Colorado Safe2Tell system sees record growth: But outcomes stay hidden

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice

February marked the first time this school year that monthly Safe2Tell totals outpaced the same period during the previous year. Three thousand and eight reports. Eighteen percent higher than January. And still, the question that the data doesn’t answer: what actually happens once a report is filed?

That gap, between the volume of concerns being submitted and the public record of what follows, sits at the center of a system that now handles tens of thousands of tips each year from Colorado students, parents, and community members.

The Colorado Attorney General’s Office released the February figures earlier this month, along with a press release citing interventions in student safety and welfare concerns. 

Attorney General Phil Weiser stated in the press release, “When people report concerns early, whether related to bullying, mental health, or safety threats, it allows schools, law enforcement, and community partners to respond quickly and connect students with the support they need.”

The monthly report does not track what happens over time or how many cases are ultimately resolved.

What the numbers show

School safety was the most frequently reported concern in February, accounting for 18.8% of submissions. Bullying and harassment came in at 15.5%, mental health at 14.9%, and substance use at 9.5%.

Those categories have been at the center of reporting for some time.

The current school year total now stands at nearly 20,000 reports through February. The prior school year closed with 31,177—the highest in the program’s history and an 11% increase over the year before that. The annual report released last fall described the surge as reflecting both growing trust in Safe2Tell and “the serious mental health and safety challenges” students continue to face.

Duplicate reports made up 15.9% of February submissions, according to the monthly report. Safe2Tell describes duplicates as a sign of a healthy reporting culture, reflecting multiple people flagging the same concern. Year to date, they account for approximately 17% of all submissions—meaning roughly one in six reports this school year reflects an incident already reported by someone else.

False reports, by contrast, remain low. The cumulative rate through February stands at 1.6%, below the prior year’s 2.2%. The program describes this as historically low. The lowest point this year was 1.1% in September, the highest-volume month of the current school year, when reports spiked in the aftermath of the shooting at Evergreen High School. Safe2Tell’s own guidelines draw a clear distinction between false reports—those submitted with probable cause of malicious intent—and reports that are “unfounded,” meaning submitted in good faith but not substantiated on investigation. Only the false report rate appears in monthly public data.

How the system works

Safe2Tell is set up to run at all hours. Reports can come in by phone, online, through the app, or by text.

Once a report is submitted, it is reviewed by an analyst at the Colorado Information Analysis Center. That center works alongside the Attorney General’s Office. After review, the report is passed to a local team, typically school staff and law enforcement, with mental health partners included when appropriate.

The program’s FAQ describes the handoff plainly: “Local partners have full authority over report response and outcomes.”

From there, the timeline is defined. According to Safe2Tell’s website, analysts allow 30 minutes for public safety answering points to acknowledge receipt of a report. School personnel have one business day to view it. Multidisciplinary teams are given 30 days to provide response information and mark the report closed. Some reports move faster than others. When something is flagged as urgent, analysts contact local teams right away.

That process is also written into state law. Under C.R.S. § 24-31-601, reports must be forwarded promptly to law enforcement, public safety agencies, or school officials.

The program does not direct how those agencies respond. That part is left to local teams.

What closing a case means

Safe2Tell’s best practices documentation for report recipients spells out what a closed report actually represents: “A closed report informs Safe2Tell that you have received the report, have completed an initial investigation, and have a plan for moving forward.”

A plan for moving forward. Not a resolution.

The disposition system used by local teams includes several outcome categories— unfounded, counseling, parents notified, welfare check, lockdown, “not a law enforcement issue,” and others. That breakdown is tracked internally. What appears in the monthly public reports is limited to the three most common outcomes. In February, those were parents notified, counseling, and welfare check— all listed without counts attached to them.

The February data shows volume and routing. It does not show outcomes. There is no breakdown of substantiated versus unfounded reports, and no clear view of what happens after a case is closed.

The question behind the numbers

State Rep. Brandi Bradley said the pattern raises harder questions than the monthly figures answer.

“The increase in Safe2Tell reports raises important questions about what we’re actually seeing,” Bradley said. “While some of this may reflect greater awareness and willingness to report concerns, the bigger picture is harder to ignore. Our current policies are not producing better outcomes for kids. Year after year, the state continues to pour more funding into mental health programs and reporting systems, yet the numbers keep climbing. At some point, we have to be honest that simply spending more money isn’t solving the problem. And in many cases, kids are the ones paying the price for policies that aren’t working.”

Bradley went further. “Safe2Tell can be an important tool, but if we don’t address the underlying policy approach, we’re going to keep seeing the same results…more reports, more strain on the system, and ultimately, more kids struggling despite all the resources being poured in.”

What else is in place

There have been attempts to address these issues before they reach the reporting stage. The I Matter program offers up to six free counseling sessions for youth 18 and younger, connecting them with licensed therapists. Some schools also participate in mental health screening for grades 6 through 12, covering a range of concerns from anxiety to substance use.

Safe2Tell has taken a similar approach with outreach. Over the last school year, it logged hundreds of community interactions and a series of training sessions with students, educators, and law enforcement.

But the picture is uneven. A September 2025 CPR News analysis conducted in the aftermath of the Evergreen High School shooting found that threat assessment and mental health support implementation varies widely across school districts. 

Many schools, the reporting found, remain understaffed in mental health roles including psychologists, social workers, counselors. Heather Martin, a Columbine survivor and co-founder of the Rebels Project, told CPR News that support often fades before recovery does. “In Columbine, our funding dissolved within three years,” she said.

Where the program came from

Safe2Tell started in 2004, after years of looking back at what went unnoticed before Columbine. The takeaway was not complicated. People later realized there had been warning signs. What was missing was a way to pass that along without fear of being identified.

Now the program is used as a reference point beyond Colorado. Federal school safety resources point to Safe2Tell as an example other states have followed.

Its founding principles—educate, encourage, equip, empower—are oriented toward getting concerns into the system. What happens once they’re there, and whether the conditions generating those concerns are shifting, is a separate question. One the program was not designed to answer.

The record keeps climbing

Safe2Tell Director Stacey Scardino noted in the February press release that the program is available even during school breaks. “Anyone can submit a report anonymously to ensure concerns about student safety or well-being reach people who can quickly step in and help.”

That capacity is well-documented. Nineteen thousand reports in seven months. Categories that don’t change. A disposition process that tracks what local teams do with a report for 30 days, then closes the file.

Colorado has built a system that is responsive, widely used, and growing. Whether what comes after the report matches the scale of what’s being reported. That data, for now, stays internal.