Jan McIntosh, a champion for children in Denver for more than three decades who teaches part time at Metro, will be honored with the Kempe Award at the Wings of Hope gala April 2 at the Adams Mark in Denver.

The Kempe Award is presented annually to an individual who has played a leading role in efforts to prevent, treat and research child abuse and neglect.

McIntosh has taught in Metro's Social Work Program since 2001 and is vice president of the Office of Family and Children's Services for Catholic Charities Denver. Before that, she was a child welfare administrator for the Denver Department of Human Services.

"Jan has brought cutting-edge child welfare practice into the college from her agency experience," says Lynn Kaersvang, associate professor and field coordinator in the Social Work Department. "She teaches a class on child maltreatment and has restructured the class to teach it on-line as well. She has contributed greatly toward educating students of social work throughout the state."

McIntosh is being honored for her innovative approach to child protection. "When I think of child protection I don't think that we can protect the child without supporting the family," McIntosh said.

"Jan is tremendously committed to the well-being of children and families," says Dr. Rob Clyman, executive director of the Kempe Children's Center, who nominated McIntosh for this prestigious award. "She has developed a vision that is focused on determining what children and their families need, and this vision led them to develop new collaborations in the community that, together, can better meet their needs."

McIntosh was instrumental in the creation of a partnership between the Denver Department of Human Services and Kempe, a Denver-based organization that is the world leader in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect.

One important aspect of the partnership is conducting research to ensure that the treatments administered are truly helping children. The research gained through this partnership will, in time, help abused children across the country, adds Clyman.