Colorado Center on Law and Policy presents Communities Against Poverty event featuring the Champions of Economic Justice & Equity Awards

Communities Against Poverty 2021

About the event

On October 28, 2021, join Colorado Center on Law and Policy for our signature annual fall event, Communities Against Poverty. This year’s celebration of the anti-poverty movement in Colorado will feature a Keynote speech by famed author, scholar and activist Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, as well as the award ceremony for the 2021 Champion of Economic Justice & Equity Awards, given out annually to the stand-out community organizers, partner organizations, legislators and individuals who made a difference in the lives of Coloradans over the past year.

Due to the pandemic, this event will once again be conducted virtually over Zoom.

Premier Presenting Sponsors

The Center for African American Health logo
Colorado Access logo

Donald W. and Lynn K. Burnes

Founders of the Burnes Institute for Poverty Research at Colorado Center on Law and Policy

Double Presenting Sponsor

CCH: Colorado Coalition for the Homeless logo

Presenting Sponsors

9to5 Colorado logo
Aloha Foundation logo
Connect for Health Colorado logo

Tiffani Lennon

Executive Director,
Colorado Center on Law and Policy

Supporting Sponsors

Colorado Children's Campaign logo
CWEE: Center for Work Education & Employment logo
Lass Cooper Ramp LLC logo
Interfaith Alliance of Colorado logo

Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

About the Keynote Speaker

Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, historian, activist, writer, and 2021 MacArthur Fellow, writes and speaks on Black politics, social movements, and racial inequality in the United States.

​She is author Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership, published in 2019 by University of North Carolina Press. Race for Profit was a semi-finalist for the 2019 National Book Award and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History in 2020.

Dr. Taylor was named a 2021 MacArthur Fellow, with the MacArthur Foundation award committee citing her “powerful critiques of the political and economic forces underlying racial inequality” in their granting of this honor.

“Taylor helps us understand why racial inequality in the United States is so devastatingly intractable while offering new visions of justice and democracy with the power to improve people’s lives.” — MacArthur Foundation

In 2016, she was named one of the Hundred Most Influential African Americans in the United States by The Root. In 2018 Essence Magazine named her among the Top 100 “Change Makers” in the county. She has been appointed as a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians by the Organization of American Historians.

Taylor is a contributing writer at The New Yorker. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles TimesBoston ReviewParis ReviewGuardianThe NationJacobin, and Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society, among others. She is a former Contributing Opinion Writer for The New York Times. She is Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University.

Champions of Economic Justice and Equality Award Recipients

Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis

Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis

2021 Legislator of the Year

Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis is this year’s Legislator of the Year. Serving as the Colorado State Senator for Senate District 17, eastern Boulder County, Sonya is a Pharmacist and Social Justice Advocate. Senator Jaquez Lewis previously served as the first Pharmacy Director and first Latina Health Administrator with Colorado Medicaid, Colorado Access.

While at Colorado Access, Sonya established the first drug access program for thousands of children and families in Community Health Centers across Colorado. Those services are now the safety net program for so many communities of color and undocumented folk in our state. Sonya worked to initiate the first behavioral health network for Colorado Access offering mental health services to Medicaid families.

From an early age, Senator Jaquez Lewis learned to how important it is to give back. Her mother, Georgia Jaquez worked side by side with renowned civil rights leader Dolores Huerta. Sonya helped lead some of the first LGBTQ marches in the South, in North Carolina and South Carolina–where there were more protestors than marchers. She is a past Board Director of the Boulder County Board of Health and past President of Out Boulder, the LGBTQ community center.

Sonya has sponsored and passed many important laws in health care, gun violence prevention, environmental protections, animal protections, and COVID relief, but is humbled and thankful for the community’s support on SB21-199, Removing Barriers to Undocumented residents in Colorado.

Named a 2019 National Henry Toll Fellow and Top New Legislator, Sonya is small business owner and nationally published author. As Boulder County’s first Latina and first LGBTQ elected to the General Assembly, she continues to work to address the social and health disparities in communities of color and marginalized groups.

Ki`i Powell

Dr. Ki`i Powell

2021 Governmental Partner of the Year

Dr. Ki`i Powell is this year’s Governmental Partner of the Year. Since 2017, Dr. Powell has served as the Office of Economic Security Director at the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). Powell oversees the State’s anti-poverty programs in child support services, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), food commodities programs, the Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), State-funded cash assistance programs, several employment programs, the Colorado Refugee Services Program (CRSP), and the training supports for eligibility technicians across the State.

Powell joined CDHS in 2010 as the research and evaluation manager in the Division of Child Welfare and served as the Department’s first Performance Management Director beginning in 2011. In that role, she built and managed C-Stat, a performance management approach for CDHS to better focus on and improve performance outcomes by reviewing over 100 measures each month. Prior to joining CDHS in 2010, she held research and evaluation roles with the Colorado Division of Mental Health and the Hawaii Department of Health’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division.

Powell earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Hawai`i at Manoa and her bachelor’s in psychology from Hawai`i Pacific University.  She is the mom of three kind and imaginative little boys and has a feisty, yet loving cat named Alvin.

Mathew Mengesha

Mathew Mengesha

2021 Community Advocate of the Year

Mathew Mengesha is this year’s Community Advocate of the Year, in honor of his incredible, committed and tireless efforts to advocate on behalf of low-income and marginalized people.

Mathew joined Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning in August of 2019 as a Policy Advocate. In his role, Mathew contributes to Spring Institute’s policy goals of increasing access to and funding for adult education in the state of Colorado, restoring U.S. leadership in resettling refugees, creating career pathways for internationally-trained medical graduates (IMGs), and supporting greater health access and equity among all Coloradans.

He has worked in immigrant and refugee communities for over 10 years and is a member of the Denver Immigrant and Refugee Commission. He also has a rich background of working as a community organizer in education and politics, including work for RISE Colorado and the Denver office of Congresswoman Diana DeGette. Mathew’s passion for connecting voices from marginalized communities to policy and politicians has increased representation of diverse views in decision-making processes.

Clayton Early Learning logo

Clayton Community Ambassador Program

2021 Community Partner Organization of the Year

The Clayton Community Ambassador Program is this year’s Community Partner Organization of the Year. This program partners with interested parents, educators, staff, and members of our community to build the confidence and skills to become successful child and family advocates. Participants in this program develop knowledge around policy and advocacy, work to inform the policy process, and engage in direct advocacy opportunities. Clayton Program staff – including team members from the Education Services and Policy and Advocacy Departments – learn and grow alongside Community Ambassadors, support leadership development, and provide advocacy opportunities across local, state, and federal policy.

Going beyond the traditional community engagement models, the Clayton Community Ambassador Program creates a ladder-to-leadership model in which community members excel in leadership skills they identify, network with local organizations, and promote leadership development, while dignifying the policy process.

This award is accepted on behalf of the Clayton Community Ambassador Program by:

  • Kayla Frawley, Policy and Advocacy Manager at Clayton Early Learning Center
  • Ealasha Vaughner, Program Coordinator.

Kayla Frawley

Ealasha Vaughner

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HEALTH:
HEALTH FIRST COLORADO (MEDICAID)

Health First Colorado is the name given to Colorado’s Medicaid program. Medicaid provides public, low-cost health insurance to qualifying adults and children. It is an entitlement program funded by the federal, state, and county governments and is administered by counties in Colorado. Those who are required to pay must pay a small co-pay when receiving certain health care services.

State Department: Department of Health Care Policy and Financing

Eligibility: Most adults 18 to 64 are eligible for Medicaid in Colorado if their household income is at or below 133% of the federal poverty limit (FPL). Pregnant women are eligible with incomes of up to 195% FPL, while children under 18 may be eligible if the live in a household with income at or below 142% FPL. Some adults over 65 may also be eligible for Medicaid.

Program Benefits: Through Medicaid, low-income Coloradans are eligible for a range of health care services at little to not cost. Services provided include doctors visits, prescription drugs, mental health services, and dental care. Co-pays for certain individuals may be needed for certain services.

Program Funding and Access: Colorado funds our Medicaid program through state and federal dollars. Medicaid is an entitlement program, which means that all who are eligible for Medicaid can access the program, regardless of the funding level in a given year. This does not mean that it is always easy to access Medicaid, even when eligible. And since the program is administered by counties, funding levels for county staff and other administrative roles can make it easier or harder for Coloradans to access the program. On top of this, not all medical providers accept Medicaid which limits the ability of Coloradans to seek health services even if enrolled, such as if the nearest provider is a 2+ hour drive away.

Note: This data is from before the pandemic and does not reflect changes in enrollment rules during the COVID-19 pandemic and public health emergency.

Statewide Program Access 2015-19: Over the study period of this report, an average of 89.0% of the population at or below 133% of FPL (i.e., the population who is likely to be eligible for Medicaid) were enrolled in Medicaid in Colorado.

FOOD SECURITY:
SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP)

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP helps low-income Coloradans purchase food by providing individuals and families with a monthly cash benefit that can be used to buy certain foods. SNAP is an entitlement program that is funded by the federal and state governments and administered by counties in Colorado.

State Department: Department of Human Services

Eligibility: Currently, Coloradans qualify for SNAP if they have incomes below 200% FPL, are unemployed or work part-time or receive other forms of assistance such as TANF, among other eligibility criteria. Income eligibility for SNAP was different during the study period of this report than today—it was 130% FPL back in 2019 for example. The US Department of Agriculture uses the population at or below 125% FPL when calculating the Program Access Index (or PAI) for SNAP. We follow this practice in our analysis despite Colorado currently having a higher income eligibility threshold.

Program Benefits: SNAP participants receive a monthly SNAP benefit that is determined by the number of people in their household and their income. Benefit amounts decrease as income increases, helping households avoid a sudden loss of SNAP when their incomes increase, even by a minor amount. Benefits are provided to an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card that can be used to purchase eligible food items, such as fruits and vegetables; meat, poultry, and fish; dairy products; and breads and cereals. Other items, such as foods that are hot at their point of sale, are not allowable purchases under current SNAP rules.

Program Funding and Access: SNAP, like Medicaid, is a federal entitlement program. This means that Colorado must serve any Coloradan who is eligible for the program. As such, funding should not be a limit to how many Coloradans can be served by the program. However, funding for administration of SNAP at the state and county level can limit the ability of county human service departments to enroll those who are eligible. Other program rules and administrative barriers can make it difficult for Coloradans to receive the benefits they are legally entitled to receive.

Statewide Program Access 2015-19: Over the study period of this report, an average of 61.1% of the population at or below 125% of FPL (i.e., the population who is likely to be eligible for SNAP) were enrolled.

FOOD SECURITY:
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS AND CHILDREN (WIC)

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also know as WIC, provides healthcare and nutritional support to low-income Coloradans who are pregnant, recently pregnant, breastfeeding, and to children under 5 who are nutritionally at risk based on a nutrition assessment.

State Department: Department of Public Health and Environment

Eligibility: To participate in WIC you must be pregnant, pregnant in the last six months, breastfeeding a baby under 1 year of age, or a child under the age of 5. Coloradans do not need to be U.S. citizens to be eligible for WIC. In terms of income, households cannot have incomes that exceed 185% FPL. Families who are enrolled in SNAP, TANF, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), or Medicaid are automatically eligible for WIC. Regardless of gender, any parents, foster parents, or caregivers are able to apply for and use WIC services for eligible children.

Program Benefits: WIC provides a range of services to young children and their parents. These include funds to purchase healthy, fresh foods; breastfeeding support; personalized nutrition education and shopping tips; and referrals to health care and other services participants may be eligible for.

Program Funding and Access: WIC is funded by the US Department of Agriculture. The state uses these federal funds to contract with local providers, known as WIC Clinics. In most cases, these are county public health agencies, but that is not the case in all Colorado counties. Some WIC Clinics cover multiple counties, while others are served by multiple clinics. Private non-profit providers are also eligible to be selected as a WIC Clinic.

Statewide Program Access 2015-17: Between 2015 and 2017, an average of 52.2% of the population eligible for WIC were enrolled in the program in Colorado.

Financial Security:
Colorado Works

Colorado Works is the name given to Colorado’s program for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families or TANF. It is an employment program that supports families with dependent children on their path to self-sufficiency. Participants can receive cash assistance, schooling, workforce development and skills training depending on the services available in their county.

State Department: Department of Human Services

Eligibility: In general, Coloradans are eligible to enroll in TANF if they are a resident of Colorado, have one or more children under the age of 18 or pregnant, and have very low or no income. For example, to be eligible to receive a basic cash assistance grant through TANF, a single-parent of one child could not earn more than $331 per month, with some exclusions—and would only receive $440 per month (as of 2022). That said, there are other services provided by counties through TANF that those with incomes as high as $75,000 may be eligible for. In addition to these, participants in TANF are required to work or be pursuing an eligible “work activity” or work-related activity. Any eligible individual can only receive assistance if they have not previously been enrolled in TANF for a cumulative amount of time of more than 60 months—this is a lifetime limit that does not reset. Counties may have additional requirements and offer benefits that are not available in other counties in Colorado.

Program Benefits:  While the exact benefits that one is eligible for under TANF can vary, all qualified participants are eligible to receive a monthly cash payment, call basic cash assistance. Other than cash assistance, counties are have a lot of choice in how to use their TANF funding; generally a use of TANF funds is appropriate so long as it advances one or more of the four purposes of the program: (1) provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of their relatives; (2) end the dependence of needy families on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; (3) prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and (4) encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

It is important to note that those eligible for TANF are also eligible for many of the other programs we’ve included in this report, such as SNAP, Medicaid, and CCCAP.

Program Funding and Access: Colorado funds its TANF program through funds received from the federal government through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant. Most of the federal funds are allocated by the state to counties, which are required to provide a 20% match of state funding. Federal and state rules allow the state and counties to retain a portion of unspent funds in a TANF reserve.

Statewide Program Access 2015-19: Over the study period of this report, an average of 50.7% of the population at or below 100% of FPL (i.e., the population who is likely to be eligible for TANF) were enrolled in TANF in Colorado.

EARLY LEARNING:
COLORADO CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (CCCAP)

The Colorado Child Care Assistance Program provides child care assistance to low-income families and caregivers living in Colorado in the form of reduced payments for child care. It is a program funded by the federal, state, and county governments and is administered by counties in Colorado. The share owed by parents/caregivers is determined on a sliding scale based on the family’s income.

State Department: Department of Early Childhood Education

Eligibility: Counties set eligibility for families separately, but must serve families with incomes at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Limit. Families accepted to the program are no longer eligible once their income exceeds 85% of the state median income. Parents or caregivers must be employed, searching for work, or engaged in another approved activity to be eligible for CCCAP. Parents and caregivers enrolled in Colorado Works (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families or TANF) or in the child welfare system are also eligible to participate in CCCAP. Generally, CCCAP serves families with children under 13, although children as old as 19 may be eligible under certain circumstances.

Program Benefits: If a family is eligible for CCCAP and has income, they may likely have to pay a portion of their child’s or children’s child care costs each month. The amount that families owe is based on their gross income, number of household members, and the number of children in child care in the household. As such, households tend not to experience a benefit cliff with CCCAP when they see their incomes increase

Program Funding and Access: Colorado funds the CCCAP program using federal dollars it receives from the Child Care and Development Block Grant program. The state allocates federal and state funds to counties using a formula that takes into account factors like current caseloads and the number of eligible residents. Assistance is available until the county’s funds are spent, so the number of families that can be served is often a function of how much funding is available and the income and composition of the household that applies. It is not uncommon for counties to overspend or underspend their allocations of funds. The state reallocates unspent funds from counties who underspent to those who overspent. While underspending could indicate a problem with the way a county administers its CCCAP program, it could just as likely be a sign that there are few providers in the county who participate in CCCAP—or a lack of providers generally.

Statewide Program Access 2015-19: Over the study period of this report, an average of 10.8% of the population at or below 165% of FPL and younger than age 13 (i.e., the population who is likely to be eligible for CCCAP) were enrolled in CCCAP.

Housing:
HUD rental assistance programs

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has three housing assistance programs that we look at together: Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8), Project-based Section 8, and Public Housing. In Colorado, these programs provided assistance to over 90% of the households who received federal housing assistance from all HUD programs. Through federally funded, local or regional public housing agencies (PHAs) are the agencies that administer these programs, through not all are available in all counties. These are not the only programs available in Colorado that assist households afford the cost of housing, such as units funded through federal and state tax credit programs.

State Department: Department of Local Affairs

Eligibility: Generally, households with incomes under 50% of the area median income (AMI) of the county they live in are eligible for these rental assistance programs, although PHAs have discretion to select households with incomes at higher percentages of AMI. That said, HUD requires that 75% of new vouchers issued through the Housing Choice Voucher/Section 8 program in a given year are targeted to households with incomes at or below 30% of AMI. PHAs are also able to create criteria that give priority to certain types of households who are on waiting lists for these programs.

Program Benefits: These rental assistance programs help households afford the cost of housing by reducing their housing costs to around 30% of their household income. In the case of the Housing Choice Voucher program, the PHA pays the voucher holder’s landlord the remaining portion of the rent.

Program Funding and Access: Funding and access are both challenges for these rental assistance programs. In addition to limitations on the number of public housing units or housing vouchers a PHA can manage or issue, lack of funding compared to the need constrains the ability of PHAs to assist low-income households. In 2020, Coloradans were on waitlists for Housing Choice Vouchers for an average of 17 months. Waitlists also exist for the other rental assistance programs.

Statewide Program Access 2015-19: Over the study period of this report, an average of 21.1% of renter households with incomes at or below 50% AMI (i.e., the population who is likely to be eligible for HUD rental assistance programs) were living in subsidized housing.