Abuse reports trigger probe

Ombudsman opens investigation into centers for troubled and high-needs kids.

Colorado’s child-protection ombudsman has opened a broad investigation into residential centers for troubled and high-needs kids after alarming reports of abuse at a Pueblo institution.

El Pueblo Boys and Girls Ranch was shut down by state authorities in September, but lingering questions about oversight remain after the ombudsman’s initial inquiry yielded a “dense log” of abuse and neglect reports going back more than a decade.

Ombudsman Stephanie Villafuerte announced the ongoing investigation Tuesday, noting a “number of policy and practice concerns that extend beyond El Pueblo.”

The investigation, which is expected to take several months, will focus on state oversight of residential child facilities as well as the handling of abuse and neglect reports to county caseworkers.

El Pueblo, a 12-cottage mental health and substance-abuse treatment center on 56 acres, was ordered by the Colorado Department of Human Services in September to “immediately desist” caring for children. The ranch, which treated children with severe behavioral or psychiatric needs, had 37 kids at the time — all of whom were abruptly moved to foster homes, group homes and other centers.

A staff member was accused of pulling a child’s hair, scratching the child, and hitting the child with an elbow and a knee, according to the state’s suspension order. A mentally low-functioning child escaped out of a bedroom window, was missing for more than an hour and crossed two streets, according to another complaint. And a child who ran away from El Pueblo during the summer and boarded a train alone later told authorities that children bullied one another and stole one another’s food because they were hungry.

Officials at the privately run ranch have not returned calls for comment, and the ranch’s website has been taken down.

Calls about suspected abuse at a residential center are initially handled by the county human services department, which decides whether a caseworker should visit the center to further investigate.

Villafuerte is reviewing the list of calls alleging abuse at El Pueblo.

Colorado also has a state-level monitoring team that investigates licensing violations at residential child centers. The 10-person team is responsible for monitoring 230 facilities. Villafuerte will explore whether the state team’s size and authority are sufficient enough to “provide effective oversight,” according to an investigative briefing.