Statement: Gov. Polis releases proposed budget, pandemic recovery must prioritize Colorado’s kids and families

Statement: Gov. Polis releases proposed budget, pandemic recovery must prioritize Colorado’s kids and families

DENVER—Today Governor Jared Polis released his proposed budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year to the Colorado General Assembly’s Joint Budget Committee (JBC). Building on the success of the 2021 Legislative Session, Gov. Polis has proposed a state budget with record investments in K-12 education and workforce alongside bolstered funding to early childhood, housing affordability and security, public safety, climate and a historic General Fund Reserve.  

The Children’s Campaign is pleased to see education, early childhood and child care, behavioral health, and housing security as priorities in the governor’s budget. Gov. Polis has proposed the highest level of K-12 public school funding in Colorado’s history with a $381 million increase, up $526 per pupil. The budget also includes $30 million to renovate state and higher education buildings to provide child care, and $21 million to help workers find good paying jobs. To support Colorado’s efforts to align early childhood programs under one unified, cabinet-level state agency, the governor’s budget includes an initial investment of $13 million. This request is a direct result of the HB 21-1304 Transition Working Group and Transition Advisory Group’s significant stakeholder work to set the Department of Early Childhood up for success.

The budget also includes investments in the Child Health Plan Plus, improving access to quality perinatal and primary health care, behavioral health services, and funds to help rural health care providers access critical data and technology to improve health care delivery to rural patients. The budget recognizes the increasing number of unhoused families in Colorado, and the added challenges brought on by the pandemic that continue to undercut cities’ efforts to solve housing insecurity. In the effort to help solve housing insecurity at the state level, Gov. Polis’s budget includes $200 million to reduce homelessness in our state through investments in community responsiveness and intervention strategies. 

The Colorado Children’s Campaign is encouraged by the governor’s budget proposal and its focus on prioritizing recovery for our children’s education and the well-being of our families. We continue to call on increased funding for affordable quality health insurance coverage for all Coloradans, evidence-based suicide prevention grant programs, additional funded support for our school health professionals, and larger investments to protect families from eviction. We urge the 2022 General Assembly and other elected officials to continue centering Colorado’s kids and families throughout the continuing pandemic and its recovery efforts.