DENVER – Throughout October, the Colorado Children’s Campaign will release Kids in Focus, a series of research briefs that use data to inform the policy conversation about kids and families in Colorado. Each brief looks at a condition that shapes whether kids can grow up healthy, learn, and thrive, and lays out a path forward for the leaders who can act on it.
This year’s series focuses on three challenges that Colorado has the power to solve:
- Colorado Can Read: Building The Nation’s Next Literacy Success Story. Release date: October 6. Nearly 60% of Colorado third graders are not yet proficient in reading, a figure that hasn’t budged in a decade. The brief calls for state policymakers to take action and lays out a five-part approach other states have used to change that.
- Proof It Works: Public Investments Reduce Colorado Childhood Poverty. Release date: October 13. The Colorado Poverty Measure, a new tool brought to Colorado by Gary Community Ventures and built by Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy, finds that state and federal investments lift tens of thousands of Colorado children out of poverty each year. The brief highlights the impacts of important investments and programs that are now at risk, including SNAP and the Family Affordability Tax Credit.
- Too Far From Care: Closing The Gap In Colorado’s Pediatric Access. Release Date: October 20. About 7 in 10 Colorado children live in a community with a pediatric provider shortage, and rural kids and families are hit hardest.
“These three challenges are connected, and they often affect the same kids. They also have solutions,” said Maya Gould, Vice President of Research at the Colorado Children’s Campaign. “With Kids in Focus, we set out to give Colorado’s leaders reliable data and a clear path forward on each one.”
Each brief will be available at coloradokids.org on its release date. The Campaign is also hosting webinars on each topic.
Reporters can request advance copies, data, or interviews with researchers and policy experts by contacting Vice President of Communications Jackie Zubrzycki at Jackie@ColoradoKids.org.
About the Colorado Children’s Campaign: At the Colorado Children’s Campaign, we use data and research to identify what kids across our state need most, then advocate for policies that strengthen their well‑being and help them thrive. Our focus is the whole child, working across Early Childhood, K‑12 Education, Health, and Economic Security for the greatest long‑term impact.