Colorado Custody Evaluator Mark Kilmer
Guest blog by the Colorado State Chapter of OMB:
On Friday, June 2nd the Department of Regulatory Affairs (DORA) in Colorado heard a complaint that was filed by a mother, Lauren May Woodruff, who had Mark Kilmer of Colorado appointed as a parental responsibility evaluator in her divorce and custody case. The hearing was on a public Zoom meeting and many protective mothers and even a journalist were listeners. The mother is also at the forefront of a class-action lawsuit against Kilmer that alleges he produces biased evaluations that favor abusive parents. The Colorado Board of Psychologist Examiners - licensure oversight committee for CFI/PRE’s and part of DORA, chose to DISMISS the case and not further investigate him. This means there will be no sanctions against his license despite overwhelming evidence, including Kilmer's own court testimony transcripts, files and interviews recorded by the claimant.. The violations were clear and well supported.
Kilmer’s DORA hearing was very problematic. There were new board members and the member who presented the complaint case to session clearly had not read the complaint or evidence and cited the class action news stories, NOT the specific claims contained within the DORA case set for review. A second board member then made negative, biased commentary about the publicity of Mark Kilmer in the open session indicative of significant sympathy to Kilmer.
The board then, without review of the complaint contents, moved the case to executive session. When the executive session concluded absolutely no commentary was made on the case, only that it was dismissed.
The response Kilmer issued to Dora, which was not offered for review but was quoted in places, was in direct conflict with the court transcript and recordings of Kilmer provided within the evidence file in a timely manner for DORA’s review. By the very discrepancy of statements within the case (those made in court testimony and those made on recording that provided the collusion and accepting of bribes versus his defense to DORA) there should have been an investigation opened.
This has left many gobsmacked as the clarity of evidence presented was undeniable. The citation of the class action lawsuit and news coverage instead of any clearly alliterated violation contained in the DORA case can only be understood as negligence. The Denver Gazette covered the story on June 2, with a headline that read, "Mother's complaint against Colorado parental evaluator dismissed.”
Calls to Action:
Clearly, a call to audit the board within DORA is in order. Here is a list of emails and submission forms to write letters to editors expressing your dismay at this miscarriage of justice. The more they hear from us the less they can ignore this injustice.
Letters to the Editor:
Write a letter to the Editor, Denver Herald
Email:
Shaun Boyd at CBS: sboyd@cbs.com
Shelly Bradbury at Denver Post: sbradbury@denverpost.com
Prior News Coverage:
