STOP CHILD EXPLOITATION
Please Help?
Here's what you can do.
After reading the frustrating tale of events surrounding the minor named Jane (pseudonym), please make a report to:
Douglas County and Otero County CPS at: 1-844-264-5437 and use this report# 3745164
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Demand action to help this child get advocacy and placement.
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office : 303-660-7500
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Ask why there is no criminal action taken on the abandonment of a minor? Why the child is still stuck in the facility without representation with the fear of transportation to another state looming over her head?
Colorado Community Health Alliance (CCHA)contracted For Medicaid disbursements in Colorado:303-256-1717
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why this exorbitant amount of money is being wasted on a child that does not need therapy and has been cleared of treatment since December 30, 2025
Douglas County District attorney’s Office: 720-733-4500
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Ask why they dont have the decency to respond to a crime and civil rights violations to a minor?
She Was Ready to Go Home. No One Came.
Jane (pseudonym) is 14 years old. She is being held at Denver Springs current as of March 22, 2026. In December 2025, she was told she could leave the care facility where she had been staying, but when the day came, no one came to get her. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months. Jane remained where she was, not because she still needed to be there, but because there was nowhere for her to go.
People tried to help. Reports were made to the Colorado
Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline. A responsible adult
stepped forward and asked the court for permission to
take her in.
At a hearing in March 2026: The Denver Springs facility supported that plan, it was presented as a good option for Jane, but the request was denied after Colorado Department of Human Services reported no record of her case. So, Jane stayed, still waiting, still without a
permanent solution.
Now, instead of going to a home with someone willing to care for her, she may be sent to another facility, this time in another state, a place far away. A place she does not want to go.
This situation raises difficult questions. How does a child get cleared to leave care, but never leave? How does a child have no one legally responsible for making decisions in her best interest?
Jane ‘s story is not just about one child. It’s about what happens when systems don’t connect, and a child is left in between. She deserves a path forward, she deserves stability, she deserves to be heard.
Desperate Plea
From a Child
Name redactions of the minor and people helping the minor.
A parent's Actions and Resulting Impact
Jane was cleared for discharge from a care facility on December 30, 2025. At that time, her parent, Heather Clark, did not retrieve her. As a result, Jane remained at the facility beyond her discharge date without a clear plan for placement or a legally recognized decision-maker to assume responsibility for her care.
In written communication dated March 9, 2026, the facility described the situation as “abandonment” on December 30, 2025, and reported it to the Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline. Despite this, no agency formally assumed custody or established oversight.
This sequence of events led to a prolonged period in which Jane:
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Remained in institutional care after being cleared for discharge
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Had no appointed guardian or responsible adult authorized to make decisions on her behalf
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Experienced disruption to consistent access to education
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Continued to face uncertainty regarding her placement and future
Efforts were made to address the situation, including a request for emergency guardianship by a responsible adult. At a hearing on March 11, 2026, the facility supported that request as being in Jane’s best interest. However, the request was denied after the Colorado Department of Human Services reported no record of the case.
As of now, Jane remains without a legally established guardian and continues to face potential placement decisions, including possible out-of-state transfer.
This situation illustrates the serious consequences that can occur when a child is not retrieved after discharge and when systems do not align to provide a timely resolution.
How a mother talks about her child
In this Instargram post, you can see how Heather talks about Jane.
Jane is in fact 14, not 13 years old. her birthday was in August of 2025.
This post is from March 8, 2026.
A chain of small failures that resulted in a child having no legal protector.
The Core Problem
The minor fell into what courts and agencies sometimes call a “legal vacuum”:
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Parent not acting
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No guardian appointed
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CPS not engaged
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Court unable to act without agency involvement
👉 That gap is where the system failed.
1) Child Welfare Intake Failure
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Agency: Colorado Department of Human Services (county CPS)
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What should have happened:
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Multiple abandonment reports → screened and tracked
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At minimum: a recorded intake decision
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What appears to have happened:
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CPS reported “no knowledge of the case” in court
Why this matters:
That suggests one of the following failures:
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Reports were screened out improperly
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Reports were misrouted (wrong county)
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Reports were not documented correctly
👉 Impact: Without CPS involvement, the court had no statutory pathway to intervene.
2) Breakdown Between Facility and Child Welfare
The facility:
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Identified abandonment
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Claimed they reported it
But:
What should have happened:
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Escalation until custody determination occurred
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Coordination with correct jurisdiction
What appears to have happened:
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Reports allegedly made, but no effective follow, through or outcome
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No successful transfer to CPS or court jurisdiction
👉 Impact:
The child remained in care without legal authority being clarified
3) Jurisdictional Confusion
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Delta County (father’s case for custody rights)
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Douglas County (facility location, abandonment)
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Otero County (law enforcement contact)
What should have happened:
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Case handled in correct jurisdiction (where child was abandoned)
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Child should have been taken to Douglas County Sheriff office for protective custody
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CPS intervention after the protective hold
What appears to have happened:
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Fragmented reporting across counties
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No follow up on the lack of follow through
👉 Impact:
Cases can get lost between counties—this is a known systemic issue.
4) Court Limitation (Not Necessarily Error)
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The judge denied guardianship because:
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CPS said they had no knowledge
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No formal dependency case existed
Reality:
Courts often won’t override CPS absence without documentation.
👉 This is less a “failure” and more a:
➡️ Structural limitation of the system
5) No Legal Decision-Maker (Biggest Failure)
This is the most important issue:
The minor had:
❌ No parent acting in her best interest
❌ No guardian
❌ No CPS custody
❌ No GAL
👉 That should never happen
Why this matters:
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Every system assumed someone else would act.
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Miscommunication between agencies
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Lack of follow through on any agencie side and on the facility side
6) Education System Failure
A 14-year-old:
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Out of school for months
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No clear enrollment or services
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Likely breakdown:
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No guardian → no one to enroll her
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Facility not ensuring full educational continuity
👉 This raises:
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State law concerns
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Potential federal education rights issues
7) Extended Institutional Placement Without Resolution
She was:
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Cleared for discharge
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Still kept in care
What should have happened:
Transition plan to:
Guardian ad litem
CPS custody
Placement
What happened:
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She remained in administrative limbo
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Abandoned by her birth mother
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The minor has not had advocacy or her voice heard
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Has had her rights and freedom violated for 10 weeks
