2010 Annual Report
The 2010 Annual Report summarizes our advocacy, research, development, and outreach efforts in 2010.
2010 Annual Report: Colorado Children's Campaign by the Numbers
Investing in a Bright Future for All of Colorado’s Kids: The Importance of Providing Early Childhood Care and Education to Children in Immigrant Families
Wide gaps exist in the well-being of Colorado’s children in immigrant families and their counterparts in U.S.-born families, according to Investing in a Bright Future for All of Colorado’s Kids: The Importance of Providing Early Childhood Care and Education to Children in Immigrant Families, released December 15, 2011. But, those gaps could be reduced by expanding access to high-quality, culturally-competent early childhood programs, ensuring all Colorado kids get the best possible start in life.
While the vast majority of children in immigrant families in Colorado (87 percent) were born in the U.S. and therefore are entitled to all the rights that accompany U.S. citizenship, data show they often fare far worse than children in U.S.-born families. The report does not analyze the citizenship status of the 13 percent of children in immigrant families who were not born in the U.S.
Among the report’s findings:
- Children in immigrant families in Colorado are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty as children in U.S.-born families (27 percent versus 15 percent). More than half of all Colorado children in immigrant families live in low-income households, compared to about a third of children in U.S.-born families.
- Colorado children in immigrant families are more likely than children in U.S.-born families to live in two-parent households (79 percent versus 70 percent).
- Children in immigrant families are less likely to be enrolled in early learning programs than children in U.S.-born families at 3 and 4 years old.
- Colorado’s gap in 4th grade reading proficiency between students who are English Language Learners and those who are fluent in English was the second-largest in the country in 2011.
The report identifies proven strategies to improve the well-being of Colorado children in immigrant families, such as expanding access to high-quality, culturally-competent early childhood care and education, and included strategies that would require minimal financial investments to implement. Specifically, the report recommends strengthening the exchange of information between immigrant-serving organizations and early childhood providers, recruiting representatives from immigrant communities to serve on Early Childhood Councils, and providing professional development opportunities to train early learning providers in working with students who are English Language Learners.
The report also analyzed Colorado’s changing demographics. According to the report, children in immigrant families, defined as a child who is foreign-born or, in most cases, U.S.-born with at least one foreign-born parent, represent the fastest-growing segment of the child population in the United States. In 2009, more than one-fifth of Colorado’s 1.2 million children lived in immigrant families, compared to about one in four in the U.S. The growth in the number of children in immigrant families is one piece of a broader demographic shift happening in Colorado and across the U.S. According to population projections from the State Demography Office, children of color will make up the majority of Colorado’s child population in 2021.
Investing in a Bright Future for All of Colorado’s Kids: The Importance of Providing Early Childhood Care and Education to Children in Immigrant FamiliesInvertir en un Futuro Brillante para Todos los Niños de Colorado: La Importancia de Brindar Atención y Educación a la Primera Infancia a los Niños de Familias Inmigrantes
Existen amplias brechas en el bienestar de los niños de Colorado en familias inmigrantes y sus homólogos en familias nacidas en EE. UU., De acuerdo con Invertir en un Futuro Brillante para Todos los Niños de Colorado: La Importancia de Brindar Atención y Educación a la Primera Infancia a los Niños de Familias Inmigrantes, publicado el 15 de diciembre de 2011. Sin embargo, esas brechas podrían reducirse ampliando el acceso a programas de primera infancia culturalmente competentes de alta calidad, asegurando que todos los niños de Colorado obtengan el mejor comienzo posible en la vida.
Mientras que la gran mayoría de los niños en familias inmigrantes en Colorado (87 por ciento) nacieron en los EE. UU. Y por lo tanto tienen derecho a todos los derechos que acompañan a la ciudadanía estadounidense, los datos muestran que a menudo les va mucho peor que a los niños de familias nacidas en EE. UU. El informe no analiza el estado de ciudadanía del 13 por ciento de los niños de familias inmigrantes que no nacieron en los EE. UU.
Entre los hallazgos del informe:
- Los niños de familias inmigrantes en Colorado tienen casi el doble de probabilidades de vivir en la pobreza que los niños de familias nacidas en EE. UU. (27 por ciento contra 15 por ciento). Más de la mitad de todos los niños de Colorado en familias inmigrantes viven en hogares de bajos ingresos, en comparación con alrededor de un tercio de los niños en familias nacidas en EE. UU.
- Los niños de Colorado en familias inmigrantes son más propensos que los niños en familias nacidas en los EE. UU. A vivir en hogares con dos padres (79 por ciento versus 70 por ciento).
- Los niños en familias inmigrantes son menos propensos a inscribirse en programas de aprendizaje temprano que los niños en familias nacidas en los Estados Unidos a los 3 y 4 años de edad.
- La brecha de Colorado en el dominio de lectura de 4º grado entre los estudiantes que aprenden inglés y aquellos que dominan el inglés fue la segunda más grande en el país en 2011.
El informe identifica estrategias comprobadas para mejorar el bienestar de los niños de Colorado en familias inmigrantes, como expandir el acceso a educación y cuidado de la primera infancia culturalmente competente de alta calidad, e incluyó estrategias que requerirían inversiones financieras mínimas para implementar. Específicamente, el informe recomienda fortalecer el intercambio de información entre organizaciones que prestan servicios a inmigrantes y proveedores de educación temprana, reclutar representantes de comunidades inmigrantes para prestar servicios en Consejos de la Primera Infancia y brindar oportunidades de desarrollo profesional para capacitar a proveedores de educación temprana en el trabajo con estudiantes que hablan inglés Aprendices
El informe también analizó los cambios demográficos de Colorado. Según el informe, los niños de familias inmigrantes, definidos como niños nacidos en el extranjero o, en la mayoría de los casos, nacidos en los EE. UU. Con al menos un padre nacido en el extranjero, representan el segmento de mayor crecimiento de la población infantil en los Estados Unidos. Estados. En 2009, más de una quinta parte de los 1.2 millones de niños de Colorado vivían en familias inmigrantes, comparado con uno de cada cuatro en los Estados Unidos. El crecimiento en la cantidad de niños en familias inmigrantes es una parte de un cambio demográfico más amplio en Colorado y EE. UU. De acuerdo con las proyecciones de población de la Oficina de Demografía del Estado, los niños de color constituirán la mayoría de la población infantil de Colorado en 2021.
Invertir en un Futuro Brillante para Todos los Niños de Colorado: La Importancia de Brindar Atención y Educación a la Primera Infancia a los Niños de Familias InmigrantesStart with the Facts: Strengthening Denver Public Schools’ Education Pipeline
Across all grade levels and subject areas, Denver Public Schools’ (DPS) students are making steady gains in academic achievement, but student outcomes remain below state averages for each grade and subject area, according to Start with the Facts: Strengthening Denver Public Schools’ Education Pipeline, released today by A+ Denver, the Colorado Children’s Campaign, and Metro Organizations for People (MOP). The report looks at key transition points for DPS students from 2005 to 2011 in order to assess outcomes and trends in academic achievement and growth as students move from preschool through K–12 and into college. In addition, the report identifies potential barriers to student success and recommends strategies for improvement.
Among the primary findings:
- Enrollment in DPS schools has increased. But, compared to other large school districts in the state, DPS has the highest number of students choosing to enroll elsewhere.
- Data indicate that gaps in school readiness between lower-income children and higher-income children participating in the Denver Preschool Program are minimized by the end of the preschool year.
- Between 2005 and 2011, DPS 4th graders overall made progress in each subject area. But, higher-income DPS students improved faster than their lower-income peers, widening the achievement gap.
- Among DPS students, 8th graders made the greatest overall improvement in the percentage scoring proficient or advanced between 2005 and 2011. Both higher- and lower-income DPS students improved faster than students statewide in all subjects.
- Since 2005, the percentage of DPS 10th graders scoring proficient or advanced has increased in all subjects for both higher- and lower-income students, outpacing gains in state averages. But proficiency levels drop across all subjects between middle and high school for both higher- and lower-income students.
- DPS on-time graduation rates have increased slightly, from 46.4 percent in 2009 to 51.8 percent in 2010, while annual high school dropout rates have decreased substantially from 11.1 percent in 2006 to 6.4 percent in 2010.
- ACT composite scores have improved from 15.4 in 2005 to 17.6 in 2011, outpacing growth at the state level. And, the number and percentage of DPS students going to college have improved. But the number and percentage requiring remediation in college have also increased.
The report provides several recommendations aimed at helping policymakers, education advocates, educators, parents, and students better understand the progress of DPS students. For example, the report suggests tracking the performance of all students in the Denver Preschool Program using a common statewide tool like the Results Matter program, giving equal weight to student achievement scores and student growth scores when reporting on student performance, and including information on each DPS high schools’ on-time graduation, college enrollment, and remediation rates on their school websites and providing parents with that information.
Start with the Facts Strengthening Denver Public Schools Education PipelineHealthy Moms, Healthy Kids: A Series on Maternal and Child Health in Colorado
The overall health and well-being of a child is substantially impacted by the health of the child’s mother. Healthy Moms, Healthy Kids: A Series on Maternal and Child Health in Colorado provides research analysis in the areas of domestic violence, maternal depression, healthy pregnancies, family structure and unintended teen pregnancy, social determinants of health, and nutrition.
In addition to providing the best available and most recent data on issues related to maternal and child health, each brief also includes a section on best practices, highlighting examples of programs and strategies proven to combat negative health outcomes.
Healthy Moms, Healthy Kids: A Series on Maternal and Child Health in Colorado
2011 Legislative Priorities
With families across Colorado continuing to struggle with the lasting impacts of the Great Recession and the state facing record revenue shortfalls, the 2011 session will no doubt be a challenging one. In preparation for the 2011 legislative session we've identified a number of legislative priorities.
2011 Legislative Priorities
2010 Legislative Impacts
In 2010, the Colorado Children's Campaign worked successfully with state policymakers and our partners to protect funding for the programs and services most critical to Colorado's children. We also helped pass several pieces of legislation to ensure those programs and services are as efficient and effective as possible, providing the highest quality services to Colorado’s kids.
2010 Legislative Impacts
Colorado Children's Budget 2010
As Colorado families and children continue to suffer through the recession and policymakers and child advocates struggle to determine where to invest increasingly limited funds in order to best serve them, the Colorado Children’s Campaign believes that non-partisan data and analysis of the state budget’s impact on Colorado kids is critical. The Colorado Children’s Budget 2010 aims to provide just that. Intended to be a resource guide to policymakers and advocates alike, the Children’s Budget provides high-level trend data to show where state dollars are being spent to benefit children. It attempts to simplify often complicated budget information and, while it does include some analysis of the raw budget data in order to provide clarity, it is not intended to advocate for or against budget and policy decisions, past or future.
For those of us who are not economists, the data in this report might appear overwhelming. Here are a few of the highlights:
- Colorado’s investment in children’s programs since 2000 has been minimal to moderate. In real dollar terms, the purchasing power of money invested in children’s programs and services has declined steadily since 2000.
- While programs and services for children are intended to work in concert, they tend to have very different federal, state and local rules, regulations and obligations, often making it difficult to align programs and services and maximize the benefits for kids.
- Most appropriations for children’s services are allocated to counties and local entities through the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) with counties maintaining program oversight responsibilities. CDHS is the only state department in which total investments grew only minimally since 2000.
- Overall, whether or not a program experienced growth hinged on one of three factors: (1) state constitutional protections; (2) dedicated cash fund revenue; or (3) ability to leverage substantial federal funding in lieu of or in addition to block grants, making it critically important for policymakers and child advocates to consider Colorado’s constitutional constraints on the state budget, as well as dedicated state funding sources and federal funding for programs and services, when evaluating fiscal policies that impact children.
Answering the Call: A Report on Colorado’s High School Dropouts and Best Practices for Improving Educational Outcomes
Answering the Call: A Report on Colorado’s High School Dropouts and Best Practices for Improving Educational Outcomes highlights the scope of the dropout problem in the Colorado and reports on recent policies showing encouraging results.
The report notes that Colorado has the fourth highest dropout rate in the nation among high school students. Nearly 15,000 Colorado students dropped out of school in 2008-09 and much of the dropout problem is concentrated in certain schools across the state – referred to by some as “dropout factories” – which graduate less than 60 percent of their students. While the dropout problem persists in Colorado, the data shows we are making progress in reducing the number of dropouts thanks to policies and practices embraced in the last three years. Many districts are benefiting from the state’s 2009 Dropout Prevention and Student Re-Engagement law, which supports improvements in priority school districts through research-based early warning indicators and other best practices. Looking ahead, the report notes that more work is needed and makes recommendations for both state and local level policies to address the dropout crisis in Colorado.
Answering the Call: A Report on Colorado’s High School Dropouts and Best Practices for Improving Educational OutcomesSchool Wellness in Colorado: Findings from a Survey of Large School Districts
In September 2010, the Children’s Campaign conducted a survey of the nutrition, physical activity and Physical Education (P.E.) policies of 23 of Colorado’s largest school districts representing about 79 percent of all Colorado students in public schools. The report, School Wellness in Colorado: Findings from a Survey of Large School Districts, found that only four of these districts require that all school snacks for all students meet nutritional standards; only four of the 23 districts require P.E. for elementary and middle school students; and just one of the surveyed districts requires a specific number of physical activity minutes for students. The report also compares Colorado statewide policies to other states, noting that Colorado is just one of two states that does not require P.E. courses.
School Wellness in Colorado: Findings from a Survey of Large School Districts