A Colorado war veteran lost parental rights to her children through a rarely-scrutinized legal process. Now she’s asking the state Supreme Court to intercede.

When Ashley checked herself into a homeless shelter for female veterans, she had the well being of her two young children in mind.

Her symptoms from post-traumatic stress disorder had become unmanageable. For years, she had been able to suppress the trauma from her 17-month deployment to Afghanistan with the U.S. Army, as well as the sexual assault she said she suffered at the hands of two men in her unit. But trauma, in time, always boils over.

More >> A Colorado war veteran lost parental rights to her children through a rarely-scrutinized legal process. Now she’s asking the state Supreme Court to intercede.

Email hotline for child abuse claims went unchecked for five years

An email account set up for child abuse claims went unchecked for so long that some of the victims have grown up.

Colorado’s Department of Human Services told Denver’s CBS News an email address that had been set up went unchecked for nearly a half-decade. Once authorities finally noticed the oversight, they discovered more than 100 unread emails pertaining to "concerns of child abuse or neglect.”

More >> Email hotline for child abuse claims went unchecked for five years

2 teens with 'significant mental health issues' missing after leaving foster home

The Park County Sheriff's office is asking for help locating two teenage girls who ran away from a therapeutic foster care home where they were receiving treatment for significant mental health issues.

Emma Stokes and Anna Frankman, both 16, were last seen in the area of Mount Evans Boulevard in Pine Junction around 10 p.m. on July 7, the sheriff's office said.

More >> 2 teens with 'significant mental health issues' missing after leaving foster home

Former foster youth make themselves heard for “sibling bill of rights,” drivers license bill

The longer Davion Bugarin talked, his tears turning into gasping sobs, the more lawmakers began to cry. Someone found a box of tissues so the legislators on the House human services committee could wipe their eyes while Bugarin explained how he lost his sisters in foster care.

More >> Former foster youth make themselves heard for “sibling bill of rights,” drivers license bill

When Native American Children Are Adopted By White Families, It Isn't Always A Happy Ending

In the 1950s and '60s, thousands of Native American children were adopted to white families. Because the adoptions were mostly closed, many of those children had unanswered questions about their birth parents and their identities.

Susan Harness of Fort Collins was one of those children. When Harness was 18 months old, social workers removed her from the Flathead Reservation in Montana and placed her with a white family. She wrote about the experience in her new book, "Bitterroot."

More >> When Native American Children Are Adopted By White Families, It Isn't Always A Happy Ending

Glitch Takes Down Colorado Child Welfare System for 16 Hours

Colorado's new case management system, in the middle of a multi-phase upgrade, is riddled with problems. Its latest reboot left social workers with corrupted data, missing referrals and inaccurate child welfare reports.

More >> Glitch Takes Down Colorado Child Welfare System for 16 Hours

Computer glitch leaves Colorado caseworkers without child safety info for nearly 16 hours

For nearly 16 hours from Wednesday night into Thursday, caseworkers in El Paso County and elsewhere in Colorado couldn’t access child safety information on abuse and neglect reports due to a glitch in the state’s revamped case management system.

The lapse made more than 900 child welfare assessments inaccessible to county staff until just before noon Thursday, said Kristina Iodice, a spokeswoman for the county Department of Human Services.

More >> Computer glitch leaves Colorado caseworkers without child safety info for nearly 16 hours

In Denver child welfare cases, the father isn’t “John Doe” anymore

John Doe is not the father, at least not anymore.

An untold number of kids caught up in Denver’s child welfare system have had a father named John Doe, a practice that went on for decades and made it less likely for children to find permanent homes. When the dad is unknown, so is an entire side of the family that might otherwise step up to care for an abused child.

More >> In Denver child welfare cases, the father isn’t “John Doe” anymore

Computer Issues At Colorado's Child Protection Services Are Putting Kids At Risk

roblems with Colorado's $25.3 million overhaul of its child protection computer system are putting children at risk and the state is not acting urgently enough to fix it, county workers said.

Members of the Colorado Human Services Directors Association told state officials in an Oct. 19 letter that problems with the system "are crippling our work."

More >> Computer Issues At Colorado's Child Protection Services Are Putting Kids At Risk

Colorado couple files lawsuit for illegal seizure of kids

A Colorado couple filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday against several Kansas state and local entities for “unconstitutionally seizing” their five children after a three-year-long custody battle.

Defendants include the Kansas Department of Children and Families, Riley County Police Department, Pawnee Mental Health Services, St. Francis Community Services and others.

More >> Colorado couple files lawsuit for illegal seizure of kids

Colorado couple wins battle to keep adopted 4-year-old from being deported

Amy and Marco Becerra got some very welcome news Wednesday: The orphaned Peruvian girl they adopted will not be deported.

US Rep. Mike Coffman, who took up the Colorado couple's cause, told CNN that he met with immigration officials, who will allow the child to seek citizenship.

More >> Colorado couple wins battle to keep adopted 4-year-old from being deported

Colorado couple fighting to stop adopted 4-year-old daughter from being deported

A Colorado couple says their adopted daughter could be deported in the coming weeks after, they say, the Trump administration denied her citizenship application without explanation.

More >> Colorado couple fighting to stop adopted 4-year-old daughter from being deported

How Colorado educators fail to report sex abuse of students — and get away with it

Colorado public schools are paying millions to settle lawsuits when educators fail to report sex abuse of students, but those educators avoid legal consequences. This Denver Post investigation explains why.​

More >> How Colorado educators fail to report sex abuse of students — and get away with it

Sudden Closure Of Adoption Agency Leaves Dozens Of Families In Limbo

Julie and Gary Key were among those families.

More >> Sudden Closure Of Adoption Agency Leaves Dozens Of Families In Limbo

Note: Boo hoo.   

After Aging Out Of Child Welfare, Foster Youth Face Homelessness And Other Challenges

There are kids in the foster care system who are never adopted, or placed back with their families and relatives. When they start aging out at 17, they're often alone in the world: No home, no family, little support. Over the last five years, more than 1,500 people between the ages of 17 and 21 aged out of the Colorado foster care system, and often ended up homeless or incarcerated.

More >> After Aging Out Of Child Welfare, Foster Youth Face Homelessness And Other Challenges

Most Colorado foster kids change schools at least once a year, and performance falls with each move

Of the 6,500 children in Colorado’s foster system last year, 55 percent changed schools at least once during the school year.

More >> Most Colorado foster kids change schools at least once a year, and performance falls with each move

• Moved from school to school, fewer than 1 in 4 foster kids graduate. That’s worse than homeless kids.

One Colorado foster child moved 46 times. Toughest cases get more attention, but resources are stretched

The list of Colorado foster kids predicted to have the toughest time getting adopted has 81 names.

More >> One Colorado foster child moved 46 times. Toughest cases get more attention, but resources are stretched

SOCIAL SERVICES UNDER FIRE FOR FORCED STRIP SEARCH ON 3-YEAR-OLD

Two forced strip-searches of a child by authorities at a Head Start program prompted by vague claims from an unreliable source could be considered child abuse, argues a friend-of-the-court brief urging the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to revive a lawsuit.

More >> SOCIAL SERVICES UNDER FIRE FOR FORCED STRIP SEARCH ON 3-YEAR-OLD

Families 'in limbo' after adoption agency suspended

Stephanie Diehl and her husband always dreamed about raising a family. Now, they're living in limbo after the adoption agency they hired has suspended operations.

More >> Families 'in limbo' after adoption agency suspended

Couple Offers Warning After Adoption Agency Closes

The couple had paid thousands in fees before the agency abruptly shut.

More >> Couple Offers Warning After Adoption Agency Closes

A couple is warning other families who are considering adoption after a heartbreaking experience with a private agency.

More >> Couple Heartbroken After Adoption Agency Suddenly Closes