Posts tagged youth
Boulder County to invest $1-million in community health
Sep 27th
Later this year, funding will include additional resources for emergency services as well as community-based transition age youth services, crisis housing services, parent education and life skills services, and job training and employment support.
Boulder County is investing in priority areas identified through a collaborative, community-wide process built on past strategic planning efforts that will support the community’s safety net by preventing greater dislocation and costlier services for community members.
Agencies receiving funding are: Mental Health Partners ($400,000 for mental health and substance abuse services), Sister Carmen Community Center ($200,000 for Community Resource Center Services), City of Boulder Family Resource Schools ($170,000 for Family Resource School Services), Clinica Family Health Services ($35,000 for dental health services), Dental Aid ($35,000 for dental health services), and the Early Childhood Council of Boulder County ($60,000 for quality child care).
This is the second round of funding provided by the Boulder County Temporary Safety Net tax initiative, or Ballot Initiative 1A, that was passed in last November’s election. The five-year property tax back fills deficiencies in state funding for county human services programs and supports contracts with nonprofit agencies maintaining a safety net for families and children in Boulder County.
“We are fortunate to have the support of the community to deal with the significant impacts of the economic downturn,” said Frank Alexander, Director of Boulder County’s Department of Housing and Human Services. “Only by funding critical services that have suffered serious cuts and simultaneously addressing these critical safety net gaps that prevent greater family crises can we deal with the increased need in community programs with very limited funding.”
Just as human services agencies throughout Boulder County are experiencing tremendous growth in caseloads and increased demand for services, state and federal funding sources have been declining significantly. The funding ensures these critical services continue and that community members are served.
The first round of funding – $503,000 deployed in February – has increased the availability of supported child care, provided support to local nonprofit organizations that provide family and individual crisis services, supported child welfare, child protection and early intervention practices, and has ensured timely access to food assistance, medical care, and essential benefits.
“As human service agencies throughout Boulder County have been stressed to meet the demands of our community during this economic downturn, the Temporary Human Services funds have been essential in our efforts to support families and prevent the need for costlier, future interventions,” County Commissioner Cindy Domenico said.
Funding requests sought for 2012 Community Events Fund
Aug 30th
The City of Boulder Human Relations Commission is now accepting funding requests for its 2012 Community Event Fund. This fund is a source of financial support for community-based events. Funding is limited specifically to public events that encourage education, youth involvement and respect and appreciation for communities in Boulder. Objectives of the fund are to enable members of Boulder’s diverse communities to celebrate events significant to them as well as to provide the general population with opportunities to participate in events organized by members of Boulder’s diverse range of cultures. All events supported by the fund must be free admission and open to the public.
Organizations are eligible for grants with a maximum amount of $1,500 for each event. An additional $100 is available for translation of promotional materials into Spanish.
Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m., Sept. 30, 2011. No late applications will be accepted.
Funding guidelines are available on the city’s web site:
or by calling Carmen Atilano, community relations and office of human rights manager, at 303-441-3141.
Boulder Mexican, African & Anglo Kids produce sobering video on achievement gap. Oooh.
Aug 19th
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.