Our KidsFlash blog helps child advocates and policymakers stay up to date on the latest child well-being news from the Colorado State Capitol and around the state. Find data and research on child health, early childhood education and development, K-12 education, and more. Track important legislation and policies affecting Colorado's kids. Get the inside scoop on the Children's Campaign's outreach efforts - including information on important fundraising and advocacy events, as well as efforts being undertaken by the It's About Kids and Circle of Friends networks. The KidsFlash blog is your connection to the resources and information your need to make a difference in the lives of Colorado's children.
The 2020 Census will help determine federal funding and political representation for Colorado communities for the next decade.
In 2018, 2.2 percent of Colorado youth dropped out of school, the lowest dropout rate the state has seen since 2010.
Even though the 2019 legislative session ended in early May, that doesn’t mean that the work stops at the State Capitol. Each year, the legislature approves a number of interim committees to look at specific issues over the summer and fall and make recommendations for legislation to be tackled in the next session.
During the 2019 legislative session, the legislature passed and Governor Polis signed HB19-1122 to strengthen Colorado’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC). Now, the Maternal Mortality Prevention Program at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is working diligently to implement the provisions of the bill, including formalizing the MMRC and developing a report on the causes of and recommendations to prevent maternal mortality in Colorado, which will be submitted to the legislature by July 1, 2020.
School safety continues to be a focus of the state legislature following several high-profile incidents of school violence in Colorado and across the country.
Join the Raise Colorado coalition for one of two discussions of Senate Bill 19-063 (SB 63) and its requirement that Colorado create an Infant and Family Child Care Action Plan. The meetings will include a presentation of the SB 63 process by Kristen Lang of the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) and a facilitated discussion of the barriers and solutions to Colorado’s infant and family child care shortage.
Every child who comes into the custody of our government should be guaranteed the protection and services necessary to ensure their safety, well-being, and development—and to mitigate the stress and trauma of being held in detention. A recent report from The Brookings Institution highlights the impacts of a number of unsanitary and unsafe conditions occurring in detention facilities at the U.S. border on the development of children.
In 2017, Colorado’s child abuse rate rose to 9.2 victims out of every 1,000 children, the highest child maltreatment rate since 2003.
