The Colorado Department of Human Services wants the state’s highest court to review a recent appellate court opinion that could force the disclosure of aggregate statistics about child-abuse hotline calls made from licensed residential care facilities.
The Colorado Children’s Code doesn’t necessarily prohibit the state Department of Human Services from publicly releasing aggregate statistics about child-abuse hotline calls made from licensed residential care facilities, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled, reversing a 2021 district court decision.
Lawyers clashed in the Colorado Court of Appeals over whether the state’s Children’s Code prohibits the Colorado Department of Human Services (DHS) from publicly releasing aggregate statistics about child-abuse hotline calls made from licensed residential care facilities.
A case before the Colorado Court of Appeals will determine whether a state agency wrongfully denied two news organizations’ requests for aggregate statistics about child-abuse hotline calls made from licensed residential care facilities.
A judge dismissed a lawsuit brought against a state agency by 9NEWS and The Colorado Sun, ruling that a statute prohibits the disclosure of aggregate child-abuse hotline statistics sought by the news organizations for certain state-licensed residential facilities.
While reporting their recent joint investigative series on state-licensed residential treatment centers, journalists for The Colorado Sun and 9NEWS asked for — but were denied — records showing the number of calls made to the state’s child abuse hotline from three facilities.
