Pilot Program To Use $1 Million To Help Struggling Colorado Families
DENVER (CBS4) - Gov. John Hickenlooper and leaders of the Colorado Department of Human Services announced this week that the state has started a new program to help struggling families make ends meet.
The 2Gen Opportunity pilot program is aimed at helping children and their caregivers with a goal of giving the kids the best chance to succeed in school and the workplace later on.
"I think that it's a big step towards continuing the effort to make Colorado a leader in innovation and a leader where any parent from any background can have an amazing life and know that their children are going to get a fair chance at the American dream," Hickenlooper said on Thursday.
As many as 10 communities in the state will share $1 million to implement 2GO.
Additional Information
The 2Gen approach is described as follows: "(It) encourages CDHS programs to serve children and their caregivers together, to harness the family's full potential and to put the entire family on a path to permanent economic security. ... When programs and policies are designed with the whole family's educational and economic future in mind, and families are assisted to reach the social networks and resources they need to be successful in life, opportunity becomes a family tradition. Fragmented approaches to serving families that separately address the needs of children and their caregivers can leave either the child or the caregiver behind, reducing the likelihood of success for all members of the family. The 2Gen approach brings all family members along together, assesses all family members together and provides all family members with opportunities, together, to be successful."
