The Colorado Lab recently convened policy decision-makers and influencers to co-develop strategies that Colorado can adopt to support evidence-based decision-making and drive equitable outcomes in perinatal health for all families. The convening was the culminating event on a project exploring how to improve the use of research evidence in perinatal policymaking. Investing in families in […]
Physical & Behavioral Health
New Project: Food Security and College Completion
More than one-third of college students report food insecurity, and evidence increasingly suggests this may be a barrier to degree and certificate completion. The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) offers a way to deliver nutritional assistance to students, yet fewer than half of eligible students participate. The Colorado Lab and LINC are supporting a nearly […]
Perinatal Substance Use and Improving Family Health
Update on the Colorado SB21-137 Data Linkage ProjectThe Colorado Lab is working with the Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention to better understand and address the growing issue of perinatal substance use. The vision for this project is to routinely track incident rates of perinatal substance use in Colorado and inform state investments, programs, and […]
Runaway Foster Youth: Child Protection Ombudsman Task Force
The Timothy Montoya Task Force to Prevent Children from Running Away from Out-of-Home Placement was established by House Bill 22-1375 for the purpose of analyzing the root causes of why children run away from out-of-home placement. The Colorado Lab conducted focus groups with children in out-of-home placement and young adults under 22 who aged out […]
Montrose County School District: Supporting Student Wellness and Engagement
Montrose County School District directed RISE funds toward strengthening their Student Wellness and Engagement (SWE) program, building a tiered system of support to ensure students have their social-emotional needs met. The RISE funding supported the district in its work to develop a referral process and support systems to increase access to mental health resources in […]
2021 Legislative Session: Building Evidence to Effectively Implement Policy Wins
SB21-194 – Maternal Health Provider A landmark bill that includes the requirement to assess use of research evidence in perinatal policymaking to reduce disparities in maternal care and reduce maternal mortality. The study seeks to understand what aids and what gets in the way of using research evidence in policy development and uptake related to […]
Relationship between SNAP and Medicaid Expenditures
A new study shows that medical costs decrease significantly when children in low-income families have improved access to food. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Participation and Health Care Cost & Utilization for Health First Colorado Members, was issued by the Eugene S. Farley, Jr. Health Policy Center at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, […]
School Counselor Corps Grant Program Evaluation
Nationally, COVID-19 has highlighted the instability of relying on a small number of school counselors to guide hundreds of students through changing academic hurdles, prepare them for an uncertain future, and triage increasing mental health challenges. Colorado has one of the lower students-per-counselor ratios nationally—with 295 students per counselor in the 2019-20 school year—in part […]
Establishing a Baseline: Substance Use and Infant and Maternal Mortality
Substance use during pregnancy impacts people of all races, incomes, education and employment levels, across geographic regions, with young women and those living in poverty most deeply impacted. In Colorado, the state health department reported a 98% increase in newborns exposed to opioids prenatally between 2012-2018, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration […]
2021 Legislative Review
Several significant bills passed this legislative session, strengthening opportunities to improve the lives of Colorado residents across the lifespan, from prenatal care to early childhood development to adult services. The Colorado Lab worked together with state and local government agencies, legislators, the Governor’s Office, research colleagues, and subject matter experts to inform this suite of […]