DENVER – The Colorado Children’s Campaign is pleased to release its thirty-first annual KIDS COUNT in Colorado! report. The report tracks child well-being at the state and county levels in family economic prosperity, child and family health, early childhood learning and development, and youth success.
The 2024 edition of KIDS COUNT in Colorado! provides the most up-to-date data on issues affecting kids and families and offers policy recommendations for our state to move forward in a more equitable and effective manner.
“The end of policies introduced to support kids’ and families’ well-being in the early days of the pandemic is affecting access to health care, food, housing, and other basics at a time when the cost of living in Colorado has increased significantly,” said Heather Tritten, President and CEO at the Children’s Campaign. “Data in this year’s KIDS COUNT in Colorado! report show that too many Colorado kids and families are struggling to access or afford health care, child care, housing, and other essentials.”
“The good news: Colorado has taken powerful steps to support kids and families in recent years, such as adopting a more equitable school funding formula and passing tax credits for lower income families and careworkers,” Tritten said. “This year’s report highlights areas where policymakers and communities can continue to do more to put kids first.”
The new report points out that the cost of housing in Colorado is increasing at a rate far faster than families’ incomes. Because of that, nearly one in three children live in a household that spends more than 30% of their income on housing. Many of those families are left struggling to find a more affordable alternative and are cutting back on basic needs to avoid falling behind on their mortgage or rent.
The report also finds that Colorado has made little progress at reducing extreme poverty among children. Approximately 66,000 children (about 6% of all kids in the state) experienced extreme poverty in 2022. This is defined as an annual income of less than $13,875 for a family of four, which is less than $9.50 per person per day. (More findings are included below.)
KIDS COUNT in Colorado! is part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s national KIDS COUNT project and complements the 2024 national data book, which was released on June 10. KIDS COUNT serves as an important source of quality, unbiased information on children and families for decision-makers and child advocates.
This year’s project was made possible through the support of The Anschutz Foundation, the Buell Foundation, El Pomar Foundation, and the Jay & Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Colorado.
Additional information:
- County information: The report includes county data sheets that offer snapshots of how each of Colorado’s counties is faring across a range of data indicators. These data sheets are included in the PDF of the report available online and by request.
- Print copies: Print copies of the report, which include county data profiles, are available by request.
- Spanish-language reports: Spanish-language reports will be available in September 2024.
- Recorded presentation: A recording of the KIDS COUNT in Colorado! launch event will be available online after August 20.
Other data from the 2024 KIDS COUNT in Colorado report include:
- In some Colorado school districts, more than half of students missed at least 10% of school days in 2022-23.
- Between fall 2022 and fall 2023, Colorado’s teacher turnover rate was 17%, which is up from 14% in the 2020-21 school year. Some of the factors that drive teacher turnover include school safety, burnout, student behavior, and workload.
- The state’s on-time graduation rate increased to 83.1%, continuing an overall positive trend.
- Some 147,000 Colorado children have been disenrolled from Medicaid since 2023 due to the end of the Medicaid continuous eligibility provision put in place during the pandemic; there has been a 24% decline from May 2023 enrollment levels.
- In 2022, the median annual wages for a child care teacher in Colorado were $34,830, which is only 54% of the median earnings for full-time, year-round workers in Colorado.
- The average cost of center-based child care for an infant in Colorado is approximately one-sixth of the pre-tax median income for a married-couple family and nearly half of the median income for a single-parent family.
- Preschool enrollment among young Colorado children rebounded in 2022 after dropping steeply during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, 51% of 3- and 4-year-olds in Colorado we enrolled in preschool, which is up from 46% in 2021.
- Data published by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment show declines in immunization rates for all vaccines among children in child care, kindergarten, and the K-12 school system.
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Release Information: The entire 2024 KIDS COUNT in Colorado! Report is available online at https://coloradokids.org/data/kids-count-archive/2023-kids-count/. Please contact Vice President of Communications Jackie Zubrzycki at jackie@coloradokids.org if you would like more information or to arrange an interview.
About the Colorado Children’s Campaign: The Colorado Children’s Campaign is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization committed since 1985 to realizing every chance for every child in Colorado. We advocate for the development and implementation of data-driven public policies that improve child well-being in health, education and early childhood. We do this by providing Coloradans with trusted data and research and organizing an extensive statewide network of dedicated child advocates. For more information, please visit coloradokids.org.
About the Annie E. Casey Foundation: The Annie E. Casey Foundation creates a brighter future for the nation’s young people by developing solutions to strengthen families, build paths to economic opportunity and transform struggling communities into safer and healthier places to live, work and grow. For more information, visit www.aecf.org. KIDS COUNT® is a registered trademark of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.