Colorado abuse hotline emails went unchecked for 4 years
Colorado officials say a state email account that was created to report suspected child abuse or neglect went unchecked for over four years.
KCNC-TV reports the oversight resulted in five possible cases of child neglect undiscovered until May that are now being investigated.
Office of Children and Families Director Minna Castillo-Cohen says confidentiality prevents her from providing details.
The state set up a child abuse and neglect telephone hotline in 2015, and created the email address to support it. Soon after, state health officials created a new email account for the hotline with a different address, but didn’t delete the original one.
By the time the error was discovered, there were 321 emails in the inbox. Of them, 104 were related to concerns of abuse or neglect, including the five that needed immediate attention.
Anyone witnessing a child in a life-threatening situation should call 911 immediately. If it is not an emergency, call the Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline 1-844-CO-4-KIDS (1-844-264-5437) to report all concerns for a child’s safety and well-being.
