The Colorado Department of Human Services, Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) was recently awarded an additional $1 million grant from the federal government to further develop programs to educate youth and young adults about responsible parenting and the impacts of income changes over a lifetime.
The money from this grant will be used to develop 11 programs that educate parents and young adults about the financial, legal and emotional responsibilities of parenthood. Young adults will be recruited regionally to assist with the production of marketing materials, short videos and webcasts, and spreading the message through social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat.
“Successful youth development doesn’t happen passively and we are excited to bring these education opportunities to our youth,” said Larry Desbien, director of DCSS. “We’re combining child support expertise with youth expertise to lead our future generations into successful pursuits of their life goals.”
$10.9 million was awarded to eight different child support agencies across the country by the Office of Child Support Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. All grantees will participate in the Charting a Course for Responsible Parenting and Economic Mobility Demonstration over a three-year period.
“This grant award is a true representation of the whole family or two-gen programming,” said Chelsey Hall, 2Gen Manager. “The two-gen approach 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. Through this grant, working with youth and young adults on what healthy relationships and responsible parenting looks like will have a powerful multiplier effect for generations to come.”
DCSS will continue to collaborate with youth job development programs, foster care transition services, juvenile justice agencies, teen pregnancy prevention programs, community colleges and public schools to integrate child support and responsible parenting education into a wide range of youth-centered systems. The grant is for three years, and these programs are estimated to be complete by the end of the grant period.
The Colorado Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) works with parents and caretakers to make sure all Colorado kids get the financial support they need to thrive. More information can be found here.