Posts tagged support
Boulder County reintegrating administration of CCAP
Aug 9th
Co-locating Child Care Assistance Program with county’s other human services will boost efficiency, access
Boulder County, Colo. – As need continues to increase in the community for help with child care costs, Boulder County is moving to reintegrate administration of a key program that provides that assistance.
The Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) is a statewide resource for families who need help covering the costs of child care as they’re working, seeking a job, or pursuing an education.
In Boulder County, CCAP has been administered by a third-party private vendor, Aspen Family Services. County leaders recognized an opportunity for streamlining the CCAP enrollment process by integrating it with other self-sufficiency-supporting services that the county oversees.
“Child care assistance is an extremely important support for parents who are struggling to find and keep jobs,” said Christina Ostrom, Family and Resident Support Services Division Manager for the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services (BCDHHS). “We know that quality child care along with strong work supports, access to healthcare and food assistance, and stabilizing financial benefits is a combination that leads to self-sufficiency.”
Since 2008, BCDHHS has seen a 150 percent increase in need for Food Assistance (formerly known as “food stamps”), and a 63 percent increase in need for Medicaid services. During this time, the county has continued to work to more efficiently meet this increase in need and to ensure clients understand the full range of services available to them.
BCDHHS staff have access to state and county eligibility systems and databases, which means the transition of CCAP into the department will reduce wait times for clients after they submit applications for the program. County staff will also be able to quickly connect clients with other services they may need in addition to child care assistance.
“This is an exciting time for the county,” said Boulder County Commissioner Cindy Domenico. “We have an opportunity to bring vital services together to strengthen and widen our safety net, and this will help countless families get the comprehensive help they need now.”
CCAP covers much of the cost of child care for qualifying families through a network of providers across the county. In order to reach more families with this assistance, Boulder County recently returned eligibility guidelines for the program to 2009 levels to include families with incomes up to 225 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (for example, $3,474 gross monthly income for a family of three). A portion of the CCAP program in Boulder County, including this expansion, is funded by Ballot Initiative 1A, a temporary property tax increase passed by voters in 2010 to backfill human services budget cuts. In addition to expanding eligibility, this funding has allowed the county to further support quality child care options in the community.
Ongoing operating expenses for in-house CCAP administration will be cost neutral for the county. BCDHHS will reintegrate administration of CCAP in Boulder County during the first quarter of 2013. A series of meetings will be held in August to share information with county partners on the transition.
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100,000 Coloradans support an initiative to overturn Citizens United ruling
Aug 6th
Our elected officials are supposed to serve the voters, not the highest bidder. Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections, Super PACs and other independent groups have spent huge amounts, in some cases outspending individual campaigns by a ratio of 2-to-1. Citizens United-enabled outside group spending, much of it secret, is devoted overwhelmingly to negative attack ads. The funds come from a very small cluster of people; a recent report found that just 47 people, each giving at least $1 million to Super PACs, accounted for more than 57 percent of the money raised by Super PACs during this current election cycle.
Along with millions around the country, the people of Colorado are courageously reclaiming their elections and making sure that democracy is for people, not for corporations. State legislatures have called for an amendment in California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont, Rhode Island and Maryland; more than 280 communities across the country have done the same. Public Citizen is proud to continue partnering with groups like Common Cause and U.S. PIRG, as well as the people of Colorado, as they push forward toward restoring our democracy.
Tree removals in early July to impact traffic along the Boulder Creek Path and West Pearl Street
Jun 27th
There will be minor and temporary traffic impacts as the City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department’s Urban Forestry Section will have a contractor pruning and removing trees for safety reasons from Monday, July 2, through Tuesday, July 10 (dates are tentative, as work is weather dependent).
On Monday, July 2, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and Tuesday, July 3, between 8 a.m. and noon, a large cottonwood with advanced decay will be removed at 646 Pearl St.—the historic Arnett-Fullen house. The eastbound lane of Pearl Street will be closed in the 600 block and flaggers will be used to channel traffic into the westbound lane of Pearl Street on an alternating basis. The property owners are aware of, and in support of, the tree removal for safety reasons. There is a large beehive in the trunk, and as per normal operations, a beekeeper has been contracted to attempt to relocate the beehive during tree removal. A replacement tree has already been planted near this tree’s location.
Tree removals along the Boulder Creek Path include:
● Thursday, July 5, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.: Two large willow trees will be removed south of Boulder High School, 1604 Arapahoe Ave. One tree is mostly dead and the other tree fell over earlier this year.
● Friday, July 6, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.: One large cottonwood tree will be removed on the west side of 6th Street, south of the Boulder County Justice Center, 1777 6th St. The tree has advanced decay. A replacement tree will planted nearby in spring of 2013.
● Monday, July 9 between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Tuesday, July 10, between 8 a.m. and noon: Two large willow trees will be removed west of Scott Carpenter Park, 1505 30th St. Both trees have advanced decay in their trunks.
There will be intermittent closures on the Boulder Creek Path, and flaggers will be used to direct bicycle and pedestrian traffic through work zones.
For more information, please contact the City of Boulder Park Operations and Urban Forestry: 303-441-4406.