Jefferson County was keeping this process internal, so people would think that this was the only way to resolve the unethical unprofessionalretaliatory things that can/do go on was to speak with Jefferson County Human Services. This would be a good way to keep their will and beliefs, this would be a perfect way to people to do their treatment plans fitting or not. We sat down with these people and a county employee that was the "mediator." At the end of the meeting we were told "now we listened to you and what are you going to do to get your kids back". Well we did, not in the way they had wanted and manipulated things.

A call was made to the State auditor's Office in May 2007. "Thank you, we happen to be auditing the State right now, I cannot speak with you about this, wait until the audit is done". I had given them a brief but detailed account.

A year had passed and I was referred to the auditor who had done the report. That audit is here http://www.leg.state.co.us/osa...

Read pages 69-72.

"We found that counties frequently do not comply with requirements for the grievance process, resulting in complainants' being denied their rights to seek resolution from a body outside the county departments"

Sound familiar?

Jefferson County Human Services told the Office of Civil Rights. "They had posted the Notice of Client Rights on the second floor and Rights and Remedies were given".

What they didn't know is that pictures were taken in 2004 showing nothing posted, behind these locked glass cases!! The notification of Rights and information about the CRP magically appeared when knowledge of a Civil Rights complaint became known. This is called lying.

There are 3 versions of the same Rights and Remedies. Some of them blank and saying we received them. Another obviously "our" signature. Was not. Another saying advised of rights though written on a sticky note and attached to these government documents and then mailed to Mrs. Johnson. You can see the outline of the sticky note.

Why does Jefferson County cover up what they had not been doing? Why do employees cover for each other, to the point of committing FORGERY!!

I found out about the CRP 8 months into our case. The director of human services sends me a letter stating "You requested the Citizen review Panel" attached was an initial complaint form. I had complained since the beginning of the case which was in April. I was to be told about this process, not discover it.

Jeffco services sends me a confidentiality form. The law actually addresses confidentiality "no participant in the conflict resolution process shall divulge or make public any confidential information contained in a report of child abuse or neglect or in other case file records to which he or she has been provided access". NO other county does this besides Jeff co.

A letters forwarded to me:
From Commissioner Kathy Hartman

"Mr.Gunnett,
First, I have had several conversations with Sharles about this. If I remember how things were left, he was reluctant to sign the release of information necessary to involve the Citizen's Review Panel. But without such a release, our county employees cannot give the members of the panel any information."

Mr. Gunnett:

"Commissioner Hartman,
Thank you for your response.

1. Mr. Johnson said not that he was reluctant to sign but that he refused to sign a "release" that vitiated his first amendment rights, prohibiting him from ever telling anyone of any of the proceedings at any time. It appeared that it would have gagged him permanently and he saw that as inappropriate.
2. A larger issue to me is that an aggrieved citizen was kept from the Review Panel by the people he wanted to complain about. The "release" came from HS, was not on letterhead, and had no identifying county form number and lacked professional legal appearance. Why was there not a release from the Review Panel, if one was needed, instead of from Human Services?" As a thirty-five year resident, ex-teacher, I am concerned with children's welfare. When I read that children have suffered terribly while HS is inattentive it pushes my buttons. When I sit in court and see Jeffco employee unethical behaviors I am offended that is done in my name. I am similarly dismayed when I see children absolutely abused in foster care in another county and Jeffco does not prosecute or push the issue, except to trump up charges against the father. It offends my sense of fairness to see Jeffco employees run citizens through some sort of mill for questionable motives. Finally, I am deeply aggrieved when it appears that anyone's civil rights are abrogated in my name. Our county does not need civil rights actions or lawsuits and employees run amok put us in danger of both."

Best regards,
Robert Gunnett

Kathy Hartman was following the statute(by word) but yet will not correct the county on what they had done. Who is really about the people? The new director is still allowing this. They did not want people to hear what would come out of a meeting with me.

"Counties we visited lack mechanisms to specifically inform complainants that they have the right to take a grievance to a citizen review panel or board of county commissioners if they are not satisfied with the county department's resolution. We reviewed county correspondence sent to a sample of complaints from all eight counties, and none of the letters mentioned the citizen review panel or county commission board options. Further, in five of these counties the department staff, not the complainant, determine whether a complaint will be allowed to go to a panel or county board. Statutes specifically give complainants, as well as the county departments, the right to take unresolved complaints outside the county departments."

On Jeffco's web site (http://www.co.jefferson.co.us/bcc/bcc_T25_R10.htm) look up Citizen Review panel. "The board conducts hearings to ascertain the legitimacy of complaints against Human Services programs and submits recommendations to the Director of Human Services regarding their resolutions".

This information is misleading. So even if you find it, you don't know that you really did.

State law says "The purpose of such conflict resolution process is to provide a forum for grievances concerning the conduct of county department personnel in performing their duties pursuant to this article".

"2) The state department shall create a system for monitoring compliance with this section... prepared by each county and city and county as to the grievances received and their disposition. Such annual reports shall be made available to the citizen review panels and the state department and shall be available for public review".

When asked for these reports Jeffco will not release them. Is it because these forms are to be handed in by June of each year and Jeffco does not do this? Or they have often handed in the same report with the year just changed.

The Auditor asked that some of the following be implemented:
"Require counties to provide complainants with clear and specific information about their rights under the statutory grievance process. This could be accomplished by revising the Notice of Rights and Remedies given to families whose children are removed or by including information about rights in county correspondence with complainants."

"Eliminate the requirement that county departments of human/social services attempt to resolve grievances informally before using the statutory grievance process, or clarify the meaning of this rule in a way that is consistent with the Rights provided in statute."

The State of Colorado agreed as this was to be done by July 2008.

As of recent people, I have spoken with says they know nothing about the CRP. Often they know if they disagree with Jefferson County Human Service case workers take it personal and then retaliation starts. We are confronting retaliation now.Though we won the case.

Retaliations that can happen:
The contracted care (counselor) states no progress, visits get changed, and they facilitate issues, create some or make situations worse so they can tell the "objective, impartial judge". "This is what the department is talking about".

They can manipulate charges and pick Judges. We skipped around in our D and N case, and brought it back to the first Magistrate who told the county "gets your facts straight, the Johnson's are telling the truth!"

Sometimes they have used Jeffco Sheriff's (those who forget it's what they do and not who they are) to "enforce" the departments agenda which can be we have a "treatment plan" or perception and this is how is going to work. Those Sheriff's need to be a part of the 10 percent job loss. There is a distinct difference between personal puppets and public servants.

It brings up a few questions, how long has this been going on? Does the "extended term" Sheriff knows about this?

Jefferson County Human Services is way out of line, with a new director,new county attorney and a recent Commissioner change you would think many things would have changed.
The case workers that have done and continue to do these detrimental things are still employed.

If you purposefully withhold the knowledge of a right, What are you afraid of? The people knowing what is being done in their name.

When any agency believes a certain way of doing things are wrong, NORMALLY discipline is in the process. Since nothing has been done and things "sloppily" covered up, is not one saying this is "how we do business?!"

This is the one of many things done in the name of the people of Jefferson County. This is not the people. We know many outside of those building's who have better integrity and ethics that this.

Westword:
Sabo doesn't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, either, but she says she doesn't see how the ongoing case against Sharles could be anything but retaliatory. "At some point," she remembers, "I told Sharles, 'This has become personal. You guys are cleared. The judge said you'd been done an injustice. You should be done.' Something really personalized this. Is it just that they couldn't stand that this man stood up to them, had his facts straight, had records - that they'd never had to deal with an intelligent parent who was like that, who wasn't so scared that they wouldn't fight back?
"Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions, but geez, what is going on here?"

Horrible situations got manipulated by Jefferson County Human Services. The same family who the county wanted so much to be involved with exposed what had been going on for years. Was it all really worth it?
This CRP was passed in 1998, if the county had their own way,this outside process was not ever going to be known. Then came Shar-less and Rebekiah Johnson (married) and their 6 young children.
The wolf has been watching the chicken coop.