A few months ago, state legislators had a budget surplus and plans to improve public systems for children and families. Now they are faced with at least a $3 billion shortfall and the awful task of making deep cuts to critical services—and in a hurry. Riley Kitts joins us to preview the massive tasks legislators face in the next few weeks to build a new budget that starts July 1. Advocates need to speak up to ensure cuts are targeted and as equitable as possible—and that could be the foundation of massive and innovative renovation of the systems that ensure health, education, safety and family economic security. 

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The humans who pull all the data and research together each year for our KIDS COUNT in Colorado! data book join us this week to remind us how these numbers represent actual Coloradans and their experiences. Pre-pandemic data collected in the 2020 edition released this week are an important check-up on our public systems and the state of child well-being as Colorado leaders respond to this health crisis and build a recovery plan for the years ahead. This year’s edition also digs into the current state of preschool in Colorado and the opportunities ahead to ensure more kids have access.

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Katrina Little, a labor and delivery nurse and advocate for birthing mothers, joins our own Jacy Montoya Price and Samantha Espinoza to explore shifting rules in labor and delivery during the coronavirus pandemic. New guidelines restricting the number of birthing supporters, like partners and doulas, allowed in a room could impact some pregnant people differently depending on their race. Disproportionate access to health care and higher rates of chronic conditions are a few factors that drive people of color to have their own birthing support in the delivery room. As the pandemic continues, advocates worry that we will see more unnecessary birth complications, and even deaths.

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Food security was already elusive for many Colorado kids and families. Then as the COVID-19 pandemic washed over our communities those tenuous connections to food sources were suddenly and dramatically broken. In the past few weeks, advocates, providers and governments mobilized quickly to pass emergency waivers, reconfigure systems and reach out to the growing number of unemployed and hungry families. Stephanie Perez-Carrillo joins us this week to explore the need, the response and the opportunities to speak up and help our families.  

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Coloradans who fall ill during the early days of this pandemic are left in the dark without access to testing for COVID-19, including our own VP for Health Initiatives Erin Miller. As she tracked testing capacity and treatment for the disease caused by Coronavirus, her own family had to wonder about fevers, health, and quarantine without access to testing. The pandemic has illuminated the weaknesses in our health insurance and family economic security systems. Erin explains where we are at right now, and what we might expect in the days ahead as the health sector races to study and respond to the disease. 

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 Coloradans share their experiences during the first few weeks of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic—in their own voices. Legislators, child care providers, advocates, expecting parents and more sent us voice memos to share their thoughts, emotions and inspirations as we all struggle with a new normal that is uncertain and grounding at the same time.

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Invitations to complete the 2020 Census hit mailboxes at the same time the coronavirus was spreading across the nation. This crisis could significantly impact the counting of every Coloradan, and our state could be severely hurt by an undercount for years to come. Sarah Hughes joins us to share the good news that we can all complete our forms online from the safety of our social isolation. The Census Bureau has extended the timeline to complete it—we have until Aug. 14 now—but advocates can help now by making sure everyone knows that every baby, child and adult should be counted right now.  

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Child care and early childhood education systems are on the verge of collapsing in Colorado as families self-isolate and child care providers close. Alle providers run on tuition and attendance-based revenue from governments. With no payments and very thin margins, many providers report that they are in danger of closing permanently--at a time when essential workers like medical staff need them. Advocates and policymakers are working on emergency solutions to ensure essential personnel can sign up for child care and providers can offer space and workers to provide it. A website to make those connections, www.covidchildcarecolorado.com, was launched in just a few days.  

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Weaknesses in our public health system driven by chronic underfunding are being exposed as the coronavirus spreads in our communities. Glen Mayes, professor of health systems, management and policy at the Colorado School of Public Health, joins us to examine the shocks being sent through our communities during this outbreak, what we can do now to support Coloradans, and what needs to be done to support and rebuild these critical public health functions. Dr. Mays also helps us understand the virus, the response and where to go for reliable information (hint: your local public health agency).

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A survey of Colorado students, parents and school administrators found that kids don’t have enough time to eat their lunch during the school day. Being rushed to eat to get back to learning means children aren’t eating enough to sustain them through the day, food is wasted, kids eat to quickly and risk forming unhealthy habits, and more. As a simple human need—eating—can have complex impacts on learning, behavior and development. Researchers from the Colorado Children’s Campaign, in partnership with anti-hunger advocates around the state, offer potential solutions for policy makers in a new issue brief, “Time to Eat: An Emerging Consideration for School Lunch Delivery and the Nutrition of Colorado’s Students.” Read the brief here. 

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