The Hippie Buckaroos – August 11, 2012
Aug 14th
Local Boulder act The Hippie Buckaroos performed an extended set of country and bluegrass tunes at a local Lafayette coffee joint. An afternoon rainshower and double rainbow kicked off the evening and The Hippie Buckaroos provided a relaxed atmosphere to sip coffee and just be. I didn’t expect to catch this show, but I’m glad I was there to see them.
“Two thumbs up, would listen again.” -Very Important Music Critic
Find more news and videos from the Hippie Buckaroos Here
New CU students to get help moving in
Aug 14th
move in Aug. 21 and Aug. 23
Volunteers from a variety of campus groups will be available to help new students move their belongings into residence halls at the University of Colorado Boulder Aug. 21 and Aug. 23 as New Student Move-In begins next week.
New students will move in Aug. 21 through Aug. 23 with the majority of freshmen moving in on Aug. 23, according to Kambiz Khalili, executive director for Housing and Dining Services.
The volunteer movers will be stationed near all campus residence halls to help students and their parents move belongings into the halls as quickly as possible.
Volunteers from the Residence Hall Association, returning residence hall students and students from several student groups will wear CU Welcoming Assembly 2012-13 T-shirts identifying them as move-in staff. Residence Life staff members will wear building-specific T-shirts with the residence life logo and a 2012 marking.
The volunteers will be available to assist new students primarily on specified New Student Move-In dates including Tuesday, Aug. 21, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Thursday, Aug. 23, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Other groups supporting volunteers at Move-In include Boulder Free Ride, Society of Woman Engineers, Mile 21-a cappella, Boulder Campus Ministry, G.O.R.D, Verve Hip Hop Team, Secular Students and Skeptics Society, Timmy Global Health, UMAS y MEChA, St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, Canterbury Colorado, Campus Fire Ministry, CU Panhellenic Council and Interfraternity Council.
Students who attended an orientation session in the summer will move in on Aug. 23. All new students are required to move in by 5 p.m. on Aug. 23 but returning students can move into residence hall rooms anytime from Aug. 23 through the weekend, said John Fox, associate director of Residence Life.
“We’re excited to welcome our new incoming students and to help them adjust to life as college students,” Fox said. “This is a significant moment in the lives of incoming students and their families and we strive to make this experience memorable and successful.”
Information tables with handouts for new students also will be set up in key locations. On both Tuesday and Thursday, information tents will be set up at Williams Village, the Kittredge complex and the Regent Administrative Center near Farrand Field.
Orientation and social activities for new residence hall students will be held the evenings of Aug. 21 and Aug. 22. On Aug. 23 all first-year residence hall students will be required to attend a hall meeting with other students from their floors to get acquainted and to learn about policies, services, the roommate agreement and other activities planned for the week. After the hall meeting, all first-year students will attend the Ice and Dice activity at the Student Recreation Center on campus.
For a complete schedule of CU-Boulder new student welcome activities visit http://www.colorado.edu/inthemix.
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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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