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Business Navigators

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Historically marginalized communities have suffered the most in terms of loss of employment and the number of small businesses able to continue operations.

 

This program focuses on outreach efforts to Denver’s hardest to reach communities with navigators who will provide one-on-one support for small businesses.

Colorado Center on Law and Policy has partnered with Denver Economic Development & Opportunity and many other local nonprofits to offer small businesses dependable support in navigating the many funding streams, programs, and services available to them in Denver.

Business Navigators – individuals from our partners’ organizations – will connect in-person with small business owners operating in the program’s priority neighborhoods to offer guidance in identifying and connecting appropriate resources available from the City and County of Denver and/or other institutions. 

The priority areas for this scope of work are NEST neighborhoods and their surrounding areas.

 

Athmar Park, Barnum, Barnum West, Clayton, College View, East Colfax, Elyria-Swansea, Globeville, Kennedy, Lincoln Park, Mar Lee, Montbello, Ruby Hill, Sun Valley, Valverde, Villa Park, Westwood, and Windsor.

Our History

Although Denver was growing rapidly prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this economic burst was not benefitting everyone. The historic inequities faced by Denver’s Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. BIPOC communities have suffered the most in terms of loss of employment and the number of small businesses open and operating in Denver. The program was funded with $1.2 million from Denver’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars. It targets outreach efforts to Denver’s hardest to reach communities with navigators who will deliver information, provide workshops and one-on-one programming and funding application assistance for small businesses. Business navigators will take a holistic look at the needs of these small businesses and will work to connect them to services available from the city and/or our navigators.

 

CCLP is the program administrator and leads the program in: 

  • Work with DEDO to identify and create system to provide business navigation & services 
  • Supporting and managing navigators to implement programs to meet goals and objectives. 
  • Disbursing funds to navigators to deliver objectives of program  
  • Assist in developing a navigation ecosystem in areas where this support does not currently exist. 
  • Report and abide by the guidelines and reporting requirements of ARPA. 
  • Provide local, state, and federal compliance and reporting technical assistance for awardees as required. 
  • Collaboration and communication with DEDO staff for methodology through a project working document. 
Skills2Compete
Skills2Compete Bill Signing
Skills2Compete

HEALTH:
HEALTH FIRST COLORADO (MEDICAID)

To maintain health and well-being, people of all ages need access to quality health care that improves outcomes and reduces costs for the community. Health First Colorado, the state's Medicaid program, is public health insurance for low-income Coloradans who qualify. The program is funded jointly by a federal-state partnership and is administered by the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing.

Benefits of the program include behavioral health, dental services, emergency care, family planning services, hospitalization, laboratory services, maternity care, newborn care, outpatient care, prescription drugs, preventive and wellness services, primary care and rehabilitative services.

In tandem with the Affordable Care Act, Colorado expanded Medicaid eligibility in 2013 - providing hundreds of thousands of adults with incomes less than 133% FPL with health insurance for the first time increasing the health and economic well-being of these Coloradans. Most of the money for newly eligible Medicaid clients has been covered by the federal government, which will gradually decrease its contribution to 90% by 2020.

Other populations eligible for Medicaid include children, who qualify with income up to 142% FPL, pregnant women with household income under 195% FPL, and adults with dependent children with household income under 68% FPL.

Some analyses indicate that Colorado's investment in Medicaid will pay off in the long run by reducing spending on programs for the uninsured.

FOOD SECURITY:
SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP)

Hunger, though often invisible, affects everyone. It impacts people's physical, mental and emotional health and can be a culprit of obesity, depression, acute and chronic illnesses and other preventable medical conditions. Hunger also hinders education and productivity, not only stunting a child's overall well-being and academic achievement, but consuming an adult's ability to be a focused, industrious member of society. Even those who have never worried about having enough food experience the ripple effects of hunger, which seeps into our communities and erodes our state's economy.

Community resources like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps, exist to ensure that families and individuals can purchase groceries, with the average benefit being about $1.40 per meal, per person.

Funding for SNAP comes from the USDA, but the administrative costs are split between local, state, and federal governments. Yet, the lack of investment in a strong, effective SNAP program impedes Colorado's progress in becoming the healthiest state in the nation and providing a better, brighter future for all. Indeed, Colorado ranks 44th in the nation for access to SNAP and lost out on more than $261 million in grocery sales due to a large access gap in SNAP enrollment.

See the Food Assistance (SNAP) Benefit Calculator to get an estimate of your eligibility for food benefits.

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

Every child deserves the nutritional resources needed to get a healthy start on life both inside and outside the mother's womb. In particular, good nutrition and health care is critical for establishing a strong foundation that could affect a child's future physical and mental health, academic achievement and economic productivity. Likewise, the inability to access good nutrition and health care endangers the very integrity of that foundation.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition information for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding postpartum women and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.

Research has shown that WIC has played an important role in improving birth outcomes and containing health care costs, resulting in longer pregnancies, fewer infant deaths, a greater likelihood of receiving prenatal care, improved infant-feeding practices, and immunization rates

Financial Security:
Colorado Works

In building a foundation for self-sufficiency, some Colorado families need some extra tools to ensure they can weather challenging financial circumstances and obtain basic resources to help them and their communities reach their potential.

Colorado Works is Colorado's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and provides public assistance to families in need. The Colorado Works program is designed to assist participants in becoming self-sufficient by strengthening the economic and social stability of families. The program provides monthly cash assistance and support services to eligible Colorado families.

The program is primarily funded by a federal block grant to the state. Counties also contribute about 20% of the cost.

EARLY LEARNING:
COLORADO CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (CCCAP)

Child care is a must for working families. Along with ensuring that parents can work or obtain job skills training to improve their families' economic security, studies show that quality child care improves children's academic performance, career development and health outcomes.

Yet despite these proven benefits, low-income families often struggle with the cost of child care. Colorado ranks among the top 10 most expensive states in the country for center-based child care. For families with an infant, full-time enrollment at a child care center cost an average of $15,140 a year-or about three-quarters of the total income of a family of three living at the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).

The Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) provides child care assistance to parents who are working, searching for employment or participating in training, and parents who are enrolled in the Colorado Works Program and need child care services to support their efforts toward self-sufficiency. Most of the money for CCCAP comes from the federal Child Care and Development Fund. Each county can set their own income eligibility limit as long as it is at or above 165% of the federal poverty level and does not exceed 85% of area median income.

Unfortunately, while the need is growing, only an estimated one-quarter of all eligible children in the state are served by CCCAP. Low reimbursement rates have also resulted in fewer providers willing to accept CCCAP subsidies.