The West Steps Colorado Children's Campaign

In this episode of The West Steps, we’re discussing Colorado’s school funding formula, which is used to allocate billions of dollars annually to educate kids across the state’s 178 school districts. For the first time in 30 years, the state legislature is seriously considering updating this formula. If they can pull it off, Colorado will have a more equitable, student-centered approach to funding its schools. 
Madi Ashour, Director of Youth Success at the Colorado Children’s Campaign; Lorelei Jackson, Student Services Coordinator at Denver Language School; and Dan Snowberger, Superintendent of Elizabeth Schools join us to talk about how prioritizing funding based on student-centered factors like the number of students in a district who are living in poverty, learning English, or who have special needs could help make Colorado’s education system more equitable and effective. 
You can contact Madi Ashour at madeleine@coloradokids.org, Lorelei Jackson at loreleimjackson@gmail.com, and Dan Snowberger at dsnowberger@esdk12.org. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).     
Resources:     
2024 Policy Priorities [2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]
The KidsFlash Blog [KidsFlash - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]
School finance task force background and report [School Finance Task Force | CDE (state.co.us)]
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In this episode of The West Steps, we’re discussing the Family Affordability Tax Credit (HB24-1311), a new proposal in the Colorado legislature that has the potential to reduce child poverty in Colorado by half.  
Sarah Barnes, Senior Director of Policy at the Colorado Children’s Campaign and Reilly Pharo Carter, Director of Policy & Advocacy at Gary Community Ventures join us to talk about how this credit, which is projected to reach 45% of Colorado families, could make a particularly big difference for kids and families with fewer financial resources.   
You can contact Srah Barnes at sarahb@coloradokids.org and Reilly Pharo Carter at rpcarter@garycommunity.org. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).     


Resources:     
2024 Policy Priorities [2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]     
The KidsFlash Blog [The KidsFlash Blog - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]    

Family Affordability Tax Credit - Supporter Sign-On [Family Affordability Tax Credit - Supporter Sign-On (google.com)]
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Since May 2023, more than 100,000 kids and nearly 550,000 Coloradans have lost Medicaid coverage. In this episode of The West Steps, we’re exploring why so many Coloradans are losing health coverage and why it matters. 
Hunter Nelson, Senior Policy Analyst at the Colorado Children’s Campaign; Bethany Pray, Deputy Director at the Colorado Center on Law and Policy; and Shoshi Preuss, Policy Manager at Colorado Community Health Network join us to talk about how people who are still eligible for Medicaid are losing their coverage. They share ideas about how Colorado could improve its administrative systems – and discuss why having a Medicaid program that is functioning smoothly is important for all Coloradans. 
You can contact Hunter Nelson at hunter@coloradokids.org, Bethany Pray at bpray@copolicy.org, and Shoshi Preuss at spreuss@cchn.org. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).     
 Resources:     
2024 Policy Priorities: 2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)
The KidsFlash Blog: KidsFlash - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)
Hunter Nelson Op-ed in the Colorado Sun: Opinion: Colorado kids are losing health coverage at an alarming rate and we must do more to keep them insured - The Colorado Sun
2023 Audit of Colorado’s Medicaid correspondence: 2261p_medicaid_correspondence.pdf (colorado.gov)
CCLP’s complaint to the Office of Civil Rights: CCLP and NHeLP urge justice department to stop Colorado Medicaid cuts, citing disabilities act violations - CCLP (copolicy.org)
Georgetown Center for Children & Families Unwind: Unwinding Continuous Coverage – Center For Children and Families (georgetown.edu)
KFF’s Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker: Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker | KFF
HCPF’s Data Reporting: Continuous Coverage Unwind Data Reporting | Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing
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In this episode, we’re diving into an effort to create a State Income Tax Credit for Careworkers, which would credit $1,500 to child care workers and caregivers, direct care workers, home health aides, and other people who work in the caring economy.   
Melissa Mares, Director of Early Childhood at the Colorado Children’s Campaign; Perrine Monnet, Policy Analyst at the Bell Policy Center; and Emily Sirota, Colorado State Representative join us to talk about how this tax credit would help people who are doing some of the most critical work in our society – often for very low pay.   
You can contact Melissa Mares at melissa@coloradokids.org, Perrine Monnet at monnet@bellpolicy.org, and Emily Sirota at emily.sirota.house@coleg.gov. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).    
Resources:    
2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)
KidsFlash - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign
Growing Our Future Coalition - Colorado Children's Campaign
Caring Workforce Primer (bellpolicy.org) 
bellpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/ReimbursementRates.pdf 
State Income Tax Credit for Careworkers | Colorado General Assembly
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Colorado invested about $20 million relief dollars in out-of-school time programming, which supported 45 grantees and 60 programs across the state. But those dollars are running out, and many programs face uncertain futures. And even with this investment, the supply isn’t meeting the demand – by one estimate, nearly 400,000 Colorado kids are on a wait list for out-of-school time programming. 
Kaycee Headrick, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs in Colorado, and Madi Ashour, Director of Youth Success at the Colorado Children’s Campaign, join us to talk about the importance of out-of-school time and how an investment from the state could make a difference for kids’ academics and well-being. 
You can contact Madi Ashour at madeleine@coloradokids.org and Kaycee Headrick at kheadrick@bgca.org. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).   
Resources:   
2024 Policy Priorities [2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]   
The KidsFlash Blog [The KidsFlash Blog - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]  
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National research shows that families with children are more likely to experience an eviction – and that evictions can be extremely disruptive for kids’ education, health, and overall well-being. But data about what is happening across Colorado is inconsistent and hard to access. The Colorado Children’s Campaign and Enterprise Community Partners join us to talk about a new bill that would improve our state’s eviction data collection – an important step toward creating policies to prevent unnecessary evictions.  
You can contact Sarah Barnes, Senior Director of Policy at the Colorado Children’s Campaign, at sarahb@coloradokids.org and Kinsey Hasstedt, Senior Program Director for State and Local Policy at Enterprise Community Partners, at khasstedt@enterprisecommunity.org to learn more about this bill. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).   
Resources:   
2024 Policy Priorities [2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]   
The KidsFlash Blog [The KidsFlash Blog - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]  
How Eviction Court Filing Data Can Advance a More Stable Housing Ecosystem for all Coloradans: A New Normal | Enterprise Community Partners

The Americans Most Threatened by Eviction: Young Children - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
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