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Colorado's Administrative Review Division (ARD) serves as an independent third-party review system under the auspices of CDHS. ARD is the mechanism responsible for the federally required Case Review System and a portion of the Quality Assurance System for both the Division of Child Welfare and the Division of Youth Corrections. With an ultimate passion of providing permanency and well-being for Colorado's children, ARD works closely with Colorado's counties to train, measure and assess their adherence to state and federal regulations. The most prominent of ARD's requirements are the administrative case reviews, which are required every six months for each child in out-of-home foster care; ARD conducts approximately 10,000 out-of-home reviews per year. Such regulations are in place to help prevent unnecessary moves for children in foster care and to assess (and encourage) that the needs of the families' and children are being appropriately addressed.
ARD shares a common goal within the profession and amongst the community as a whole: the well-being of our children.
The Child and Adult Mistreatment Dispute Review Section (CAMDRS) is the state level working group involved in reviewing county decisions that an individual is responsible for an act of child abuse or neglect, or mistreatment of an at-risk adult, when the individual (Appellant) requests a state appeal. CAMDRS is involved only in child abuse or neglect and mistreatment of at-risk adult appeals. Under Colorado law, individuals receiving letters from County Departments of Human/Social Services notifying them that they have been identified as responsible for an incident of child abuse or neglect, or mistreatment of an at-risk adult, are entitled to contest (appeal) the accuracy of the county decision to an impartial decision maker. This county letter includes a form with "Information about Confirmed Reports of Child Abuse or Neglect" containing important information about the confirmation and the appeal rights. Visit the CAMDRS page to learn more.
House Bill 1181 was passed during the 2011 Colorado legislative session. This statute codified the CDHS Child Fatality Review Team and provided statutory authority through the addition of section 26-1-139 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. The statute also outlines the guidelines regarding the team's purpose, structure and reporting procedures. Learn more and browse reports and public notifications on the Child Fatality Review Team page.
ARD conducts qualitative case reviews on a variety of child welfare populations. These reviews include:
Visit the Qualitative Case Reviews page to learn more.
ARD publishes a variety of data reports and publications related to child welfare practice and policy. Visit the CDHS Publications and Reports page to browse ARD documents.
