Family Search and Engagement
Colorado’s child welfare system is state supervised and county administered. The El Paso County Department of Human Services works with doctors, hospitals, law enforcement officials, schools, and others to identify maltreatment, abuse and/or neglect.
Services are focused on stabilizing the family situation and strengthening a family to care for their children. In specific circumstances when safety is not possible, services focus on the need for children to be in a stable permanent home as quickly as possible.
Social media is a tool El Paso County uses to reach out to potential caregivers. The Facebook handle “Kin Epcdhs Kinsearch” is used only by current El Paso County DHS staff as part of the process and any messages from that page will encourage potential caregivers to contact caseworkers directly:
- Kinship Warmline, DHSkinshipsupport@elpasoco.com, (719) 444-5910
Family Search and Engagement (FSE) caseworkers focus on identifying, locating and engaging parents and kin/kin-like relations to be prominent figures in the child’s support system to ensure the child stay connected.
“Kinship” means a relative of the child; a person ascribed by the family as having a family-like relationship with the child, or a person that has a prior significant relationship with the child. These relationships take into account cultural values and continuity of significant relationships with the child.
Lifelong family connections are crucial for children and adults. It is our responsibility to promote and preserve kinship, sibling and community connections.