Jennifer Brown
The Colorado Sun
Denver, CO, United States
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Past articles by Jennifer:
Colorado becomes second state to legalize “magic mushrooms”
Colorado voters pass Proposition 122 on Election Day, meaning psilocybin mushrooms will be legalized in the state. → Read More
School nurses can treat students with medical marijuana, thanks to law green-lit by Gov. Hickenlooper
Colorado law already permitted parents to give their children medical marijuana at school, usually to treat seizures. The new law signed this week by Gov. → Read More
Key points from Supreme Court ruling on Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
The U.S. Supreme Court said in its ruling in favor of Masterpiece Cakeshop that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission's decision in favor of a gay couple who wanted a wedding cake violated constitutional rights not to base laws on "hostility to a religion." → Read More
“Hear me roar” — former Colorado foster youths speak out to improve system for those who follow
Project Foster Power is a group of teens and 20-somethings intent on improving Colorado law to help the thousands of foster kids who enter the system each year. → Read More
Most Colorado foster kids change schools at least once a year, and performance falls with each move
Of the 6,500 children in Colorado’s foster system last year, 55 percent changed schools at least once during the school year. → Read More
Moved from school to school, fewer than 1 in 4 foster kids graduate. That’s worse than homeless kids.
Each year, more than 200 foster kids in Colorado exit the system at age 18 without a home. For those who do not finish high school, the likelihood is high that they will become homeless or end up in jail. → Read More
Stephen was adopted from foster care as a teenager in Colorado. He was one of the only ones
For any foster kid still in care at age 15 in Colorado, the odds of getting adopted are near zero. Plot state adoption rates by age on a chart and the result is a steady line that does not waver -- the likelihood plummets for each year a child has another birthday. → Read More
One Colorado foster child moved 46 times. Toughest cases get more attention, but resources are stretched
The state Division of Child Welfare developed the list using an algorithm to predict which of the 308 foster children up for adoption in Colorado will have the hardest times finding homes. The point is to find out which kids are most in need of intensive recruitment, though funding isn't available to help them all. → Read More
Alone in the world: Foster kids in Colorado leave system with no home, no family, little support
For those who age out of the foster care system, there is no lifeline to adulthood — save for a patchwork of nonprofits with limited funds — and the odds of an easy path to adult life are low. → Read More
“This is youth homelessness.” 105 sit on waiting list for foster youth housing vouchers
More than 80 former foster youths, aged 18 to 24, are using the federal vouchers to pay for apartments throughout the metro area. The current wait list is 105 names long. → Read More
Aged Out: A note about this series from reporter Jennifer Brown
The Denver Post's "Aged Out" series aims to illuminate the struggles that foster youths face when they "age out" of the system, often with no family or home, and without much outside support. → Read More
Three-quarters of Colorado foster kids aren’t graduating on time. Officials say rides to school would help
Legislation under consideration by Colorado lawmakers would require school districts and county child welfare departments to arrange and fund transportation to a child's "school of origin" or the school they are attending when they're moved to a new placement. → Read More
Colorado to get $107 million in latest tobacco settlement
The $107 million is in addition to the already scheduled annual payment of $75 million, which also is owed to Colorado in April. → Read More
Denver sold bonds to reduce the human and financial costs of homelessness. The results so far are promising.
250 people -- all homeless and high-frequency users of jail, detox and emergency departments at taxpayer expense -- have been tracked down by Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and Mental Health Center of Denver outreach workers and given apartments through Denver's social-impact bond program. → Read More
Homeless shelter for Denver-area youths gets approval to rise to five stories, over neighbors' objections
Urban Peak, which serves youths, runs a 40-bed shelter at 1630 S. Acoma St. The organization asked for the zoning change from Denver City Council to expand to a five-story building that could include staff offices as well as transitional housing as a step between shelter and apartment living. → Read More
Seclusion, violence rates improve in Colorado’s revamped youth lock-up centers
The Colorado Division of Youth Services, which includes 10 state-run youth centers, has decreased seclusion stays from 302 per month two years ago to 94 per month by its most recent tally in January. → Read More
Methadone clinics in Colorado have doubled in three years, but the state is still short on treatment options
The doors to the methadone clinic on the campus of Denver Health open before dawn, and the line stretches down one side of the clinic hallway and back up the other. One at a time, patients swig a cup of methadone passed through an opening from the other side of a protective window. The need, however, far outstrips the ability of Denver Health and others to provide treatment in Colorado. → Read More
Colorado emerges as national model by helping “deadbeat” parents get jobs, fight addiction
Colorado is pulling off a culture shift in child support collection, a new era far from the 1990s' call to track down "deadbeat" parents, freeze their accounts and suspend their driver's licenses. The state is helping parents behind on child support payments find jobs, fight alcohol and drug addictions, and reconnect with their kids. → Read More
Colorado grapples with 80 percent jump in newborns going through opioid withdrawal
The rise in Colorado newborns addicted to opioids has alarmed physicians and child advocates, jumping 83 percent from 2010 to 2015. The state's rate climbed from 2 births out of 1,000 to 3.6 births in that five-year period. → Read More
DIA one of only three U.S. airports on the CDC’s smoky list
Denver International Airport is one of just three major airports in the United States that has yet to completely ban smoking, landing itself on a worldwide smoky list. → Read More