How Could You? Hall of Shame-Timothy Montoya-Kloepfel and Andrew Potter cases-Child Deaths
This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.
From Colorado, Timothy Montoya-Kloepfel, 12, and Andrew Potter, 15, died by being run over by vehicles in separate incidences.
“Timothy Montoya-Kloepfel died after he was hit by a car after running away from Tennyson Center for Children. He was 12 when he died in June 2020.”
“Tennyson Center for Children in northwest Denver called police 357 times in 2020. And Denver police were called to Mount Saint Vincent treatment center, also in the northwest part of the city, about twice per week on average in 2019 and 2020.
State Rep. Colin Larson, a Republican from Jefferson County, said he contacted the state child welfare department looking for answers after reading the Sun/9News investigative series. He said he wants lawmakers and child welfare officials to look into staffing ratios at youth residential treatment centers and possible regulatory changes that would make kids safer.
Some of the answers, the lawmaker said, exist in the 2019 ombudsman report that included recommendations never implemented by the department.
“It was pretty alarming — the fact that you’ve got these centers placing almost daily calls into the police is a huge misallocation of resources,” Larson said. “It really begs the question of are these kids getting the appropriate level of care. Clearly, the current system is not working and something needs to be done.”
“Tennyson Center for Children in northwest Denver, which closed its residential program this year. Allegations included children breaking into a medicine cabinet and overdosing on prescription medicine, as well as a 12-year-old having sex with an 11-year-old.”
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Andrew died at Devereux Cleo Wallace. “In Westminster, a youth center called Devereux Cleo Wallace is regularly the address with the highest number of police reports in the entire Denver suburb.”
“The centers are prohibited by state regulations from locking children inside the facilities, and staff are barred from physically preventing them from running away. Instead, staff try to follow children who run off campus, and often call police when they need help returning them to the facility.”
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“State officials said they already had plans to review the rules regarding institutional abuse before the Sun/9NEWS investigation was published. But the news organizations began asking questions and filing public records requests regarding abuse and neglect at various youth residential treatment centers in March. The state child welfare group assigned to look into institutional abuse was created in April, according to the department memo.
The committee will define its scope at its first meeting, scheduled for June 15, but in general will focus on reviewing definitions of institutional abuse as well as the investigation process spelled out in state regulations, state officials said.”
[9News 6/7/21 by Jennifer Brown]
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