Child and Family Services

It is the charge and mission of this agency to recognize and confirm the sanctity of families.  In that service, we are resolved to never underestimate how vital family relationships are to any given individual especially a child; and to be constantly alert to the predictable and irreversible damage done to children when we remove them or estrange them from their families, no matter how minimal the parenting or how marginal the homes appear.

In the undeniable circumstance of imminent danger to a child when out-of-home placement is clearly the only safe alternative, the process of removal of that child should, when at all possible, harbor the seeds of eventual family reunification.

Our professional and financial resources must primarily be dedicated to ensuring the protection of children within the structure of their family system.  The potential for healing and growth within the family must never be overshadowed by our impatience to foster change for the sake of conformity.

Everyone in the community plays a role in the prevention of child abuse and neglect.  If you have concerns about a child's safety and well-being, please call the child abuse hotline (844)-264-5437 (844-CO-4-KIDS).

If it is an emergency or you are witnessing a child in a life-threatening situation, call 911 immediately.

For situations that aren't emergencies:

To report child abuse or neglect, call toll-free Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline:
(844) 264-5437 (844-CO-4-KIDS)

La Plata County Non-Emergency Central Dispatch (970) 385-2900

Calls reporting child abuse and neglect will be recorded for monitoring and quality assurance purposes.