Sentinel call for ArapCo social services probe boosts unsubstantiated claims

Editor: As referenced in your Sept. 7, 2022, op-ed article, a former employee of the Arapahoe County Human Services Department made an unfounded allegation of child abuse to a child abuse hotline against a vocal critic of her then-partner during non-working hours.

As previously stated, this type of conduct is abhorrent and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The employee no longer works for Arapahoe County and the situation was promptly referred to law enforcement by the County for investigation and potential prosecution.

The work that the employees of the Human Services Department do to prevent abuse and neglect is extremely important. The employees do an amazing job under very difficult, challenging and stressful conditions, and their efforts are deserving of our utmost respect and appreciation. Nonetheless, we fully understand why there would be concerns raised about whether this one former employee might have made false allegations against others, or committed other misconduct, while acting in her role as a caseworker on child abuse cases for Arapahoe County.

As such, to ensure that no families were ever adversely impacted by her misconduct, all of the former employee’s prior cases are being reviewed by the State Department of Human Services. To date, it is our understanding that no evidence has been found to suggest that the former employee ever did anything that might have resulted in a child being wrongfully removed from a home. If any such evidence is ever found by the State or otherwise, then swift action will be taken to ensure that any wrongs are corrected in the most appropriate manner.

The Sentinel suggests that an outside investigation is needed because the multiple checks and balances intended to weed out false allegations somehow “failed” in the situation involving the former employee. We strongly disagree with this assessment. The system of checks and balances did not fail because the false allegations were promptly determined to be unfounded, and no action was taken by the Department to pursue child abuse allegations.

While we have much empathy for any parent who has had false allegations made against them, the statewide child abuse hotline is accessible to all for good reason. There is no way for the state to ensure that inaccurate or false allegations are never made to the hotline; rather, the allegations must be reviewed by county human services departments once made to determine if there are sufficient indications of reliability. The fact that a person could decide to intentionally make false allegations is not a fault of the system, but rather the criminal act of the person making the allegations.

We also disagree with your suggestion that an outside investigation is needed because of the allegations made by others to the effect that there is a systemic problem with caseworkers committing misconduct beyond the known misconduct of the former employee. To date, we have not seen any evidence whatsoever to support such a claim. While we believe in the rights of free speech and the ability for citizens to seek redress of grievances from their government, just because someone or even many people say something at a press conference or in a lawsuit, does not make it so. Persons who have been separated from their children due to founded concerns of child abuse, and who have had opportunities for full and complete due process with court appointed attorneys to represent them, will instead sometimes blame the system or the people involved rather than take responsibility for the outcomes. It is very important to closely evaluate the actual merit of complaints coming from such individuals, rather than taking broad and conclusory allegations at face value.

At this point, it appears to us that many of the allegations made are irresponsible attacks on the integrity of the many good people in our Department of Human Services who work tirelessly to protect children and families from the impacts of abuse and neglect, and who do so in a respectful, fair and honest manner. The Sentinel’s editorial lends unfair credence to unsupported allegations, advancing a dangerous narrative that undermines the important work of protecting children.

Rest assured, if it is determined that there may be merit to such allegations in the future, appropriate action will be taken.