Funding: Colorado Division of Behavioral Health

Monitors compliance with laws against selling tobacco to minors, supports enforcement of those laws, coordinates interagency compliance with federal regulations

Funding:  The Colorado Health Foundation

The Encrucijada project began in 2007 with a conversation. Anne Smith, Evolve Communications, Joanne Lindsay, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, and Christine Dauchot, Maximus/CHP+ Marketing were interested in replicating an idea they’d heard about on NPR. The Baltimore Child Health Plan had used an 8-minute telenovela – a Spanish language soap opera – to educate Spanish speakers about navigating the public health care system. The novela was never aired publicly. The group wanted to expand on the idea and create a full series focused on enrollment in public health insurance and health promotion and disease prevention.

Estimates show that 72 percent of Colorado’s children who are eligible for Medicaid and CHP+ are Hispanic. The novela was an ideal means for communicating the value of public health insurance to Spanish speaking parents, including information about how to apply for CHP+ and Medicaid, and about a variety of chronic disease issues that disproportionately affect the Hispanic community.

Entravision Communications Colorado (operator of Univision Colorado, the state’s number one Spanish language television station) eagerly signed on and offered the most valuable support they could:  Creative Services Director, Jesus Fuentes.

Fuentes immediately set about arranging the complicated production process, estimating costs and meeting with vendors. Thanks to his vision and contacts, top-notch Latino businesses here and abroad provided all of the production support to the project. Fuentes wrote the 12-chapter script, penned the theme song, and tested his ideas against members of the target audience.

The idea for Encrucijada was embraced warmly by The Colorado Health Foundation, whose goal is to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation. The Foundation initially provided a planning grant so that budgets could be determined, an advisory group put in place, and plans could be made for production and evaluation. Using the planning grant other key players were called in, including the Center for Research Strategies as evaluator, Cristina Bejarano, MPH as health content coordinator, and CREA Results as phone line facilitator. The planning grant was followed up with a full grant which covers all aspects of the project.

The subject matter for Encrucijada: Sin Salud No Hay Nada was determined by a passionate and vocal group of project advisors from all walks of the community. The group included representatives from rural health clinics, promotoras (lay community health workers) local community-based organizations, public health officials, and representatives from Hispanic-serving organizations.

Throughout the development of the series, advisors infused the project with their wisdom and kept the producers honest, for example, one debate centered on the assurance that the actors would “look like us” and would represent a variety of Hispanic

Funding:  Caring for Colorado Foundation

Evolve Communications began the Una Boca Saludable project in May 2008 with a grant from the Dental Trade Alliance Foundation.  Since that time, the project has been funded by The Colorado Health Foundation and the Caring for Colorado Foundation.  Now with a fresh round of funding from Caring for Colorado, the project will continue its objective to reach Spanish speaking Latinos in Denver with vital oral health care information.  The first two project phases were based on outreach utilizing mass media.  However for this phase, the project will employ a different methodology, utilizing the skills and cultural competence of Health Promotoras (female Spanish speaking lay health workers) to teach basic evidence based oral health care skills at five Hispanic/Latino serving community based organizations. Evolve Communications will be joined on this project by Total Oral Prevention Strategies (TOPS) and CREA Results.  Together, they are the project partners.

The project goals are as follows:

1. To educate Spanish speaking Hispanic/Latino families in Denver about the importance of oral health care, utilizing the Health Promotora model.
2. To train 25 Spanish speaking Health Promotoras on basic evidence-based oral health care skills and information.
3. The newly trained promotoras will then work with five partner organizations to train a minimum of 100 community members (women, their children and other family members and caregivers) on basic evidence-based oral health care skills.
4. Trained community members will be encouraged to host educational events at church, school, and community gatherings, to disseminate their learning to other members of the community.  The project partners will support up to 20 such events by the end of July, 2010.
5. As part of these activities, a 5-minute video in English and Spanish will be created to demonstrate the skills and knowledge base offered by the project.  The video will enable the partners and community organizers to continue to disseminate information once the project has ended.

 

Funding: The Colorado Department of Human Service’s Colorado Works Division is funding the BBYT Initiative with a grant from the Statewide Strategic Use Fund.

The Blending and Braiding Your TANF Initiative (BBYT) is an opportunity for local communities to collaborate and learn to use multiple funding streams to support evidence-based and best practice services, while maintaining the transparency and accountability required by Temporary Assistance for Need Family (TANF)’s outcome-focused funding stream.

Goals & Activities:

• Research federal and state eligibility requirements and regulations to clarify what uses of TANF funds are permitted and how to maintain compliance while using TANF funds;
• Work with 6 demonstration counties to provide technical assistance to create individualized, Colorado Works Division approved braiding plans with TANF and one or more additional funding streams to serve low income families; and
• Develop concrete tools and provide statewide training to prepare any interested county to fully use their TANF dollars and braid them with other relevant funding streams.

BBYT Partners:

• The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, where the project director is housed;
• The Colorado Systems of Care Collaborative, as the advisory group;
• The Family Resource Center Association, family advocacy organizations, and local counties to provide insight, expertise, and implementation opportunities;
• The Center for Systems Integration, to provide staff support and fiscal coordination expertise; and
• The Colorado Foundation for Public Health and the Environment is the fiscal agent.

Links:

http://www.csi-policy.org/bbyt/

Funding Source: Various

Description: Colloboration with the Colorado Department of Public Health to house resources for trainings and activities of COPAN

Funding Source: Colorado Health Foundation

Description: The Colorado Foundation for Public Health and Environment requested and received two years of funding on behalf of the LINKS Initiative to implement Colorado’s Behavioral Health Action Plan for Children, Youth, and Their Families. The plan promotes a shared policy agenda for state agencies, consumer advocacy groups, legislators, and other leaders in the behavioral health system.

Funding Source: Various

Description: The ClPAC LRlE lnitiative will provide educational outreach to the Latino community which will assist them in understandina the importance of preventative care, such as influenza immunizations. and how this type of care provides improved opportunities to remain healthv. Bv providinq influenza immunizations to school ane chitdren, and their families, we hope to positively impact the lifestvle of this populationin 
Colorado.

Funding Source: Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, and Pulmonary Disease (CCPD) Competitive Grants Program Funding was Discontinued due to State Budget Crisis.

Description: Education of Colorado Citizens to increase colorectal cancer screening

Funding Source: National Institute of Health via Colorado Clinical Translational Science Institute (CCTSI)

Description: Community Translation and Engagement Project with University of Colorado.

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Funding Source: CDPHE: Office of Health Disparities: Health Disparities Grant Program

Description: This multi-faceted project to help reduce cancer health disparities among the Spanish speaking Latino community in the cities of Colorado Springs, Peyton, and Calhan in El Paso County and Avondale in Pueblo County.

Funding Source: The Colorado Health Foundation

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