Routt County proclaims April 2025 Child Abuse Prevention Month; DHS and advocacy groups outline trainings and events

Routt County commissioners on April 8 unanimously approved a resolution proclaiming April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and heard county Department of Human Services and Brighter World Child Advocacy Center representatives outline local referral data, workforce needs and public training events.

Sean Carpenter, identified in remarks as a child and adult protection supervisor with Routt County Department of Human Services, told the board Colorado received 118,364 reports of alleged abuse and neglect in 2024, and that Routt County recorded 357 reports with 87 cases meeting criteria for assessment. Carpenter said Routt County’s screen acceptance rate was 24.4%, “within 2% of the statewide trends.” He said the department recently certified three new caseworkers to bolster response capacity.

Cassandra Baca, client support coordinator at Brighter World Child Advocacy Center, described the center’s role providing trauma-informed forensic interviews, family advocacy and community education. Baca and Carpenter emphasized cross-agency collaboration — including the Routt County Sheriff’s Office, Steamboat Springs Police Department and the 14th Judicial District Attorney’s Office — and outlined a schedule of April events intended to increase awareness and reporting.

Nut graf: County staff described two mandatory reporter trainings set for April (April 14 at noon and April 18 at 5:30 p.m.), a story time at the Bud Werner Library on April 9 with child-appropriate material about resiliency, an Inside Out movie and crafts event for families on April 23, and a parents/adult screening of a documentary on April 17 at Wild Horse Cinema. Routt County Human Services will promote Brighter World events through social media and partner channels; childcare will be provided at the April 18 training, staff said.

Commissioners thanked practitioners and acknowledged staff burnout among caregivers and child-service professionals; one commissioner invited additional ideas to support workforce retention and wellbeing. The board adopted the resolution (number 2025-022) proclaiming April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and asked staff to provide signed copies of the resolution to presenters.

What was said: Carpenter framed prevention as a shared community responsibility and urged participation in the trainings. Baca described Brighter World’s coordinated response and encouraged community support for prevention programs. Commissioners noted the value of mandatory reporter trainings for school and youth-sport volunteers and thanked frontline workers for their ‘‘resilience and fortitude.’’

Next steps: Routt County Human Services will continue to publicize events and the county will provide a signed copy of the resolution to Brighter World and partner agencies.