Colorado Children’s Campaign applauds proposed changes to school funding formula
The Colorado Children’s Campaign strongly supports the new school funding formula proposed in HB24-1448.
"Colorado kids need a sustainable school finance formula that reflects and meets their real needs in 2024 and beyond,” said Heather Tritten, President and CEO of the Colorado Children’s Campaign. “With this proposal, Colorado has the opportunity make sure that every child has what they need to thrive – and that our public school system is more equitable and more effective than ever before.”
Colorado has not updated its school funding formula since 1994. The existing formula has resulted in the state sending more money per pupil to some of Colorado’s most well-resourced school districts than to districts where students face the most barriers to educational opportunity.
Without adequate funding, schools face difficulty hiring and retaining staff, paying for updated materials and technology, and maintaining safe, welcoming school buildings—all elements of a high-quality education that every student deserves.
HB24-1448, which draws from the recommendations of the School Finance Task Force and is sponsored by Speaker Julie McCluskie, Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, Minority Leader Paul Lundeen and Joint Budget Committee Vice Chair Rachel Zenzinger, would ensure that Colorado’s K-12 education funds are supporting students living in poverty, students learning English, and students with special education needs. The new formula also accounts for the special resource needs of Colorado’s small rural school districts. The proposal lays out a phase-in approach for the increased spending that the state can comfortably and sustainably afford.
"A student-centered funding formula is a research-backed way to make a difference for kids’ academic achievement and well-being,” said Madi Ashour, Director of Youth Success at the Colorado Children’s Campaign. “If we pass this bill, I believe we will see a Colorado where more kids are thriving at school, regardless of their ZIP code, background, or learning needs. Kids can’t wait, so neither should we.”
Data analysts at the legislature estimate that the new formula would mean:
- 97% of Colorado school districts would receive more funds beginning in 2025.
- 824,800 Colorado kids would receive more funding for their schools beginning in 2025.
And, after the formula is fully implemented:
- $380 million in additional funds would support multilingual learners and at-risk learners each year.
- $250 million in additional funds would go toward rural schools each year.
- $280 million in additoinal funds would support special education learners each year.
The Colorado Children’s Campaign has advocated for a more student-centered approach to school funding for more than a decade. Most recently, the organization supported SB23-287, which created the School Finance Task Force.
Data and resources: The Children’s Campaign is available to provide data and resources about the potential fiscal impacts of the new formula on local school districts across the state and to discuss the implications of the new formula for schools and students.
Heather Tritten will be the next President and CEO of the Colorado Children's Campaign
DENVER - The Board of Directors of the Colorado Children’s Campaign has announced that Heather Tritten will be the organization’s next President and CEO, following a comprehensive national search. Beginning Nov. 1, Heather will lead the Colorado Children’s Campaign in its work to realize every chance for every child in Colorado.
"We are so excited to welcome Heather to the Colorado Children’s Campaign,” said Sharlene Keithley, Board Chair of the Colorado Children’s Campaign. “Heather brings a unique mix of deep policy and advocacy experience, a strong track record in nonprofit leadership and state government, and a clear commitment to children and families to this special organization."
Heather comes to the Colorado Children’s Campaign from Parent Possible, where she has served as Executive Director since 2015. Prior to that role, Heather was the Vice President of Quality Programs at Qualistar Colorado, and Head Start Collaboration Director in the Office of Lt. Governor Joe Garcia. She also authored Governor Hickenlooper’s early literacy plan, Colorado Reads: the Early Literacy Initiative.
"I am thrilled and honored to step into this role and to build on the great foundation that has been put in place over the past 38 years,” Tritten said. “And I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. I look forward to working with the Campaign’s talented team of policy, research, and advocacy experts, and I know that together, we will create change and implement strategies to ensure a more equitable and brighter future for all of Colorado’s children."
"I am delighted that the Colorado Children's Campaign has identified Heather Tritten as its next President and CEO,” said former Lt. Governor Joe Garcia. “When we worked together on early childhood issues in my former office, I saw that Heather was a principled leader in making Colorado a great place for kids and families. I am confident she and the Children's Campaign team will do great things to advance the well-being of children in our state."
Since 1985, the Colorado Children’s Campaign has advocated for the development and implementation of data-driven public policy that improves child and family well-being. The Colorado Children’s Campaign’s work focuses on child and family health; early childhood; youth success; and family economic prosperity.
"I know that, with Heather’s leadership, the Colorado Children’s Campaign will continue to be a powerful and effective voice for children and families and will do excellent work to advance equity in each of our issue areas,” said Rosemary Rodriguez, Vice-Chair of the Colorado Children’s Campaign Board of Directors.
Colorado Children’s Campaign releases 2023 KIDS COUNT in Colorado! report
The Colorado Children’s Campaign released its thirtieth annual KIDS COUNT in Colorado! report on August 29, 2023. The report tracks child well-being at both the state and county levels in the areas of family economic prosperity, child and family health, early childhood learning and development, and youth success.
Building Understanding: Youth Mental Health and Well-Being in Colorado, the 2023 edition of KIDS COUNT in Colorado!, spotlights trends in youth mental health and access to care. It includes an overview of the most recent data on the topic and offers recommendations for policy action to promote youth mental health in the years ahead.
“More young Coloradans have been letting us know they are struggling with their mental health,” said Sarah Barnes, Senior Director of Policy at the Children’s Campaign. “The data in this year’s KIDS COUNT in Colorado! report reveal just how many young people are grappling with this issue – and point to opportunities to address some of the root causes of mental health challenges.”
“Colorado leaders must take steps to create communities that support our young people, including by bolstering the mental health workforce in and out of schools, ensuring families can meet their basic needs, and prioritizing the agency and wisdom of young people in policy and program development,” Barnes said.
The report finds that nearly every source of data on youth has identified concerning increases in mental health struggles in recent years. But access to resources is limited. For instance, ratios of students to school-based mental health providers such as school psychologists or school social workers are much higher than professional associations recommend, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis of data from the Colorado Department of Education. One hundred thirteen of Colorado’s 178 school districts had no licensed school psychologists employed by the district. A similar number of districts had no school social workers. And 35 school districts had no school counselor.
The 2023 KIDS COUNT in Colorado! report highlights promising programs and efforts to support youth mental health across the state. It also features insights from young people as part of a partnership with the YouthScan Project, a statewide digital initiative that puts youth voices front and center in the decisions that impact their lives.
Other data from the 2023 KIDS COUNT in Colorado report include:
- The share of Colorado kids without health insurance fell from 5.5% in 2019 to 4.6% in 2021—reflecting 12,000 fewer children without health coverage. But post-pandemic policy changes mean many children are likely to lose their coverage in the year ahead.
- In 2020, firearms surpassed motor vehicle crashes to become the leading cause of death for American children ages 1 to 19 for the first time on record. In Colorado, 83 Colorado kids and teens ages 19 and under were killed by guns—the highest number on record in at least 20 years and more than double the number of kids killed by guns in 2000.
- Across Colorado, the need for child care outpaces its supply. Colorado’s licensed child care centers, family child care homes and preschools have capacity to serve just two-thirds of the children estimated to need care based on labor force participation among parents.
- Although Colorado’s overall child poverty rate sits well below the national rate of 17%, some communities in our state have child poverty rates more than twice the national average. Costilla County had the highest child poverty rate in the state in 2021, at 36%. Douglas County had the state’s lowest child poverty rate, at just 3%.
- Colorado has stubborn disparities in child poverty rates by race and ethnicity – the result of a long history of policies that have created and maintained barriers to opportunity for people of color. Between 2017 and 2021, poverty rates for American Indian or Alaska Native children and Black or African-American children in Colorado were triple the rates for white children; the poverty rate for Hispanic or Latino children in our state was more than double the rate for white children.
- Temporary expansions to the Child Tax Credit made in response to the pandemic cut child poverty in half in 2021—yet Congress let the expansions expire in December 2021, sending millions more U.S. kids back into poverty.
- In the 2021-2022 school year, more than one-third of Colorado students (36%) were chronically absent, a sharp rise from 26% the previous year.
- The use of some substances, such as alcohol and tobacco, has become much less common among Colorado youth in recent years. Other indicators of substance use, such as the use of prescription pain medication without a prescription and the number of deaths due to accidental overdose, are stagnant or increasing.
KIDS COUNT in Colorado! is part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's national KIDS COUNT project and complements the 2023 national data book, which was released on June 14. KIDS COUNT serves as an important source of quality, unbiased information on children and families for decision-makers and child advocates.
Children's Campaign statement on access to Universal Preschool Programs
All Colorado families, students, and staff, regardless of their backgrounds and identities, should be welcome in preschools that participate in Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program.
A recent lawsuit filed by the Denver Archdiocese, St. Mary’s, and St. Bernadette’s aims to allow providers that discriminate against LGBTQ+ students, families, and staff to participate in the Universal Preschool Program.
We support the Department of Early Childhood in building a program where providers enroll children regardless of race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, lack of housing, income level or disability. This approach supports the right of parents to choose the early childhood programs and services that best fit their circumstances, without the threat of discrimination added to the challenges they already may face finding or affording care. Preschool providers also should not be excluded from any classroom based on their LGBTQ+ identity.
All preschool settings, including faith-based programs, are an important part of Colorado’s early care and education ecosystem. Faith-based providers are currently participating in UPK and are welcome to use faith-based curricula during academic hours that are not funded by the state. These providers accept all students, families and staff into their programs, regardless of their backgrounds or identities. The Colorado Department of Early Childhood has worked closely with many faith-based providers with an interest in participating in Universal Preschool.
Access to safe, nurturing, supportive environments and adults leads to better academic and social outcomes for children. Attempts to exclude children from publicly-funded programs based on their or their family's LGBTQ+ identity amount to discrimination and would have negative consequences for this state’s youngest residents and their families.
Kelly Causey will step down from leadership of the Colorado Children’s Campaign after seven years as President and CEO
After seven years as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Colorado Children’s Campaign, Kelly Causey has announced her plans to leave the organization. Chief Operating Officer Jamie Jackson will lead the Colorado Children's Campaign on an interim basis during the search for a permanent President and CEO.
“We are grateful to Kelly for her skilled, steady, and visionary leadership of the Colorado Children’s Campaign, and we know she will do great things in her next chapter,” said Sharlene Keithley, the chair of the Colorado Children’s Campaign Board of Directors.
“The Campaign made wonderful progress for kids and families during Kelly’s tenure, which spanned the uncertainties of the global pandemic and the evolving realities of nonprofit management in the years that have followed,” Keithley said. “And we know that progress will continue: With Kelly’s thoughtful guidance, the Campaign has built a dynamic team of advocates whose work is to keep Colorado a great place to be a kid.”
“Kelly’s deep passion for Colorado’s youth and families has been evident throughout her time at the Children’s Campaign,” said Rosemary Rodriguez, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors. “The organization has taken important steps to create a more equitable Colorado and to live out its values by putting real people’s experiences and voices at the center of its research, policy, and advocacy. We commit to our partners, from grassroots to grasstops, that we will continue that powerful work in the years to come.”
During Kelly’s time as President and CEO, the Colorado Children’s Campaign successfully advocated for significant policy changes to support the well-being of kids and families, including free full-day kindergarten; the establishment of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood; free school meals; and critical expansions and improvements to Medicaid, including Cover All Coloradans, which provides coverage for undocumented kids and pregnant Coloradans. It boldly and collaboratively bolstered its commitment to race equity. It expanded its portfolio to include a focus on housing stability and families’ economic prosperity. And it launched an ambitious strategic framework, grounded in community voice, that will guide the Campaign for years to come.
“Leading the Children’s Campaign has been an honor,” Causey said. “We have an amazing community that believes in our mission and has been with us throughout our 38-year history. We have a strong statewide network and a wildly talented team, staff and board, who put kids first each and every day. After deep consideration, and knowing the Campaign is poised for continued success, I have decided it is time both personally and professionally for me to explore new ways to make an impact.”
“I love and am so proud of our team and the incredible work we do for kids,” she said. “I will continue to be a champion for the Campaign as it brings on a new leader to advance its mission.”
The Colorado Children’s Campaign Board of Directors has contracted with HR Advantage, a Denver-based human resources consulting firm, to lead its CEO search. Kelly’s last day with the Children’s Campaign will be September 1.
Colorado Ranks 15th in Child Well-Being, but Inaccessible Child Care Is a Continuing Barrier to Stability and Health for Families
DENVER, CO — Colorado ranks 15th in the nation in overall child well-being, according to the 2023 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, a 50-state report of recent household data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation analyzing how children and families are faring. However, our country’s lack of affordable and accessible child care short-changes children and causes parents in Colorado to frequently miss work or even quit their jobs, while those who can find care are forced to make inequitable sacrifices. These child care challenges cost the American economy billions of dollars a year and stymie women professionally.
Each year, the Data Book presents national and state data from 16 indicators in four domains — economic well-being, education, health, and family and community factors – and ranks the states according to how children are faring overall.
In 2022, Colorado saw improvements in teen obesity, school attendance of three- and four-year olds, and the percentage of children in families where a household head holds a high school diploma. But there were concerning changes in the state’s poverty rate and parents’ job security: Between 2019-21, the percentage of Colorado children living in poverty increased by 9%, an increase that represents approximately 10,000 children. Over the same period, the percentage of of children living in families where no parent had full-time, year-round employment, increased by 7%.
These trends intersect with a child care landscape in which — even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — capacity, affordability, and the accessibility of culturally- and trauma-informed options were too limited.
“Child care providers keep our state’s economy afloat and are an essential part of our communities,” said Melissa Mares, Director of Early Childhood Initiatives at the Colorado Children’s Campaign, the state’s member of the KIDS COUNT network. “Yet families are facing care disruptions and providers are struggling to recruit and retain staff. We must do more to create a system in which our youngest children — and their caregivers — are supported and cared for.”
The Data Book reports too many parents cannot secure child care that is compatible with work schedules and commutes. In 2020-21, 14% of children birth to age 5 in Colorado lived in families in which someone quit, changed, or refused a job because of problems with child care. This is higher than the national rate (13%). Women are five to eight times more likely than men to experience negative employment consequences related to caregiving.
Even if parents can find a child care opening near their home, they often can’t pay for it. Colorado’s average annual cost of center-based child care for a toddler was $16,333, 14% of the median income for a married couple and 41% of the median income for a single mother in the state. Colorado is among the states with the most significant care cost burdens for married couples seeking both center-based care (14%) and home-based care (10%). These challenges disproportionately affect the financial well-being of women, single parents, parents in poverty, families of color, and immigrant families.
While the cost of care burdens families, child care workers are paid worse than 98% of professions. Median national pay for child care workers was $28,520 per year or $13.71 an hour in 2022, less than the wage for retail ($14.26) and customer service ($18.16) workers. In Colorado, the hourly median wage for child care workers in 2022 was $16.74, up from $14.59 in 2021.
The failings of the child care market also affect the current and future health of the American economy, costing $122 billion a year in lost earnings, productivity and tax revenue, according to one study. All of these challenges put parents under tremendous stress to meet the dual responsibilities of providing for their families and ensuring their children are safe and nurtured.
“A good child care system is essential for kids to thrive and our economy to prosper. But our current approach fails kids, parents, and child care workers by every measure,” said Lisa Hamilton, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. “Without safe child care they can afford and get to, working parents face impossible choices, affecting not only their families, but their employers as well.”
Transitioning from a faltering child care system to creating a flourishing one will take new thinking and investing at the local, state, and national levels. An executive order issued by President Biden in April is aimed at expanding access, lowering costs, and raising wages. It could prove to be a helpful framework, but more is needed, including:
- Federal, state, and local governments should invest more in child care. State and local governments should maximize remaining pandemic recovery act dollars to fund needed child care services and capacity.
- Colorado should make substantial, long-term investments in order to raise compensation and improve benefits for the early care and education workforce, across all care settings, with a specific focus on providers who serve high-priority populations and infant-toddler child care providers.
- Public and private leaders should work together to improve the infrastructure for home-based child care, beginning by lowering the barriers to entry for potential providers by increasing access to start-up and expansion capital.
- To help young parents, Congress should expand the federal Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, which serves student parents.
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RELEASE INFORMATION
The 2023 KIDS COUNT® Data Book is available at www.aecf.org. Additional information is available at www.aecf.org/databook. Journalists interested in creating maps, graphs and rankings in stories about the Data Book can use the KIDS COUNT Data Center at datacenter.aecf.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.