A father reportedly abandoned his autistic teenage son at a hospital in Colorado, and now staff are scrambling to figure out how to help him. The 13-year-old boy was left at Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont more than three weeks ago. Emails obtained by a local newspaper claim a statewide lack of resources has left staff unable to discharge him safely.
The Longmont Leader published emails exchanged between hospital staff and state leaders alleging there is nowhere for the teen to go. The case has caused concern about the lack of care for people with disabilities in Colorado, and raised criticism of the state government. The father's abandonment has many unsure of what to do next.
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The teen was reportedly brought to the hospital by his father because he felt his son was a threat.
In the emails obtained by the Longmont Leader, Chantell Taylor, vice president of government and regulatory affairs at UCHealth, emailed Colorado state Rep. Judy Amabile, a Democrat representing Boulder Creek, explaining that the teen was brought to Longs Peak because his father thought he was a threat to himself or another person. His father allegedly abandoned him at the facility, and the hospital attempted to place him in an in-patient psychiatric facility.
"… However [he] was denied at all facilities in the state primarily due to his [Autism Spectrum Disorder] but also because he simultaneously was cleared by psychiatry and did not meet criteria," Taylor wrote in an email.
The teen was cleared for discharge, but his father allegedly refused to pick him up.
Taylor explained that staff cleared the teen medically and psychiatrically to be discharged from the hospital the next day, but his father refused to return to get him. The hospital contacted Child Protective Services three times to report neglect, abandonment, and interference for discharge.
The hospital reportedly tried to work with several agencies to help get the teen placed, but no one could help. Taylor's email said she was told by many that it was a "statewide resource issue" and that it would likely take months to secure placement for the boy.
Now the teen is sitting in the hospital alone.
Taylor says the teen is now in the hospital's emergency department, unsupervised by hospital staff. He has reportedly not had any "acute episodes" since his father left him there.
"UCHealth has done everything in their power to discharge this patient in a safe manner and have received no assistance from the Department to protect this child and pick up from the [emergency department]," Taylor wrote in her email. "He has no acute medical needs and is in the ED without any supervision."
Amabile reportedly passed the email on, desperate to get help for the teen.
The Boulder County Family and Children Services director has responded.
The email thread showed Boulder County Family and Children Services Director Mollie Warren's response. She explained that due to confidentiality rules, she could not confirm nor deny whether the teen had contact with her department.
"As you likely all know, we are in the midst of a behavioral health/high acuity crisis both in Colorado and across the United States," Warren wrote. "For many years, county human services departments have highlighted this crisis, the related impacts on the children and youth we are responsible for keeping safe, and the challenges this creates in terms of placements and longer-term supports …" the mail continues.
"We are acutely aware of the impact extended stays in local hospitals, child welfare offices and detention centers have on the children and youth who most need behavioral health support. Our hearts are breaking for the children and families most impacted by this shortage of longer-term resources for young people in (a) behavioral health crisis," she wrote.
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Warren claims staff is not qualified to handle the situation.
According to Warren, Boulder County Housing and Human Services staff does not provide long-term care for community members suffering behavioral health emergencies as they are not qualified or trained to do so.
"The Chief Judge of the 20th Judicial District, Ingrid Bakke, stated on the record that placements at our offices at the St. Vrain HUB are not safe for this purpose just this week," she said.
The Longmont Leader reported Taylor would not confirm whether the teen is still at the hospital this week.
