Childcare Assistance

• The Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) provides child care assistance to families who are working, searching for employment, or are in training, and families who are enrolled in the Colorado Works program and need child care services to support their efforts toward self-sufficiency. CCCAP provides access to reduced-cost child care at licensed childcare facilities or qualified (unlicensed) providers. Apply Now.

Childcare & Homeschool Co-ops 

What is a Childcare or Homeschool Co-op? The most common of the childcare models, parent model cooperatives, comprises parents who have formed a cooperative to provide quality care for their children. Below are some examples of successful co-ops, alternative youth programs, and tips to start your co-op.

• Childcare Co-ops: An Overview of Resilience 
• Komae is a cooperative childcare app that provides parents with a flexible care management option. On Komae, parents swap ‘Komae Points’ with other families to manage and coordinate care for their children within a trusted network. I sit for you. You sit for me. 
• Forming a Community Babysitting Co-op: A community-babysitting cooperative is a grassroots arrangement in which families share childcare without any money changing hands. Instead, the care itself is the currency of exchange. For example, in many babysitting cooperatives, families earn points for providing care and spend points on care for their kids. Points are typically assigned to each half-hour or hour of care.
• Parent Preschool Cooperative International: PCPI represents more than 50,000 families and teachers, providing ongoing support to families, educators, and social agencies who recognize the value of parents as teachers of their children and the necessity of educating parents to meet the developmental needs of their children.
• Denver Cooperative Preschool envisions an active society where children and adults join in exploring life, the quest for understanding, and the journey to wisdom.
• Rice & Beans Childcare Co-op: An early childhood education cooperative of families of color in the Lower San Antonio neighborhood of Oakland, CA. Check out their page for great educational videos and resources for organizing childcare co-ops.
• The Radical Monarchs create opportunities for young girls of color to form fierce sisterhood, celebrate their identities, and contribute radically to their communities.

Energy Bill Assistance  

• Energy Outreach Colorado
• The Colorado Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP)  

Cash Assistance 

• Colorado Works: In Colorado, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is known as Colorado Works. It is a cash assistance program that helps eligible families with very low incomes become self-sufficient by encouraging job preparation, work, and family stabilization. Eligible applicants receive monthly cash assistance payments, help with emergency household expenses, and/or services such as counseling, training, and employment assistance. The Colorado Works Program operates in all 64 counties and is delivered locally through each county’s Department of Human or Social Services. 
• Adult Financial Programs: Colorado’s Adult Financial Programs include the Aid to the Needy Disabled-Colorado Supplement program, the Aid to the Needy Disabled-State Only program, the Burial Assistance Program, the Old Age Pension program, the Home Care Allowance program, and the Personal Needs Allowance program.

Assistance for People with Disabilities

• CCD Accessibility Center: Students with documented disabilities who need reasonable accommodations to access and participate in their courses should apply for services. Documented disabilities include physical health, mental health, learning, and/or temporary medical conditions.
• Disability Determination Services (DDS) is the state agency making disability decisions for Social Security. Social Security has two disability programs - Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Although there are some differences, the definition of medical disability is the same in both programs.