In the News

U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) visited Cañon City on Wednesday and made a special stop to Kindred Kids Child Advocacy Center, located at 1145 Ohio Ave., to chat with director Lori Jenkins. The topic: recently altered federal funds for nonprofit organizations like Kindred Kids.

“The most important work we do is giving our kiddos a voice,” Jenkins said. “The voice they wouldn’t have if they didn’t have a neutral forensic interviewer.”

In early January, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services halted or restricted access to several major federal funding streams flowing to a small group of states, including Colorado, after allegations of fraud and improper payments, data transparency demands, and “program integrity enforcement.”

Additionally, major funds like the Victims of Crime Act, and the Victim Assistance and Law Enforcement Fund have experienced significant changes in recent years, further impacting nonprofits like Kindred Kids.

Kindred Kids, Fremont County’s premier child advocacy and family support nonprofit, focuses on supporting child welfare, trauma response and navigating the justice system for any injustice committed on a child. Additionally, families are provided with resources for case navigation, mental health and trauma services, and court and victim advocacy.

According to Jenkins, one of the center’s most important aspects is the fact that children only have to tell their story once — rather than up to 15 times, during an active investigation, thanks to places like Kindred Kids.

The center typically conducts 160 forensic interviews a year and sees up to 400 clients every year, and has recently seen a 4% uptick in cases.

Jenkins took Pettersen on a tour of the facility, including their medical exam and forensic interview areas, as well as larger conference rooms for law enforcement use.

The office, currently staffed by three counselors and/or child specialists and one full-time Fremont County Sheriff Deputy, serves the entirety of the 11th Judicial District, including Fremont, Custer, Chaffee, and Park counties and nearly 100,000 people. Jenkins noted that, should the funding freeze continue, her staff will likely be affected.

“If we continue to take cuts, I’m going to have to cut staff because we don’t have the other funding streams [to replace it],” she said simply.

Should Jenkins be forced to cut her already small staff, she noted that families will be forced to undergo longer wait times to see a forensic interview professional during a critical time in a child’s life. She added that active investigations require prompt attention, which a fully staffed child advocacy center can easily provide.

Pettersen listened closely during the tour and ended the visit with a small Q&A session with Jenkins, attempting to fully understand the magnitude of federal and state funding for nonprofits like Kindred Kids.

Jenkins was adamant that funds like VOCA, which have received a 60% haircut in recent years, are in desperate need of revival.

“We went from getting a one-year grant of about $179,000 to a one-year grant of about $70,000,” Jenkins said.

She went on to note that, though the center relies on nine different grants to make up its $350,000 budget, three of those are large-scale federal grants that are currently in limbo.

“When you have a small budget of $350,000, and you need nine grants to supplement that…when you look at the grant reporting requirements for all of those grants, I’m spending more on the administrative pieces than I’m getting out of the individual $2500 grant,” Jenkins said.

Previously, the center hosted two successful fundraisers a year, including the Night of Heroes Gala, but has recently had to cancel both events as community interest significantly dwindled, and event venue prices have skyrocketed.

“We’re going to try some other things, some unique things, and we’ll see what happens,” Jenkins said.

Pettersen cited the continued need and the precarious nature of child advocacy centers, citing the recent closure of the only domestic violence center in Lake County due to financial strain.

“We know when services aren’t available, that terrible events do happen at a higher rate,” she said. “If we’re not supporting kids now, the continued cycle of abuse is much more likely.”

Pettersen verified different funding sources, such as VOCA and VALE, with Jenkins, that she can follow up on and/or advocate for support.

“When I think about what we’re facing as a country right now, and what it’s going to take for you to go about this and support our communities [it will take effort],” she said.

“We’ve had our ups and downs with funding, and we’re going to continue to do that because we’re here to support our families, first and foremost, but it would be nice to see the state and federal government doing the same thing,” Jenkins added.