Child Welfare

• If a referral made to the Child Protection Hotline meets the mandated criteria, the referral is assigned to a trained Senior Case Manager to conduct an assessment of the child/ren and family regarding the suspected child abuse and/or neglect and/or for the need for services regarding a youth who may be beyond the control of his/her parent/s.
• This assessment includes an interview with and/or observation of the child/ren who is mentioned in the referral.
• The assessment will also include interviews with the caregiver of the child/ren, as well as any other collateral contacts involved with the child and their family who may be able to provide additional information to the case manager in order to thoroughly assess both the concerns that resulted in the referral, as well as the family’s situation as a whole.
• Examples of collateral contacts may include school teachers, coaches, relatives, physicians, therapists/counselors, etc.
• If an assessment finds that there are identified risk and/or safety factors that cannot otherwise be mitigated, a Child Welfare case will be opened in order to provide case management services to the child/ren and family.
• When a Child Welfare case is opened, a trained Senior Case Manager will work closely with the child/ren and family to identify and ensure that any services and/or treatment needed to mitigate the identified risk and/or safety factors are put into place and monitored for progress.

The Child Protection Hotline 970-242-1211 is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by skilled and trained Senior Case Managers who are tasked with taking thorough and complete referrals, from a variety of sources, of suspected child abuse and/or neglect of children ages birth through age 17 living in Mesa County.

• When safety factors rise to the level in which a child is unable to safely remain in their home, then the Child Welfare Division may be granted custody of a child either through local law enforcement or a Magistrate/Judge.   
• When children are placed out of their home, the Child Welfare Division makes every effort to find safe and appropriate relatives or extended family (also referred to as kin) in which to place the child. 
• When this happens, a trained Senior Case Manager will work closely with the kinship provider to ensure the kinship home is safe. 
• Examples of this include background checks, home inspections, and a home study.   
• In addition, the Senior Case Manager will also work with the kinship provider to identify and ensure that any services and/or treatment needed for the child/ren and kinship family are put into place and monitored for progress.

• When services and/or treatment  are needed in order to mitigate identified risk and/or safety factors, the Child Welfare Division provides a variety of internal services and/or external services, through contracts with community-based agencies, to ensure a child/ren and their family receive the right services, at the right time, at the right location, and for the right frequency and duration. 
• Examples of therapeutic services to families include, but are not limited to, home based intervention, intensive family therapy, life skills, day treatment, sexual abuse treatment, special economic assistance, mental health services, and substance abuse treatment services.