SB 26-80

Senate Bill 26-80, also known as the Cradle to Career Grant Program Creation, aims to establish a grant program within the Colorado Department of Human Services. This program will provide grants to local governments, schools, nonprofits, and other eligible entities to support high-quality educational programs and essential health services for families in poverty. The goal is to improve outcomes from early childhood through workforce readiness by connecting children with resources that help them succeed academically and economically. The bill has been signed into law, meaning the program can now be implemented once it receives an initial $900,000 funding allocation. This money will come from sources other than the state's general fund, such as gifts or grants, ensuring that the program does not rely on taxpayer dollars for its operations in the first year.

Official Summary

The bill creates the cradle to career grant program (grant program) in the state department of human services (state department) to provide grants that promote coordinated community-based supports and services that open opportunities for economic mobility from poverty. The grant program must connect children and youth with high-quality educational and extracurricular programming and families with key health and social services in order to improve prenatal and early childhood outcomes, student achievement, and workforce readiness , and wealth-building opportunities . A local government, local education provider, state institution of higher education, Indian tribe or tribal organization, or community-based nonprofit or not-for-profit organization (eligible entity) is eligible for a grant award.     The bill creates an advisory board council to approve the state department's potential grant recipients and to collaborate with the state department to develop grant program guidelines and criteria for awarding grants.     To receive a grant, an eligible entity must submit an application that includes an economic mobility needs assessment and a comprehensive proposal to address the needs within its designated service area. The application must identify community partners as prospective subcontractors. A grant recipient must comply with various health and safety, financial responsibility, and anti-discrimination safeguards. Each grant recipient must annually report to the state department on a set of performance indicators assessing the economic mobility outcomes and impacts associated with the grant award. The state department must make a related report to the general assembly each year.     The state department may seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, and donations for grant-program-related purposes. The state department is not required to implement the grant program until sufficient money is available to adequately it receives $900,000 to fund grant program operations. The general assembly shall not appropriate general fund dollars for grant program operations. in its first year. General fund appropriations for grant program operations in subsequent years are limited to 50% of the gifts, grants, and donations that the program received in the prior calendar year.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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