has worked tirelessly as a legal advocate in state and federal courts as well as in the public policy arena to ensure the protection of abused children.

Check back to Stephanie's blog to see her latest thoughts on child abuse issues.

February 17, 2012: A Step Forward: Public disclosure of information about child deaths

I applaud Governor Hickenlooper’s recently announced steps to reform the child protection system—especially his commitment to reveal more information about child deaths and near deaths.

In 2008, a report by two independent organizations gave Colorado a “D” in public disclosure policies in child abuse fatality and near fatality cases. Nevada and New Hampshire both received an “A.” The difference? Those states mandate public disclosure on both fatalities and near fatalities. Colorado law only addresses fatalities. Also, those states require specific disclosure of information including “whether the child welfare services agency had any contact with the child or a member of the child’s family or household before the fatality or near fatality.”

According to a fact sheet released yesterday by Colorado Department of Human Services Director Reggie Bicha, the goal is to “begin work to draft legislation that would allow CDHS to publicly share information—good and bad—regarding child welfare investigations.” The significance of this cannot be understated. Child abuse deaths and near deaths are terrible tragedies that tell us that our child welfare system is failing. Making information concerning these tragedies publicly available is a necessary step toward identifying and fixing the system’s weaknesses.

Each year, Colorado spends millions in taxpayer dollars to investigate child protective services. The public has a right to see the results of these investigations and to know if laws aimed at protecting children are being followed. The Children’s Law Center thanks both Governor Hickenlooper and Reggie Bicha for this important step forward.

January 3, 2012: Happy New Year

I had the honor of joining this organization as executive director a year and a half ago. I was compelled by the mission—to change the lives of abused and neglected children—and I wanted to be part of making a better world, one child at a time. I have been overwhelmed by the passion, dedication and compassion of each staff member, board member and supporter of the Children’s Law Center.