In her work as a Routt County social caseworker, Tina Harlow exhibits the qualities of a truly exemplary child protection worker.

She takes her job and the potential impact upon the children and families she touches with the utmost respect. Tina clearly recognizes her multi-faceted role from the moment she receives a referral. Whether the issue is an allegation of child abuse, a youth in conflict situation or a request for services, Tina takes seriously the role she is about to play for that youth and family. More importantly, she recognizes the need to balance child protection issues against a family's rights and dignity.

Performing sexual abuse investigations and serving as an advisory witness in court cases, Tina often finds herself dealing with a hostile client one moment and trying to soothe and support a scared child in the next.

Sometimes that means putting in a 12-hour working day and then spending half the night dealing with a child protection issue.

In smaller communities like Routt County caseworkers often run into clients in stores, at sports and school events. Tina has, on more than one occasion, had to confront her own neighbors in the name of child safety and permanency. Her vehicle has been keyed and threats have been made against her.

She has gone to homes not quite sure what she will find. But Tina knows that she may need to protect a child or abused adult. She will stand behind parents in their efforts to change behaviors or patterns that could contribute to child safety issues. She is willing to go to any extent to either vindicate or hold a caretaker responsible for a child's situation.

Tina's humanness and her ability to look beyond the here and now in child welfare are just a few of the reasons that she is the top honoree for the 2008 Excellence in Practice Awards.

We thank you, Tina, for your work, your efforts, and your genuine commitment to traveling the extra mile for child protection and family preservation. Congratulations to you! You are an inspiration to us all.

Family Treatment Court Unit
Teresa Browitt, Heidi Davidson, John Killen, Brandi Puckett
Weld County

John Killen, Brandi Puckett, Heidi Davidson, and Teresa Browitt form the Family Treatment Court Unit in Weld County.

In early 2007, Weld County DHS, the 19th Judicial district and Island Grove Regional Treatment Center began to put together a pilot for Family Treatment Court. The Department hired two mentor moms, Heidi Davidson and Teresa Browitt, to be a part of this team. Heidi and Teresa are both former drug users who successfully completed their treatment programs and gained back custody of their children. John Killen and Brandi Puckett have worked in child welfare for a combined total of 12 years, with a focus on child protection and family reunification.

These four individuals have begun to change the way that child welfare is practiced. Through constant communication with treatment providers, the courts and most importantly the parents, they have begun to see the impact they can have on families when they are able to give them more one on one attention.

Through this process, the family treatment court team has learned how important it is to have the parents know the foster parents and how to utilize the foster parents as teachers for these families. Because of this practice, these foster parents are still continuing to provide support for then families long after the children return home. The caseworkers have listened to the mentor moms about what some of their frustrations were when they were in the system and they have changed their practice so that other parents wont have the same frustrations. This includes having parents have more say in what school their children attend, and more in home visitation.

Due to the success of the pilot, the family treatment court is now in its second year and the program is adding another court to provide these services to more families.

Thank you all for your innovation and dedication to Colorado’s children and families.

Kim Mauthe
Child & Family Services Administrator
Teller County

Kim Mauthe, a child and family services administrator in Teller County, has assured that the children and families in her community are provided with the necessary services and programs to provide for their safety and well-being.

She initiated core services staffings and utilization reviews to make sure that the appropriate services are provided at the initial stages of the case and throughout the case as well. Additionally, she has taken it upon herself to recruit agencies and private therapists to become core providers in this medium size rural county.

Kim supervises caseworkers in the ongoing child protection unit, as well as the supervisors for intake, adolescent ongoing, DSS core therapists and case aides. Demonstrating a wide range of knowledge and experience in her supervision of all these different job functions, she has everyone on board striving to have Teller County Department of Social Services committed to best practices in all areas of child welfare.

For years Kim has been solely responsible for arranging for Christmas gifts for the children and families served by Teller County DSS. She solicits the gifts, picks them up, wraps them and makes sure that they are delivered to the children and families. It may not be in her job description, but she’s committed to get it done each year.

Because of Kim’s work, Teller County DSS has reduced the number of children in placement, has shortened the length of placements in the community, and has found several permanent homes through adoption for children when return home was not possible.

Thanks, Kim, for championing best practices in child welfare!

Josephine Harriman
CPS Supervisor
Huerfano County

The Huerfano County Director, who has supervised child welfare services for over 30 years, says that CPS Supervisor Josephine Harriman is among the best supervisors with whom he has worked.

Her staff receives support not only from Josie, but she also cultivates a work culture that encourages them to support one another. As a result, they are very effective with the children and families they serve, morale is high and the commitment enhanced.

Josie started a great way for her and her workers to recognize each other for jobs well done. Small beads are given out for individual accomplishments such as successful case closure, Trails referrals and completing timely assessments and permanency goals. Caseworkers string the beads that they receive.

When a necklace of the small, plastic, colorful beads is completed, the caseworker receives a special lunch at the place of her choice.

Josie respects the culture and unique strengths of each family. She maintains a professional working relationship with community providers. She has even created and provided each caseworker with a procedure manual that is a step by step outline of the functions of this casework position as well examples to follow.

The effectiveness of her work is evidenced through the team’s almost flawless foster care reviews, other state reviews, family successes, child safety and the close, supportive relationship among her child welfare team members.

Josie, the Excellence in Practice Awards salute you!

Peggy Meis
Ongoing Child Welfare Supervisor
Logan County

The leadership that Peggy Meis has demonstrated has resulted in Logan County’s placing the largest number of children for adoption in a mid-sized county in Colorado this past year.

At the time her nomination for the Excellence in Practice Award was submitted, Logan County had only one youth available for adoption.

These are just a few of the accomplishments realized through Peggy’s work as an Ongoing Child Welfare Supervisor.

She was instrumental in implementing caseworker ‘debriefings,’ which have reduced the stress level of all the caseworkers and allowed them to continue to work with the most difficult clients. Additionally, she fully utilizes consultants and resources to enhance the skills of her staff and others to provide services to children that promote permanence, safety and well-being.

Peggy has served not just as a supervisor, but as a mentor to all of her staff. She once drove to Oklahoma over a weekend with one of her new workers to help check out a prospective adoptive home for one of their children to assure that it would be a safe home.

They determined it would not be and found another home that was more suitable. This is just one example of how she is always available to step in and help her staff with difficult clients and situations during and after work hours.

Peggy’s work ethic, positive attitude, high standards and commitment to children have improved the agency image in the community and with the State Department.

We are proud to have you on our team, Peggy. Congratulations!

Cindy Brush
Play Therapist
La Plata County

Working for the La Plata County Department of Human Services since 1990, play therapist, Cindy Brush, has helped heal the hearts of countless traumatized children through her work.

Much loved by her young clients, she is someone who parents and foster parents look to for understanding and guidance.

She spends many hours counseling biological and foster parents about their children, often working beyond the typical workday. In addition to providing play therapy, Cindy also takes her turn for child protection on-call. She is always willing to take on challenges and puts in the time and energy to do it well. She occasionally does home studies, child protection investigations, family group decision-making meetings, and family therapy sessions. She also serves the community on her own time as a volunteer in the county’s Meals on Wheels program, delivering meals to seniors.

Cindy’s enthusiasm in helping children has set an example to other staff members. At the same time, she has the courage to give her opinions – even when they differ from others – when it means advocating on a child’s behalf. This can mean testifying in court as an expert witness.

Cindy has an excellent reputation within the community as a highly skilled and effective play therapist. Counseling and educational professionals count on Cindy for her expertise. She is well respected for her professionalism and ethical practice.

Thank you, Cindy, for bringing leadership and excellence in child welfare to a new level!

Kelly Karson
Child Protection Caseworker
Boulder County

Kelly Karson’s work with the families involved in ITC in Boulder County has helped stabilize many families where substance abuse is an issue.

As a Child Protection Caseworker, she has helped to develop the ITC program so that there are now three more caseworkers who have joined the ITC team. Kelly’s commitment to developing this program is clearly focused on helping as many parents with substance abuse issues as possible.

Consistently responding to her clients needs, Kelly works tirelessly to help children remain in their home or be returned home. She meets weekly with her clients; she supports their sobriety; but Kelly is able to continue to work with a client who has relapsed as well.

She also has done a fantastic job of balancing the needs of the parents while still being very mindful and aware of the child protection concerns.

Kelly has worked hard to educate the other units within the Boulder County Department of Social Services about ITC "Drug Court." She also has worked closely with the Boulder County Drug Task Force to educate them about how the ITC program helps parents with substance abuse issues be able to appropriately parent their children.

Without exception, all of the children in Boulder County that Kelly Karson has worked with are safer because of her involvement with their families. You’re a prime example of Excellence in Practice!

Jill Irvin
Lead Social Caseworker
Denver County

Jill Irvin, a lead social caseworker in Denver County, improves the lives of countless children and families by advocating that they get the services, support and resources they need. She oversees seven residential facilities and as many as forty cases monthly. She also serves on Denver’s placement evaluation team, helping to secure services for even more children.

Known for tirelessly pursuing every avenue so that even the most difficult cases achieve positive outcomes, Jill will not compromise the care of those she is helping. When others settle for “who will take this kid?” Jill asks, “where will this child get best get his or her needs met?”

She attends to the needs of her administrators, co-workers, partners and clients alike, by approaching each day, and every encounter, with a positive attitude, consummate professionalism, warmth and passion for her work. She inspires hope, confidence and commitment by infusing humanity and empathy into this challenging field.

Jill’s commitment is evidenced by her deep knowledge of the children and families she serves. She knows them by name. She knows their stories, and she knows their goals.

She has played a role in ensuring that hundreds of children and families have gotten the right services at the right time – many of whom may have been overlooked or underserved if she had not advocated so effectively for them.

Thank you, Jill, for being there for so many families in Denver County.

And congratulations for being one of this year’s Excellence in Practice Award honorees.

Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey
Judicial Officer Award

Chief Justice Mary J. Mullarkey served as a guardian ad litem and respondent parents’ counsel early in her practice. She was appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court in 1987 and was selected to serve as Chief Justice in 1998.

Chief Justice Mullarkey created the Commission on Families in the Colorado Courts in January 2001. She directed the Commission to examine the ways in which Colorado courts serve families and to recommend changes that would improve policies, procedures, rules and laws that affect families involved in the judicial system.

After leading the Colorado delegation to the National Judicial Leadership Summit for the Protection of Children held in Minnesota in 2005 and the follow-up summit held in New York in January 2007, Chief Justice Mullarkey put in place the Colorado Pew Plan. Intended to strengthen collaborative partnerships between the courts and social services, the Colorado Pew Plan improves the resources and representation in child welfare cases and to reinforce judicial leadership.

Chief Justice Mullarkey said, “As a society, we often say how important our children are. We even describe our children as our future. It is time to follow through on those good intentions.” She is devoted to fulfill this promise.

She encourages individuals to volunteer as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate and she works to ensure that the Judicial Branch is devoting its full attention to child welfare practice.

Thank you, Chief Justice Mullarkey, for being a visionary and for supporting Colorado's efforts in the handling of dependency and neglect cases.

Margaret Fix Seibolt
Juvenile Law Attorney Award - Guardian ad litem

Margaret Fix Seibolt, a guardian ad litem, is receiving the Juvenile Law Attorney Award for being ahead of the game.

She is always in contact with families, children, and with the Department about what is taking place in a case. Margie also has a positive relationship with Department’s attorney and respondent counsel, balancing the competing interests to make a recommendation to the court.

It would be easier for Margie to visit kids only as required. However, Margie commits a great deal of time to her position. She visits children during the evening, on weekends, and often once a month. Ensuring that each child knows how much she cares about him or her, Margie even sends each child she works with a birthday card. She establishes a relationship with each child that lasts much longer than the length of the court case.

In addition to participating on the Commission on Judicial Performance committee to review judicial performance and make recommendations to retain judges, Margie is a member on the Northeast Colorado Legal Services Board.

She ensures the Department – as well as other service providers – are held to the treatment plan. She is in constant contact, and if services are not in place Margie does whatever it takes to ensure that the children are being provided for in a timely manner.

Thank you, Margie, for being personally invested in each of the children on your caseload. It’s clear that being a GAL is more than just a job to you. Congratulations!

Mike Reidel
Juvenile Law Attorney Award - Respondent Parents’ Counsel

Mike Reidel currently serves as a respondent parent attorney in Weld County on dependency and neglect cases.

A role model for how to represent parents and the “system,” Mike demonstrates sincere interest in how every person plays an important role in bettering the lives of children by bettering the way in which each parent or professional performs his or her important, individual tasks.

He regularly volunteers his time to many subcommittees, special projects, and collaborative groups. He’s always readily available to assist parents, mentor moms, and help judicial officers, DSS staff, and other professionals with presentations, meetings, moral support, reports, and feedback on improving how the family court and the Colorado Department of Human Services deliver services.

Mike has been instrumental in assisting the 19th judicial district with the development and use of Orientation Hearings for new parents. He gives up his lunches twice a month for these lunch-hour hearings to assist the family court facilitator and the court with any legal questions parents may have during Orientation Hearings. He goes out of his way to offer supportive advice to new parents who are scared, confused and new to the system.

Mike Reidel's ability to work positively with the cross-section of the dependency and neglect community has resulted in a new standard by which other attorneys feel they can interact more openly with others.

He has been a leader – taking risks to speak up, take charge and offer advice and help when and where it’s most needed. We appreciate your commitment, Mike. Congratulations!

Tamara White
Juvenile Law Attorney Award – City/County Attorney

Tamara White is being honored with the Juvenile Law Attorney Award for a City or County Attorney for devoting her law practice to safeguarding children.

As an assistant county attorney since 2001 for the Arapahoe District Court, she carries a caseload of over 150 open cases.

It would be very easy to allow her personal feelings to obstruct her ability to do her job, but Tamara remains focused and deliberate in her efforts to provide children with safe, permanent homes. She treats all of the respondent parents and their counsel with respect.

Judges and attorneys alike report that they enjoy dealing with Tamara because she is fair and committed to her job. She attends case management conferences and staffings on all of her cases and maintains a good working relationship with the Department of Human Services. Caseworkers can depend on her to put forth their recommendations for children knowing that she will work to relentlessly to achieve their goals.

Working on a case that gained national attention and local news coverage in Colorado, Tamara was and remains dedicated to making sure the children are receiving the treatment they need and are in the best possible homes.

She is always the first to show up and the last to leave the courthouse.

Tamara’s entire career has been devoted to protecting those who can’t protect themselves. Her influence is felt by all who practice in Arapahoe County. Congratulations, Tamara!

Fremont County Court Team
Larry Allen, Julie Marshall, Rocco Meconi, Joanna Smith, David Thorson
Spirit of the Summit Award – Multi-Disciplinary Team

The members of the Fremont County District Court - Larry Allen, Julie Marshall, Rocco Meconi, Joanna Smith and David Thorson - are being honored with the Spirit of the Summit Award for a multi-disciplinary team for their involvement in development and implementation of the Family to Family model, their input on the Child and Family Services Review, and their participation on the Steering Committee to enhance services for the Department of Human Services.

In Spring 2007, staff at Fremont County Department of Human Services began to look at outcomes for their soon-to-be-implemented Family to Family model. They realized that their outcomes for families involved in Dependency and Neglect actions with severe parental substance abuse were dismal, at best. They decided that this was unacceptable and needed to do something about it. After researching possible solutions, they met with community partners to explore the possibility of developing a Family Treatment Drug Court (FTDC) program for Fremont County. They met with representative from judicial, probation, drug and alcohol, mental health, the DA’s office, and Guardians ad Litem. The group enthusiastically gave the “go ahead” to begin development of the new program.

After planning and collaboration among community partners, and guidance and support from El Paso County DHS and Savio Direct Link, the program was implemented in February 2008.

Fremont County’s Family Treatment Drug Court is a placement prevention program for families with a D & N experiencing significant substance abuse. It can only be described as “intensive” with in-home services a minimum of 5 days per week, intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment, weekly staffings and weekly court hearings for the initial two phases of the program. FTDC has already seen success in 3 families by minimizing the amount of time children have spent in out-of-home care.

Thank you Larry, Julie, Rocco, Joanna and David for your dedication to the families of Fremont County.

We would also like to extend our thanks to the remaining members of the planning committee - Jennifer Kober, Judith Bridgeman, Kathy Eberling, Snelson, Jack Davis, Stacie Kwitek-Russell, Donna Holloway, Nancy Myers-Bosse and David Holt.

Jim Hustad
Key to Judicial Success Award – Non-Judicial Staff

Jim Hustad is honored with this year’s Key to Judicial Success Award for Non- Judge Judicial Staff for his leadership and dedication, which has been a catalyst for systems change and has resulted in improvement of outcomes for the children and families of the Fourth Judicial District.

One of his first accomplishments was to create a scheduling system for attorneys, Guardians ad Litem and the Courts. Jim’s system brought order to the process, resulting in savings of both time and money. The scheduling system he created also provides the parties with more access to the courts so that the judges have the time to address each case.

One of Jim’s greatest strengths is his ability to relate to all of the parties involved in the juvenile court process. He forged positive relationships with the Department of Human Services and helped the juvenile courts of the Fourth Judicial District form more collaborative relationships with others involved in the Dependency and Neglect Process. He attended meetings at the Department and brought concerns back to the court, along with suggested solutions to problems.

Bill Webb, a respondent parents’ counsel states, “Jim is a key figure in bringing a collaborative and enjoyable atmosphere among the attorneys that must litigate against each other and yet cooperate at the same time on a regular basis. Most important, Jim Hustad treats the families who become involved in the juvenile court process with dignity and compassion. He is usually the first contact a parent has with the judicial system, and often they are scared, confused and angry. Jim is always patient and considerate of the respondents in this very difficult process.”

In 2007, Jim participated in efforts to secure a substance abuse grant in El Paso County. This was a collaborative effort among a group of community stakeholders and was designed to improve the services available to parents with substance abuse problems. One unique component of the program is the creation of a caseworker position who works for the attorneys representing the parents and not the Department of Human Services. Early results are indicating better compliance with treatment and increased cooperation by parents in their treatment plan.

Thank you, Jim, for your dedications to systems change, and the positive impact you have had on Colorado’s families.