Hotline Center Officially Dedicated in Prowers County

Ribbon Cutting for New Hot Line Center

The statewide toll-free hotline for reporting suspected child abuse and neglect was officially dedicated at the Prowers County Annex Tuesday, December 16.  The Hotline County Connection Center will employ 12 persons to direct the calls to proper authorities throughout Colorado.  The Lamar call center will serve the entire state and the hotline is a component of Governor Hickenlooper’s Child Welfare Plan which received bi-partisan support in the state legislature.  Most of the funding, according to Julie Krow, Director of the Office of Children, Youth & Families, will come from the state.

Hot Line Call Center Staff

Several dozen local dignitaries including the Prowers County Commissioners, Lamar City Councilman, law enforcement officials and the Lamar Chamber of Commerce attended the ribbon cutting ceremony in front of the Annex.  Call center director, Ron Trowbridge and the center’s supervisors and call operators were also present, identifiable in their call center shirts.

Several months ago, the Prowers County Commissioners had initiated a Request for Proposal to the state to locate the hotline in Lamar. Following some language adjustments in the agreement between the state and county earlier this fall, the commissioners gave approval for the center to go into operation at the Annex.  It’s expected to bring in an additional $1.4 million in revenue for Prowers County according to Julie Krow, with the potential for additional call operators depending on the number of calls received.

Work Station for Call Center

Krow said several areas of concern for the welfare of the state’s children played a part in creating the hotline.  “There were a number of related initiatives to aid children, so the hotline stemmed from that motivation.  There was no one particular incident that started this, but a desire to improve the safety for all kids in the state,” she explained.  Commissioner Wendy Buxton-Andrade was part of a delegation that visited an existing hotline in New York State and the county operation is modeled on their system.  “They have one number that serves their entire state, but their operation has been in existence for quite a few years,” she added.  Buxton-Andrade believes that once the roll-out campaign to publicize the number statewide begins in April, the center will see an increase in calls.  “We want to be able to train the staff to perform at this point and have it running smoothly by the spring,” she added.

Center Executive Director, Ron Trowbridge, told the commissioners last week that a few bugs still need to be worked out on the technology, but that was expected.  He said the call center will be in full operation, seven days a week, 24/7, by January 1, 2015.  Krow said there will be a huge public awareness campaign in April to coincide with Child Abuse and Neglect Awareness month.  “We want to give all 64 counties in the state time to adapt to the new system and the center a chance to really work out issues and complete their training in time for that observance,” she said.

Additional information regarding the hotline connection center and child abuse and neglect in Colorado is available at www.colorado.gov/cdhs-dcw.

By Russ Baldwin

Brought to you by: Colorado East Bank & Trust