COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES

The Colorado Department of Human Services serves Colorado’s most vulnerable populations; more than 3, 500 department staff work in shifts providing care and supervision 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our commitment is being “people who help people.” CDHS assists struggling Colorado families who need food, cash, and energy assistance to provide for their families; families in need of safe and affordable child care; children at risk of abuse or neglect; families who struggle to provide care for their adult children with developmental disabilities; youth who have violated the law and need structure and guidance to grow into responsible and compassionate adults; Coloradoans who need effective treatment for mental illness or substance abuse issues; and families who need resources to care for their elderly parents or nursing home care for their veteran parents. CDHS staff are committed to providing the right services to the right people in the right setting and at the right time.

Government cannot, and CDHS does not, do this work alone. The department partners with valued county departments of human/social services in our state-supervised, county administered system. We work with Colorado’s 20 Community Centered Boards in providing services to persons with developmental disabilities. CDHS partners with the state’s 17 mental health centers to ensure the provision of effective mental health treatment. CDHS is the third largest agency in Colorado State government, with more than 5, 000 employees and a budget of $2.2 billion for Fiscal Year 2011. CDHS oversees the state’s 64 county departments of social/human services in their administration of public assistance and child welfare programs; the state’s public mental health system including the operation of the State’s two mental health institutes at Fort Logan and Pueblo, as well as licensing of mental health treatment programs; Colorado’s system for people with developmental disabilities, including the operation of the State’s three regional centers and the oversight of community centered boards; the state’s juvenile corrections system, including the operations of state facilities, the supervision of privately operated programs and all Senate Bill 94 programs; and the operation of all state veterans nursing homes. In addition, CDHS is the state agency designated for vocational rehabilitation programs and senior services.