The director of Colorado’s Division of Youth Services announced his resignation Friday, departing his leadership role barely a year after taking the reins over the state’s youth detention centers.
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Alex Stojsavljevic will leave his job on Oct. 23, Colorado Department of Human Services spokeswoman Haysel Hernandez said in a statement. Stojsavljevic is pursuing a “new professional opportunity in his home state of Ohio,” Haysel said.
Deputy Director Natalie Chrastil will serve as interim director until the position is permanently filled, Haysel said in the statement.
Stojsavljevic was hired in mid-October 2025, joining the Division of Youth Services after working for the U.S. Department of Justice and the Ohio Department of Youth Services. He oversaw the Division of Youth Services as the 1,000-employee department endured significant staffing shortages, routine violence in its 10 detention centers and a federal investigation into youth prison conditions.
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Two leaders at Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center were fired last month after they cultivated a romantic relationship with each other and exchanged racist and demeaning messages.
Stojsavljevic called the director job “one of the great professional honors of my career” in a statement.
“(It) afforded me the privilege of working alongside an extraordinary group of dedicated public servants who show up every day to do meaningful work on behalf of Colorado’s most vulnerable young people,” he said.
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