The West Steps

Latest Episodes:

Bilingual Child Care Licensing is About More Than a License May 08, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of The West Steps, we’re discussing efforts to improve language access and language justice in Colorado by making sure that critical resources and information are available in languages that are prevalent in our state. Earlier this year, Colorado’s legislature passed a bill to make sure that child care licensing resources in our state are available in Spanish as well as English.

Lauren Corboy, Senior Policy Analyst at the Colorado Children’s Campaign and Angelica Prisciliano, Director of Policy at the Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition join us to talk about why language access matters – in general and in early childhood. We also talk about how this year’s effort to make sure the Colorado Department of Early Childhood can provide bilingual licensing resources and support could have ripple effects that support families and kids across the state.

You can contact Lauren Corboy at laurenc@coloradokids.org and Angelica Prisciliano at angelica@coparentcoalition.org. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).

Resources:

2024 Policy Priorities: 2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)

The KidsFlash Blog: KidsFlash - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)

2023 KIDS COUNT REPORT: 2023 KIDS COUNT - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)

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What Colorado Can Do in 2024 to Improve Perinatal Health Apr 24, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of The West Steps, we’re discussing maternal health and maternal mortality in Colorado. Unfortunately, large regions of the state have been dubbed maternal care deserts because of their very limited access to perinatal health care. Pregnancy-associated deaths in our state are becoming more common. And many of these deaths are preventable.

But Colorado has taken steps to address this situation in recent years – and in the 2024 legislative session, there are new efforts to make our state a better place for people in the perinatal period and their families. Toni Sarge, Director of Child and Family Health at the Colorado Children’s Campaign; Heather Thompson, Deputy Director at Elephant Circle; and Lauren Smith, Black Civic Engagement and Policy Manager at Soul 2 Soul Sisters join us to talk about two significant bills that aim to improve maternal health and perinatal health care in a variety of ways, from expanding access to midwifery care to improving our understanding of discrimination in the perinatal period.

You can contact Toni Sarge at toni@coloradokids.org, Heather Thompson at heather@elephantcircle.org, and Lauren Smith at lauren@soul2soulsisters.org. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).

Resources:

2024 Policy Priorities [2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

The KidsFlash Blog [KidsFlash - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

2023 KIDS COUNT REPORT [2023 KIDS COUNT - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

Maternal Mortality in Colorado Report [FINAL 2023 MMPP Legislative Report.pdf - Google Drive]

Soul 2 Soul Sisters Homepage [Home • Soul 2 Soul Sisters]

Elephant Circle Homepage [Elephant Circle]

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Follow the Children's Campaign on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

What Does It Mean to Center Kids in Colorado’s School Funding Formula? Apr 10, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of The West Steps, we’re discussing Colorado’s school funding formula, which is used to allocate billions of dollars annually to educate kids across the state’s 178 school districts. For the first time in 30 years, the state legislature is seriously considering updating this formula. If they can pull it off, Colorado will have a more equitable, student-centered approach to funding its schools.

Madi Ashour, Director of Youth Success at the Colorado Children’s Campaign; Lorelei Jackson, Student Services Coordinator at Denver Language School; and Dan Snowberger, Superintendent of Elizabeth Schools join us to talk about how prioritizing funding based on student-centered factors like the number of students in a district who are living in poverty, learning English, or who have special needs could help make Colorado’s education system more equitable and effective.

You can contact Madi Ashour at madeleine@coloradokids.org, Lorelei Jackson at loreleimjackson@gmail.com, and Dan Snowberger at dsnowberger@esdk12.org. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).

Resources:

2024 Policy Priorities [2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

The KidsFlash Blog [KidsFlash - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

School finance task force background and report [School Finance Task Force | CDE (state.co.us)]

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Follow the Children's Campaign on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

How a Family Affordability Tax Credit Could Cut Child Poverty in Half Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of The West Steps, we’re discussing the Family Affordability Tax Credit (HB24-1311), a new proposal in the Colorado legislature that has the potential to reduce child poverty in Colorado by half.

Sarah Barnes, Senior Director of Policy at the Colorado Children’s Campaign and Reilly Pharo Carter, Director of Policy & Advocacy at Gary Community Ventures join us to talk about how this credit, which is projected to reach 45% of Colorado families, could make a particularly big difference for kids and families with fewer financial resources.

You can contact Srah Barnes at sarahb@coloradokids.org and Reilly Pharo Carter at rpcarter@garycommunity.org. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).

Resources:

2024 Policy Priorities [2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

The KidsFlash Blog [The KidsFlash Blog - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]
Family Affordability Tax Credit - Supporter Sign-On [Family Affordability Tax Credit - Supporter Sign-On (google.com)]

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Follow the Children's Campaign on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Kids Are Losing Health Coverage at an Alarming Rate Mar 13, 2024

Show notes

Since May 2023, more than 100,000 kids and nearly 550,000 Coloradans have lost Medicaid coverage. In this episode of The West Steps, we’re exploring why so many Coloradans are losing health coverage and why it matters.

Hunter Nelson, Senior Policy Analyst at the Colorado Children’s Campaign; Bethany Pray, Deputy Director at the Colorado Center on Law and Policy; and Shoshi Preuss, Policy Manager at Colorado Community Health Network join us to talk about how people who are still eligible for Medicaid are losing their coverage. They share ideas about how Colorado could improve its administrative systems – and discuss why having a Medicaid program that is functioning smoothly is important for all Coloradans.

You can contact Hunter Nelson at hunter@coloradokids.org, Bethany Pray at bpray@copolicy.org, and Shoshi Preuss at spreuss@cchn.org. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).

Resources:

2024 Policy Priorities: 2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)

The KidsFlash Blog: KidsFlash - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)

Hunter Nelson Op-ed in the Colorado Sun: Opinion: Colorado kids are losing health coverage at an alarming rate and we must do more to keep them insured - The Colorado Sun

2023 Audit of Colorado’s Medicaid correspondence: 2261p_medicaid_correspondence.pdf (colorado.gov)

CCLP’s complaint to the Office of Civil Rights: CCLP and NHeLP urge justice department to stop Colorado Medicaid cuts, citing disabilities act violations - CCLP (copolicy.org)

Georgetown Center for Children & Families Unwind: Unwinding Continuous Coverage – Center For Children and Families (georgetown.edu)

KFF’s Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker: Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker | KFF

HCPF’s Data Reporting: Continuous Coverage Unwind Data Reporting | Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing

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Follow the Children's Campaign on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Could a $1500 Tax Credit Make a Difference for the Caring Economy? Feb 28, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, we’re diving into an effort to create a State Income Tax Credit for Careworkers, which would credit $1,500 to child care workers and caregivers, direct care workers, home health aides, and other people who work in the caring economy.

Melissa Mares, Director of Early Childhood at the Colorado Children’s Campaign; Perrine Monnet, Policy Analyst at the Bell Policy Center; and Emily Sirota, Colorado State Representative join us to talk about how this tax credit would help people who are doing some of the most critical work in our society – often for very low pay.

You can contact Melissa Mares at melissa@coloradokids.org, Perrine Monnet at monnet@bellpolicy.org, and Emily Sirota at emily.sirota.house@coleg.gov. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).

Resources:

2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)

KidsFlash - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign

Growing Our Future Coalition - Colorado Children's Campaign

Caring Workforce Primer (bellpolicy.org)

bellpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/ReimbursementRates.pdf

State Income Tax Credit for Careworkers | Colorado General Assembly

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Follow the Children's Campaign on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Out-of-School Programs Are Facing a Funding Cliff: What Can Colorado Do? Feb 14, 2024

Show notes

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Colorado invested about $20 million relief dollars in out-of-school time programming, which supported 45 grantees and 60 programs across the state. But those dollars are running out, and many programs face uncertain futures. And even with this investment, the supply isn’t meeting the demand – by one estimate, nearly 400,000 Colorado kids are on a wait list for out-of-school time programming.

Kaycee Headrick, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs in Colorado, and Madi Ashour, Director of Youth Success at the Colorado Children’s Campaign, join us to talk about the importance of out-of-school time and how an investment from the state could make a difference for kids’ academics and well-being.

You can contact Madi Ashour at madeleine@coloradokids.org and Kaycee Headrick at kheadrick@bgca.org. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).

Resources:

2024 Policy Priorities [2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

The KidsFlash Blog [The KidsFlash Blog - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

Support the show

Follow the Children's Campaign on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Colorado Needs Better Data About Evictions Feb 02, 2024

Show notes

National research shows that families with children are more likely to experience an eviction – and that evictions can be extremely disruptive for kids’ education, health, and overall well-being. But data about what is happening across Colorado is inconsistent and hard to access. The Colorado Children’s Campaign and Enterprise Community Partners join us to talk about a new bill that would improve our state’s eviction data collection – an important step toward creating policies to prevent unnecessary evictions.

You can contact Sarah Barnes, Senior Director of Policy at the Colorado Children’s Campaign, at sarahb@coloradokids.org and Kinsey Hasstedt, Senior Program Director for State and Local Policy at Enterprise Community Partners, at khasstedt@enterprisecommunity.org to learn more about this bill. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).

Resources:

2024 Policy Priorities [2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

The KidsFlash Blog [The KidsFlash Blog - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

How Eviction Court Filing Data Can Advance a More Stable Housing Ecosystem for all Coloradans: A New Normal | Enterprise Community Partners
The Americans Most Threatened by Eviction: Young Children - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

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Follow the Children's Campaign on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

The Colorado Children's Campaign 2024 legislative preview: Part 2 Jan 24, 2024

Show notes

The second part of our legislative preview focuses on early childhood and child and family health. Melissa Mares, Director of Early Childhood, explains why preschool and infant and toddler care are so important to child development. Then, Toni Sarge, Director of Child and Family Health, talks about trends in health coverage and how supporting maternal care makes a big impact on kids.

You can contact Melissa at melissa@coloradokids.org and Toni at toni@coloradokids.org. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).

Resources:

2024 Policy Priorities [2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

The KidsFlash Blog [KidsFlash - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

2024 Legislative Preview: Part 1 [Buzzsprout]

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Follow the Children's Campaign on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

The Colorado Children's Campaign 2024 legislative preview: Part 1 Jan 17, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to The West Steps! We’re excited to return as your resource for all things kids and families during the 2024 Colorado legislative session.

In the inaugural episode of Season 6, Colorado Children’s Campaign policy directors discuss what they’re anticipating and prioritizing at the capitol this year.

Part 1 of our legislative preview features Sarah Barnes, Senior Director of Policy and Director of Family Economic Prosperity, with a brief overview of the economic challenges currently facing Colorado families and policy efforts that could help. Then, Madeleine Ashour, Director of Youth Success, tells us a little about her background with youth success and what's happening to support youth mental health and school funding.

You can contact Sarah at sarahb@coloradokids.org and Madi at madeleine@coloradokids.org. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and stay up to date on our work by following us on social media (@coloradokidsorg).

Resources: