Denver Human Services is gaining some ground in bolstering its child welfare placement services, yet it appears there's more distance to trek before the job is done. Of the seven recommendations made in a 2023 audit report by Denver Auditor Timothy M. O'Brien, CPA, it seems two have been fully implemented, and five are still works in progress. Highlighting the advances, O’Brien said, "I’m pleased to see Denver Human Services follow through on our recommendations to improve processes to help kinship caregivers, who play an important role in a child’s life," as per the Denver Auditor's Office.
According to the follow-up report, there has been a significant uptick in support for kinship caregivers, relatives, or close family friends tasked with a child's care. This includes the development of a formal training plan and scrubbing outdated kinship certification guidance from its internal shared drive. However, when it comes to lasting solutions for staff retention and secure access procedures, only partial measures have been put into place. It's a mixed bag, really, with important steps taken in one breath, and with the next, reminders of the work that’s yet to be completed.
In efforts to tighten ship, the department has rolled out new foster care certification procedures not once, but twice, ironing out clearer pathways for both kinship and non-kinship caregivers. Yet, even with a comprehensive training policy that meets audit recommendations head-on, there's an unaddressed element hanging in the air. The elusive clarity around fiscal rule requirements for the imprest fund, a fund meant to offer urgent financial aid to families, is still not nailed down. "Lingering financial risks may impact the families and children we serve," O’Brien noted, as obtained by the Denver Auditor's Office, emphasizing the sincere risks that such loose ends expose.
This steady labor to reinforce the protective net for Denver's children also features a staff retention plan. But the devil is in the details, or rather, the lack thereof. The plan falls short of documenting how strategies were evaluated, which best practices were put to use, or who's steering the ship when it comes to updates. It's these chinks in the armor, these incomplete authorization forms and potentially inaccurate rosters for secure storage devices, that leave room for unwelcomed mishaps, that inadvertent, open door to unauthorized access to sensitive financials.
