Posts tagged Human Services
Boulder County childcare for needy gets a boost
Dec 27th
Help with childcare available for qualified Boulder County families
Funds from Ballot Initiative 1A continue to boost childcare program and promote self-sufficiency
Boulder County, Colo. – Boulder County Families who need help with childcare and who meet eligibility requirements are once again being invited to sign up for childcare assistance. The Colorado Childcare Assistance Program (CCAP) waitlist is open for applications. CCAP is a program that supports individuals and families at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level, helping them access quality childcare so the parents or guardians can remain employed or in educational programs. For low-wage working parents and guardians, or parents enrolled in school or technical training, childcare can represent an extraordinary expense.
As economic conditions have worsened, the need for childcare assistance has increased dramatically in Boulder County. Not only are more families in need of this help, but also declining wages and job losses have made more families eligible for CCAP benefits. In 2010, the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services suspended enrollment for CCAP because need was outpacing resources for the program. Later that year, Boulder County voters approved Ballot Initiative 1A, which was designed to help backfill deficiencies in state funding for county human services programs. Among other things, money from 1A, also known as the Temporary Safety Net, has been used to reopen the CCAP waitlist and to expand the program itself. More than 40 percent of the $5.1 million raised by 1A in 2011 is being used to meet additional childcare needs in Boulder County.
In order to qualify for CCAP, parents or guardians must be Boulder County residents, and must have a job, be searching for a job, or be in school or seeking training. Income caps for qualification are based on family size. As examples, a family of three with a monthly gross income of less than $2,857 or a family of four with a monthly gross income of less than $3,346 could take part in CCAP. Families who qualify pay a portion of the childcare costs based on income. A full list of requirements and more information on CCAP is available on the Boulder County website or by calling community partner Aspen Family Services (which administers CCAP’s application process) at 303-604-1043, ext. 2828.
East Boulder Senior Center to be closed for annual maintenance
Aug 22nd
The West Boulder Senior Center located at 909 Arapahoe Ave. will be open. Meals on Wheels and lunches at Café Classico will not be affected.
City of Boulder Senior Services is a division of the Department of Housing and Human Services. For further information please call 303-441-3148 or 303-441-4150.
Boulder Mexican, African & Anglo Kids produce sobering video on achievement gap. Oooh.
Aug 19th
NEWS
Friday, Aug. 19, 2011
Contact:
Cindy Smith, Housing & Human Services, 303-441-4045
Sarah Huntley, Media Relations, 303-441-3155
www.bouldercolorado.gov
Friday, Aug. 19, 2011
Contact:
Cindy Smith, Housing & Human Services, 303-441-4045
Sarah Huntley, Media Relations, 303-441-3155
www.bouldercolorado.gov
Student video addresses achievement gap
Three high school student members of the City of Boulder’s Youth Opportunities Advisory Board (YOAB) have created a video addressing the achievement gap from a youth perspective. This 13-minute video includes interview footage with a number of local students and advice for teachers about how to help all students succeed.
The achievement gap refers to differences in educational success between defined demographic groups. The Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) has one of the largest achievement gaps in the state, and Colorado has one of the largest in the nation. Based on 2009 to 2010 BVSD data, while 85 percent of all students graduated from high school in four years, just 60 percent of economically disadvantaged students and 58 percent of Latino males graduated in four years.
YOAB member Peter Osnes said, “We created this video to try to raise awareness of methods to close the achievement gap. This was aimed primarily at teachers not because of any deficiency, but because they have the most power to make change. The BVSD has remarkable teachers and I believe they can cinch the gap more than any program or additional funding.”
Ellen Miller Brown, chief academic officer for the BVSD, agreed that the video will be useful to teachers.
“We showed this video to all of the principals and assistant principals in BVSD at the end of last school year, and everyone was very impressed with the YOAB students’ honesty and clarity about the ways that adults in schools can help every student be successful,” she said. “Knowing how teachers value student voices, they’ll surely find this video’s suggestions to be meaningful and worth considering.”
Although the video is focused toward teachers, the youth who produced it expect that principals, parents and students will also get something out of watching it.
YOAB member Nancy Contreras said, “Parents and students should see this video because it is important that parents know the high school graduation statistics. The video will also give them ideas about what may be best for their child and how to encourage them to succeed.”
To see the video, go to www.yoab.org.
YOAB is part of the Youth Opportunities Program in the Department of Housing and Human Services. The mission of the program is to strengthen the community though empowering youth, providing opportunities for youth, encouraging youth civic participation and volunteer work and advising city government. For more information contact Youth Opportunities Coordinator, Alice Swett, at 303-441-4349 or swetta@bouldercolorado.gov.
