The Wolf Watching the Chicken Coop Or The Legion of Doom

by: JeffcosSuperman

Thu Apr 16, 2009 at 13:02:49 PM MDT

 The Citizens Review panel (CRP) is group of people from the community who can deal with the ethics and behaviors of case workers when it comes to Dependency and Neglect cases. This statute is found in the Colorado Revised Statutes  19-3-211. Conflict resolution process
   Jeffco Human Services was not making people aware of this process. The law was passed in 1998.  The law governing this and rights were discovered in the latter part of December.
 I have numerous letters from the director, countless contact with the case worker (Cheryl Hyink), her Supervisor Tim Young, his supervisor Susan Franklin, whom neither of them made mention of the CRP. I wonder why?

 Jefferson County was keeping this process internal, so people would think that this was the only way to resolve the unethical unprofessionalretaliatory things that can/do go on was to speak with Jefferson County Human Services.  This would be a good way to keep their will and beliefs, this would be a perfect way to people to do their treatment plans fitting or not.  

 A call was made to the State auditor's Office in May 2007. They were given a brief but detailed account.
That audit is here http://www.leg.state.co.us/osa...  

Read pages 69-72.  

  "We found that counties frequently do not comply with requirements for the grievance process, resulting in complainants' being denied their rights to seek resolution from a body outside the county departments"

Sound familiar?

 Jefferson County Human Services told the Office of Civil Rights. "They had posted the Notice of Client Rights on the second floor and Rights and Remedies were given".

  What they didn't know is that pictures were taken in 2004 showing nothing posted, behind these locked glass cases!!  The notification of Rights and information about the CRP magically appeared when knowledge of a Civil Rights complaint became known.  This is called lying.

    Why does Jefferson County cover up what they had not been doing?  Why do employees cover for each other, to the point of committing FORGERY!!

 I found out about the CRP 8 months into the case. The director of human services sends me a letter stating "You requested the Citizen review Panel" attached was an initial complaint form. I had complained since the beginning of the case which was in April. I was to be told about this process, not discover it.    

   Jeffco services sends  me a confidentiality form. The law actually addresses confidentiality "no participant in the conflict resolution process shall divulge or make public any confidential information contained in a report of child abuse or neglect or in other case file records to which he or she has been provided access".  NO other county does this besides Jeff co.

A letters forwarded to me:
From Commissioner Kathy Hartman

"Mr.Gunnett,
First, I have had several conversations with Sharles about this.  If I remember how things were left, he was reluctant to sign the release of information necessary to involve the Citizen's Review Panel.   But without such a release, our county employees cannot give the members of the panel any information."

Mr. Gunnett:

"Commissioner Hartman,
Thank you for your response.

1. Mr. Johnson said not that he was reluctant to sign but that he refused to sign a "release" that vitiated his first amendment rights, prohibiting him from ever telling anyone of any of the proceedings at any time. It appeared that it would have gagged him permanently and he saw that as inappropriate.
2. A larger issue to me is that an aggrieved citizen was kept from the Review Panel by the people he wanted to complain about.
  The "release" came from HS, was not on letterhead, and had no identifying county form number and lacked professional legal appearance. Why was there not a release from the Review Panel, if one was needed, instead of from Human Services?" As a thirty-five year resident, ex-teacher, I am concerned with children's welfare.  When I read that children have suffered terribly while HS is inattentive it pushes my buttons. When I sit in court and see Jeffco employee unethical behaviors I am offended that is done in my name. I am similarly dismayed when I see children absolutely abused in foster care in another county and Jeffco does not prosecute or push the issue, except to trump up charges against the father. It offends my sense of fairness to see Jeffco employees run citizens through some sort of mill for questionable motives. Finally, I am deeply aggrieved when it appears that anyone's civil rights are abrogated in my name.  Our county does not need civil rights actions or lawsuits and employees run amok put us in danger of both."

Best regards,
Robert Gunnett

  Kathy Hartman was following the statute(by word) but yet will not correct the county on what they had done. Who is really about the people? The new director is still allowing this. They did not want people to hear what would come out of a meeting with me.

"Counties we visited lack mechanisms to specifically inform complainants that they have the right to take a grievance to a citizen review panel or board of county commissioners if they are not satisfied with the county department's resolution. Further, in five of these counties the department staff, not the complainant, determine whether a complaint will be allowed to go to a panel or county board. Statutes specifically give complainants, as well as the county departments, the right to take unresolved complaints outside the county departments."

On Jeffco's web site (http://www.co.jefferson.co.us/bcc/bcc_T25_R10.htm) look up Citizen Review panel. "The board conducts hearings to ascertain the legitimacy of complaints against Human Services programs and submits recommendations to the Director of Human Services regarding their resolutions".

 This information is misleading. So even if you find it, you don't know that you really did.

State law says "The purpose of such conflict resolution process is to provide a forum for grievances concerning the conduct of county department personnel in performing their duties pursuant to this article".

 The Auditor asked that some of the following be implemented:
"Require counties to provide complainants with clear and specific information about their rights under the statutory grievance process. This could be accomplished by revising the Notice of Rights and Remedies given to families whose children are removed or by including information about rights in county correspondence with complainants."

"Eliminate the requirement that county departments of human/social services attempt to resolve grievances informally before using the statutory grievance process, or clarify the meaning of this rule in a way that is consistent with the Rights provided in statute."

The State of Colorado agreed as this was to be done by July 2008.

As of recent people, I have spoken with says they know nothing about the CRP. Often they know if they disagree with Jefferson County Human Service case workers take it personal and then retaliation starts. We are confronting retaliation now.Though we won the case.

 The case workers that have done and continue to do these detrimental things are still employed.

 If you purposefully withhold the knowledge of a right, What are you afraid of?  The people knowing what is being done in their name.

  When any agency believes a certain way of doing things are wrong, NORMALLY discipline is in the process.  Since nothing has been done and things "sloppily" covered up, is not one saying this is "how we do business?!"

 This is the one of many things done in the name of the people of Jefferson County.  This is not the people. We know many outside of those building's who have better integrity and ethics that this.
"Is it just that they couldn't stand that this man stood up to them, had his facts straight, had records - that they'd never had to deal with an intelligent parent who was like that, who wasn't so scared that they wouldn't fight back?
"Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions, but geez, what is going on here?"

 Horrible situations got manipulated by Jefferson County Human Services. We were never informed about the Citizen Review Panel.

 The same family who the county wanted so much to be involved with exposed what had been going on for years.  Was it all really worth it?
This CRP was passed in 1998, if the county had their own way,this outside process was not ever going to be known. Then came Shar-less and Rebekiah Johnson (married) and their 6 young children.
The wolf has been watching the chicken coop.