Ombudsman could have saved toddler, local woman testifies

DENVER - A Colorado Springs toddler would still be alive if the state had more oversight of child protection programs, a witness told a state Senate committee on Thursday.

Mary Ann Hartman said El Paso County child welfare officials didn’t believe her in 2007 when she told them her neighbor, Jules Lynn Cuneo, was abusing Alizé Vick, a two-year-old foster child in Cuneo’s care. Months later, Vick died from head injuries, and last month a jury convicted Cuneo of child abuse resulting in death.

Hartman is backing a bill before the state Senate, SB171, that would establish a child welfare ombudsman office to oversee child abuse prevention efforts – a place Hartman said she would have taken her concerns.

“I kept telling them she was going to kill the little girl,” Hartman told the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. “I was trying to save a little girl and they wouldn’t let me.”

Hartman testified at a pre-trial hearing in the Cuneo case that she heard her neighbor’s abuse of the girl on a baby monitor. She told the Senate panel that the abuse escalated for weeks after she first reported Cuneo to the county, but she said she was repeatedly rebuffed by county workers when she demanded they do something about it.

The county workers, Hartman said, didn’t take action because she demanded anonymity.

“I failed to save Alizé Vick,” she said through tears.

El Paso County this month reached a settlement in a civil case brought by Vick’s estate, paying $300,000. The death also resulted in a wide-ranging review of county child-protection practices.

Littleton’s Democratic Sen. Linda Newell, who penned the bill, said to prevent tragedies, the state needs a central office to deal with complaints of child welfare services, which are supervised by the state and carried out by county agencies.

“Colorado’s child welfare system is decentralized, disorganized and overwhelmed,” she said.

The bill passed out of the committee on a 7-0 vote and now heads to the Senate appropriations committee for consideration.

The ombudsman’s office would be run by a non-profit organization under a state contract and would deal with citizen complaints. The office would report its results to the state General Assembly.

The ombudsman idea stemmed from a review ordered by Gov. Bill Ritter after 35 Colorado children died while in the care of state child welfare agencies, Newell said.

So far, 29 states have set up ombudsman offices to deal with child welfare issues, Newell said.

Newell’s bill is expected to head to the Senate floor with wide-ranging support, but not without financial concerns. But because the state faces a $1 billion shortfall for the fiscal year that begins in July, lawmakers will establish the office but not pay for it with tax money.

Newell said the office will rely on donations and grants. Colorado Springs Republican Sen. Dave Schultheis told Newell the funding scheme could leave the office without cash.
Hartman, though, told lawmakers that the office could save lives.

“I wish I could have had another place to take my concerns,” she said.

For an updated list of bills introduced by El Paso County lawmakers, click here.