A Colorado Springs employment provider that helped people with disabilities find and maintain jobs has gone out of business, months after its owner raised concerns about operations within the Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR).

News5 first spoke with Inga Carland, owner and operator of Mountain Employment Training, in January. At the time, Carland said she saw a shift in client authorizations through DVR.

Months later, the improvement Carland had hoped for never materialized.

Folks are still out there needing support," Carland said. "Theyre just not making it to us."

Watch the video report below: Colorado Springs employment provider closes amid ongoing concerns over Colorado DVR operations

Carland said her problems with DVR began in 2025 and continued into 2026. She pointed to two events that had a significant impact on her business.

First was back in October when there was a huge delay with being able to get authorizations, the approval to work with folks, Carland said. The second event was January 28th when the waitlist, or order of selection, was enacted and that put a giant bottleneck in being able to get clients through our doors.

In December 2025, DVR addressed a $2.5 million funding deficit for 2026 and outlined several cost containment strategies, including adding additional levels of approval for case service authorization and services being provided directly by DVR staff whenever possible.

Carland said the authorization process eventually improved, but the number of clients coming through her doors did not.

Between the end of January and mid-June, Carland said Mountain Employment Training received just three new clients. In previous years, she said the business would typically receive two or three new clients each week.

Watch our January coverage below: Colorado DVR under scrutiny after months of service delays

When News5 spoke with Carland in January, Mountain Employment Training had the capacity to serve 100 clients, but had only 13 authorized by DVR. Six months later, Carland said Mountain Employment Training was serving 29 people, still far below its capacity.

Weve had to let go of some employees. Were having to let go of our office space, Carland said at the time. A lot of different overhead things that were trimming just to stay afloat.

Since that interview, Mountain Employment Training has gone out of business. Carland said DVR policies and restrictions made it too difficult for the business to continue providing services.

Carland said some DVR staff members had advised her to diversify funding sources rather than depend entirely on DVR.

Ive had a couple staff members of DVR say that they would recommend business owners like mine not to put all our eggs in one basket, to diversify and try to find other funding streams, not to rely on DVR because its so unstable, Carland said.

In a statement to News5, a DVR spokesperson addressed its cost containment measures:

DVR cannot fulfill its mission without our provider community, and we are so grateful for our partnerships. We understand the additional cost containment efforts have been a change for some providers, and were hopeful our providers will remain collaborative as we work through the waitlist in order to support as many individuals as efficiently as possible. When DVR cannot serve all eligible applicants immediately, federal law requires a waitlist, based on disability priority category. As the most effective method for managing costs, a waitlist will help DVR staff continue to provide critical, individualized services. DVR entered a waitlist on January 28, 2026. People we serve with an established Individual Plan for Employment as of January 28, 2026, will continue to receive services regardless of their priority category. We continue our cost containment measures and continue to serve as many people as we can with our available resources. As of October 19, there were 5,710 individuals receiving services under an approved plan for employment. Additionally, students receiving Pre-Employment Transition Services (pre-ETS) continue to have access to pre-ETS. Lastly, all current and future applicants continue to be evaluated for eligibility determination and placement into a priority category. DVR recognizes that waiting to receive services can be stressful. If individuals with disabilities need support right away, weve created this<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8Vf1P4tmx3VLKeterXZPghJjqPp1MVxGA6RjVR7T9o4hUXQ/viewform__;!!FJkDyvWmnr4!cB9sLa_gZufb1kxCbFvAfRggd-aSW2BkxBv-5pCU1dlwNZlqyH3CSpvtDd-A1GNBUatHUyO501zawj-U0yZiiTZ6bg$">&nbsp;<u>Support Finder</u>&nbsp;</a>(made possible by<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://mindsourcecolorado.org/__;!!FJkDyvWmnr4!cB9sLa_gZufb1kxCbFvAfRggd-aSW2BkxBv-5pCU1dlwNZlqyH3CSpvtDd-A1GNBUatHUyO501zawj-U0ybnCMO_Rg$">&nbsp;<u>MINDSOURCE</u></a>) to get them connected to readily available resources.

For Carland, however, the concern extends beyond the effect the changes had on her business. She worries about people with disabilities who may spend months waiting to receive employment assistance.

Its very impactful for clients to be waitlisted for months and months on end," Carland said. "That is months and months of a gap on a resume."

She said the greatest consequences may be the ones that are more difficult to measure.

I think the greatest impact is the one that we cant immediately see, Carland said. Its the folks that are sitting at home waiting for support.

Email Senior Reporter Meghan Glova at

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During the peak of the Aspen Acres Fire, News5 viewers generously donated to the Scripps Howard Fund to help people and organizations impacted by the wildfire across Southern Colorado.

One of the organizations receiving support is the Colorado Horse Rescue Network, a nonprofit based in Yoder that says it is the only open-admission horse shelter in Colorado.

For more than a decade, the organization has taken in horses regardless of the circumstances that brought them there.

News5 reporter Meghan Glova has more on the rescue in the video below:

News5 viewer donations help Colorado Horse Rescue Network care for horses impacted by Aspen Acres Fire

The Colorado Horse Rescue Network is an organization that started about 12 years ago with a group of friends that my mom had, Addison Barrett with the Colorado Horse Rescue Network said. They decided that horses needed some better place to be.

The rescue takes in horses through owner surrenders and auctions. It also operates a buyout program intended to keep horses from going to auction.

This year were going to have our 3,000th horse cross our database, Barrett said. Almost every day we are taking in a horse.

When the Aspen Acres Fire forced evacuations, the Colorado Horse Rescue Network stepped in.

We personally took in 21 horses from the Aspen Acres Fire between going to evacuation centers and getting horses that people...they realized they didnt have a place to go back to, Barrett said.

Barrett says the organization also delivered 250 bales of hay and more than 1,000 pounds of hay pellets to help during the fire.

Some horses displaced by the Aspen Acres Fire remain in the organization's care.

For Barrett and her family, helping animals during disasters is not new.

My mom helped with the Waldo Canyon Fire, she helped with the Black Forest Fire, Barrett said. She knows what happens when they dont have somewhere to go.

Now, Barrett says donations made by News5 viewers through the Scripps Howard Fund will help the Colorado Horse Rescue Network with the rehabilitation and care of horses impacted by the Aspen Acres Fire.

It makes my heart happy, Barrett said.

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A Colorado mother is raising awareness about the dangers of kratom, a legal product that can have opioid-like effects, after losing her 19-year-old son to kratom toxicity.

Masen Campbell played football for Severance High School in northern Colorado and was preparing to continue his athletic career at Feather River College in California. His mother, Ashley Campbell, remembers him as a loving son and a great big brother.

News5 reporter Meghan Glova has this mother's warning in the video below:

Colorado mother warns of kratom dangers after 19-year-old son's death

Masen died on May 31st. Before his death, Campbell says her son was given kratom by a friend.

He was snoring really really weird," Campbell said. "I hate myself for not trying to wake him up or anything, but I thought, hes just sleeping.

Hours later, Masen's family tried to wake him. Campbell says Masen's sister performed CPR on him and that he did not respond to Narcan.

I went down there and he had bubbles coming out of nose and his lips were a little purple," Campbell said. "His body was cold and he wasnt breathing.

Campbell says an autopsy later revealed kratom-toxicity as Masen's cause of death and that the combination of kratom and alcohol killed her son.

According to El Paso County Coroner and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Emily Russell-Kinsley, kratom is a product that is derived from the leaves of a plant from Southeast Asia.

"It's got a lot of alkaloids or compounds in it," Dr. Russell-Kinsley said. "The most prevalent one is called mitragynine.

Dr. Russell-Kinsley says 41 deaths were associated with kratom or mitragynine products in Colorado in 2025. She explains, at a higher dose, the chemical mitragynine has an opioid-like effect. The risk of overdose with pure kratom or mitragynine is low. However, products with additional alkaloids, like 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), can be more dangerous.

Thats actually much stronger than morphine," Dr. Russell-Kinsley said. "That 7-hydroxy, its being manufactured and its present in higher amounts than you would see naturally.

Masen's autopsy revealed that he had 7-OH in his system.

When you read about the populations that this drug is impacting, its predominantly younger white males," Dr. Russell-Kinsley said. "It's folks who are struggling with opioid dependence or issues with pain, issues with anxiety."

Last month, two University of Mississippi students, including one from Colorado, were found dead in separate locations. Police found kratom at both scenes, but it is still unclear if kratom played a part in their deaths.

In Oxford, the possession, distribution, and sale of kratom is prohibited. In Colorado, it is legal, but heavily regulated.

A 2025 Colorado law has increased kratom regulation in Colorado. It prohibits the story or display of kratom products that would allow it to be accessed by individuals under 21-years-old. It also prohibits selling a kratom product that mimics candy or appeals to children.

They produce a product that is difficult to divide into, what they say, is the appropriate dose in a package," Dr. Russell-Kinsley said.

Campbell says, according to Masen's friend, the kratom given to her son was in a pink pill.

"It came in 40 milligrams and you were only supposed to take 10," Campbell said. "He gave him half of it.

Campbell is now warning others about kratom and its risks on social media, including a TikTok video that reached more than a million viewers.

I was legitimately just to save anybody I possibly could," Campbell said. "I would give anything to have known this and couldve saved my son. Anything.

Campbell also shared her family's story with Representative Lauren Boebert's team, hoping even further kratom regulations could be possible in Colorado. News5 is waiting for a response on whether this is something Rep. Boebert will pursue.

No parent thinks that this is going to be something that they face, but its happening everywhere," Campbell said. "All over, not just Colorado.

For individuals struggling with an emotional, mental health, or substance use concern, Dr. Russell-Kinsley recommends the 988 Colorado Mental Health Line. Call or text 988 for free, immediate, and confidental support 24/7.

Email Senior Reporter Meghan Glova at

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