Children’s Law Center Finds Bipartisan Support for 2017 Children’s Caucus

  DENVER, CO - 02/23/2017 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

The Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center, a multidisciplinary nonprofit organization that provides legal advocacy for abused and neglected children in Colorado, is excited to announce the 2017 Colorado Children’s Caucus with bipartisan support from four Colorado senators and representatives.  

The Children’s Caucus provides a forum for members of the Colorado General Assembly to discuss the challenges facing Colorado youth and work together to create policy recommendations to strengthen families and improve the lives of children. On February 27, Betsy Fordyce from Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center will partner with Katie Facchinello and Laura Solomon from Colorado Department of Human Services to launch this year’s caucus series with a discussion about what happens after a call is made to the Colorado Abuse and Neglect Hotline System.

The Children’s Caucus is co-chaired by 4 Colorado senators and representatives, they are: Senator John Kefalas (D), Senator Jim Smallwood (R), Representative Jonathan Singer (D) and Representative Dan Nordberg (R). The support of Colorado senators and representatives from both sides of the aisle shows the importance of finding solutions to the challenges that many children in Colorado face.

Representative Nordberg says, “The Children's Caucus provides a great opportunity to put partisanship aside, discuss the challenges facing Colorado's youth and come up with viable solutions to solve these issues. As our future community leaders it is imperative we do everything in our ability to empower, encourage and protect our children."

The Children’s Caucus provides legislators with a much needed space to put partisanship aside and discuss effective solutions to support Colorado children, ensuring none are left behind. The Children’s Caucus also provides bill tracking for proposed legislation impacting children.

The 2017 events will cover a specific issue during each session, the selected topics for 2017 are:

• February 27, 2017: Child Welfare 101 - What happens after you call?

• March 20, 2017: Colorado CASA & Out of Home Placement (CAFCA)

• April 3, 2017: Child Abuse Prevention Panel

• April 17, 2017: Drug Endangered Children

The Children’s Caucus is an exciting and inspiring convergence of parties to support future generations. Senator Kefalas says: “The Colorado Children’s Caucus is a great opportunity for legislators to focus on the well-being of children and to better understand best practices for addressing such issues as child abuse and neglect. I am pleased and honored to co-chair the 2017 Children’s Caucus with my colleagues in the Senate and House because the children are our future, and this is a great opportunity for legislators to learn and to unite around such an important cause.”

Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center is excited to see the outcome of the 2017 Children’s Caucus. For more information on the Children’s Caucus or to become a member visit cochildrenscaucus.weebly.com.

More About the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center

For over 35 years, the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center has transformed the lives of more than 20,000 abused and neglected children through our legal advocacy, clinical services, and system reform work. Our team of legal professionals and social workers works tirelessly to provide a trauma-informed best-practice approach to meeting our client's fundamental needs. Our cutting edge programs are uniquely equipped to champion the best interests of Colorado’s most vulnerable children. Founded in 1981, the Children’s Law Center is a nonprofit organization that relies heavily on community support. www.ChildLawCenter.org