By Commie Reguli

Colorado county leaders blast state officials over mental health, claim 69 foster kids are missing

The state system that treats children with severe mental health issues is so stretched that it’s become dangerous, Colorado’s county human services directors charged in a fiery letter to state officials.

Previous efforts have failed to “shift the course of the emergency,” wrote the leaders of the Colorado Human Services Directors Association and Colorado Counties Inc. in a joint letter obtained by The Colorado Sun and 9News.

Child protection caseworkers are sometimes spending the night with children in hotels or county office buildings because they cannot find a bed for them at a treatment center. Caseworkers responsible for keeping kids safe spend hours and days on the phone attempting to locate an available bed, according to the letter, which was addressed to the executive directors of the Colorado Department of Human Services and the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

Colorado county leaders blast state officials over mental health, claim 69 foster kids are missing