REPORT: The 2008 Colorado Self-Sufficiency Standard - A Family Needs Budget
March 19, 2008
Do you know how much food prices in Colorado have increased in the last three years? What about health care costs? What's the highest everyday cost for an average family in Colorado—transportation? Health care? Child care? Housing?
Find out the answers to these questions and more from the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute\'s (COFPI)new report, The 2008 Colorado Self-Sufficiency Study: A Family Needs Budget.
|
|
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The 2008 Colorado Self-Sufficiency Standard - A Family Needs Budget
March 19, 2008
More and more families are finding that they are unable to stretch their wages to meet these rising costs for basic yet vital necessities. It begs the question, what is an adequate income? And how does that standard vary among different families and communities in Colorado? This report addresses this fundamental question. What does it take to make ends meet?
|
|
NEW REPORT: State of Working Colorado 2007
March 04, 2008
By 2006, Colorado had recovered the jobs lost during the 2001 recession and unemployment across the state was down. However, while Colorado median household income continued to hover above the national average, it has stagnated in recent years and has not recovered to its 2001 or pre-recession levels. Overall poverty rates have remained largely unchanged, but there has been a disturbing trend of increasing child poverty. Additionally, growing income inequality and soaring numbers of families without health insurance have offset positive developments in the recovery and indicate potential trouble ahead for the State of Working Colorado.
|
|
State of Working Colorado 2007: Executive Summary
March 03, 2008
Wages and family income are stagnate or declining. Poverty rates have not declined, child poverty has actually increased, and the number of uninsured continues to grow. Every day costs like housing, food, transportation, and child care also continue to increase sharply. And working families in Colorado find it more and more difficult to make ends meet.
|
|
FACT SHEET: HB 1173
February 06, 2008
|
|
FACT SHEET: CBMS Settlement
February 06, 2008
|
|
2008 Budget Primer
January 17, 2008
Wondering what really goes into the state budget? Curious about how the budge process works? Questions about where the state invests tax dollars? Then check out COFPI\'s 2008 Budget Primer.
|
|
EITC Support Cards
January 17, 2008
Show your support for restoring the state Earned Income Tax Credit!
|
|
REPORT: Looking Forward - Colorado\'s fiscal prospects after Referendum C
December 18, 2007
The Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, the Bell Policy Center, and the Colorado Children\'s Campaign released a new report today that looks ahead at Colorado\'s fiscal prospects after Referendum C. This collaborative project, headed up by eight researchers from these three nonprofits, forecasts a six-year budget window with the goal of providing Coloradoans with good information so they can make sound decisions about tax and fiscal policy.
|
|
2006 CCLP Annual Report
November 15, 2007
\"Our successes have created an organizational
momentum that we will continue to build
upon during the upcoming year. Likewise,
we will continue building strong partnerships
with an outstanding array of nonprofits,
advocacy groups, service providers, and
other organizations that are all pulling
in the same direction to make Colorado
a better place.\"
|
|
STATEMENT: President Bush\'s veto of SCHIP legislation
October 05, 2007
The latest U.S. Census data shows that the number of uninsured children in this country has increased by more than a million in the past two years. At 17 percent, Colorado has one of the highest rates of uninsured people in the country, and according to 2005 data, we have the seventh highest rate of uninsured kids. This veto discounts entirely the needs of our nation\'s children, despite all the evidence and facts about the impact of failing to support this legislation.
|
|
Congressional SCHIP Update
September 24, 2007
An updated look on what\'s new in Congress on SCHIP Reauthorization, and what it means for Colorado children.
|
|
Issue Brief: The Cost of Medicaid Citizen Documentation Requirements
September 24, 2007
An updated issue brief on the Medicaid Citizen Documention Requirements and the true cost in tax dollars.
|
|
RELEASE: New Census Data: Child Poverty Increases Sharply, Uninsured Rates Remain High in Colorado
August 28, 2007
The U.S. Census Bureau released new data today showing that nearly a half million Coloradans, or 10.6 percent, struggle with poverty and that the state\'s child poverty rate has increased to 15.3 percent. Statewide data also showed that median household income declined slightly from the previous year, and that 16.6 percent of Coloradans are uninsured, which is higher than the national rate.
|
|
Colorado Poverty and Income Statistics 2006
August 28, 2007
In its annual release of poverty and income statistics known as Poverty Day, the U.S. Census Bureau today released national and state by state data on overall, family, and child poverty, as well as median household income. Data comes from two survey instruments used by the Census, the Community Population Survey (CPS) and the American Community Survey (ACS). See the below tables for more detail, or go to www.census.gov for more information.
|
|
FACT SHEET: House Farm Bill Update
August 08, 2007
The Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute\'s analysis of the House Farm Bill.
|
|
FACT SHEET: House and Senate SCHIP Comparison
August 07, 2007
This is an updated comparison of the House and Senate SCHIP legislation.
|
|
Priorities for the State Children\'s Health Insurance Program
August 02, 2007
SCHIP reauthorization is an important opportunity to make needed progress toward ensuring all of America's children have health care coverage.
|
|
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 Fact Sheet
August 02, 2007
The DRA's rigid new documentation requirements have increased administrative and fiscal burdens to state Medicaid programs, and added significant barriers to the application and recertification process for U.S. citizens.
|
|
Food Stamp Reauthorization Priorities
August 02, 2007
Congress should continue its efforts to reduce unnecessary paperwork, streamline
eligibility rules where appropriate and invest in outreach and enrollment efforts for the Food Stamp Program. In Colorado, the Food Stamp application is 21 pages long.
|
|
Top Five Myths about SCHIP
August 02, 2007
THE WEEK\'S TOP FIVE MYTHS REGARDING CONGRESSIONAL EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN CHILDREN\'S HEALTH COVERAGE
|
|
SCHIP: Compare House and Senate Proposals
August 02, 2007
Compare both the House and Senator SCHIP proposals side by side.
|
|
FACT SHEET: New Rules on State IDs and Driver\'s License Applications
July 30, 2007
This is a summary fact sheet about new Department of Revenue rules regarding State IDs and Driver\'s License Applications, effective in Colorado on August 1, 2007.
|
|
New DMV Rules for Driver\'s License and ID Applications
July 30, 2007
These are the new DMV rules regarding State IDs and Driver\'s License Applications, effective in Colorado on August 1, 2007.
|
|
FACT SHEET: Lawful Presence Rule Summary
July 30, 2007
This is a fact sheet regarding the new rules for proving Lawful Presence in Colorado.
|
|
Aiming for the Middle - Executive Summary
June 20, 2007
In this report, Aiming for the Middle, we document how much Colorado is lagging behind most other states in funding public services and what it would cost just to get to the middle of states in essential measures such as public education, higher education, health care, and transportation.
|
|
Aiming for the Middle - Full Report
June 20, 2007
Colorado currently invests a relatively small amount in public structures that support our economy and our way of life. We have survived and thrived despite our neglect of our school, university, health care and transportation systems, but increasingly we are warned that if we are to maintain our quality of life, we must change our course. Our neighbors and competitors are making the investments today that will reap the benefits tomorrow. We are not.
|
|
What\'s Not In Your Wallet: The Colorado EITC (House Districts)
May 23, 2007
A breakdown of how much local communities lose out each year the state EITC is suspended. Breakdown by Colorado State House district.
|
|
What\'s Not in Your Wallet: The Colorado EITC By Senate District
May 23, 2007
A breakdown of how much each Colorado Senate district loses in economic activity each year the state EITC is suspended.
|
|
THE GREAT DRAIN GAME: The EITC, Refund Anticipation Loans and How Coloradans Get Hurt at Tax Time
May 23, 2007
For thousands of Coloradans tax time brings a much needed boost in the form of an Earned Income Tax Credit. However, because of refund anticipation loans (RALs)Colorado taxpayers and communities are losing millions of dollars every year in EITC benefits.
|
|
The Earned Income Tax Credit: Helping Striving Families Become Thriving Families
May 21, 2007
An overview of the importance of the earned income tax credit for working families and the need for a state EITC. Fact sheet includes the economic impact of the state EITC for all 64 Colorado counties.
|
|
Restored, New and Increased Programs in the Colorado State Budget Following the 2001 Recession
May 17, 2007
This paper examines the extent to which the revenue that the State of Colorado was able to retain under Referendum C, passed by voters in November 2005, have been used to restore programs eliminated or reduced during the recent recession, in the first two years of the five-year time-out in Ref. C.
|
|
Fiscal Bill Summary - Final
May 17, 2007
A summary of fiscal, tax and budget bills of the 2007 session and their status as of sine die.
|
|
Food Stamp Erosion and What It Means for Colorado
May 16, 2007
The food stamp program is one of the most important initiatives that Congress will decide this year. This vital program is the first defense against hunger in Colorado and across the nation. Food stamps helps hundreds of Colorado families purchase nutritious food and stretch tight budgets, while helping local farmers sell product and Colorado\'s economies thrive. As Congress reauthorizes funding for the Food Stamp Program through the 2007 Farm Bill, it must stop food stamp erosion. Since the value of food stamps don\'t keep pace with rising costs, food stamps purchase less and less food each year. This brief outlines the impact of food stamp erosion on Colorado families, farmers and economies.
|
|
Executive Summary: Overlooked and Undercounted: Struggling to Make Ends Meet in Colorado
May 10, 2007
The groundbreaking report is Colorado\'s first demographic study of the number of families that live below the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Colorado. Comparing Census data to the Self Sufficiency Standard for Colorado, this report takes a detailed look at how many families work hard, but don\'t earn enough to meet their basic needs, where these families live, what they look like, their occupations, levels of education and work efforts.
|
|
Spanish Executive Summary; Overlooked and Undercounted
May 10, 2007
The groundbreaking report is Colorado\'s first demographic study of the number of families that live below the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Colorado. Comparing Census data to the Self Sufficiency Standard for Colorado, this report takes a detailed look at how many families work hard, but don\'t earn enough to meet their basic needs, where these families live, what they look like, their occupations, levels of education and work efforts.
|
|
Measured Success - Missed Opportunities: A Wrap-up of the 2007 Legislative Session
May 04, 2007
A brief look at the bills CCLP and COFPI worked on this year and our assessment of the 2007 session. How did low-income families fare? Find out with this brief summary.
|
|
Summary of the March 2007 Revenue Projections
March 27, 2007
This concise issue brief outlines the basics of the state\'s most recent revenue projections. Learn what\'s in store for the state budget and the Colorado economy over the next five years. Includes information on Ref C dollars.
|
|
House Bill 07-1302 Increase Colorado\'s Statutory Reserve
March 01, 2007
Outlines the basics of Representative Bernie Buescher\'s bill to increase the statutory reserve from the current 4 percent level to 8 percent and why the Fiscal Policy Institute supports this bill. It\'s time Colorado took some steps to create a \"Colorado kind of rainy day fund.\"
|
|
The President\'s 2008 Budget: The Impact on Colorado
February 22, 2007
Outlines key features of the Bush Administration\'s 2008 budget request and the cost to Colorado.
|
|
The Colorado Budget Primer
January 05, 2007
Intended as a resource for advocates, the Colorado Budget Primer gives an introduction to the state budget and budget process. Learn what happens when, who the key players are and how you can best get involved.
|
|
Colorado\'s Fiscal Future Post Referendum C: An Analysis
January 05, 2007
This PowerPoint presentation from our annual Budget Works Seminar analyzes Colorado\'s budget in the post Referendum C era. It models different economic possibilities and outlines steps that policymakers can take today to ensure a healthy future tomorrow.
|
|
Food Stamps in Colorado: Good for Families, Good for Farmers and Good for Colorado\'s Economy
August 20, 2006
In 2007 Congress will write a new Farm Bill that includes funding for the food stamp and other nutrition programs. Our issue brief covers basic facts about the benefits of this important program for Colorado\'s families, farmers and local economies.
|
|
Referendum C: A Small Step But Not a Panacea
August 17, 2006
Ref c made it possible for the state to avoid further budget cuts but resulted in very little new investment. This analysis shows that Ref C was an important step in the right direction, but falls far short of solving the underlying financial problems plaguing Colorado\'s public sector.
|
|
Self-sufficiency Standard for Colorado 2004
March 15, 2004
Most researchers today will agree that the Federal Poverty Level is an outdated measure of family well-being. The Self-sufficiency measure for Colorado calculates the real costs of living and working in our state.
|
|
