Past Projects

Colorado Project WIN

Colorado Project WIN (Work Incentives Network) was a five-year systems change grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration. This project worked to expand employment opportunities for individuals with a mental or a physical disability, or both, who receive public assistance. The grant was awarded in October of 1998 to JFK Partners/UCDHSC and a consortium of Colorado state agencies (Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Colorado Department of Education, Colorado Office of Self Sufficiency and the Colorado Health Care Policy and Financing) in partnership with people with disabilities. In order to achieve positive systems change, Project WIN utilized four strategies: 1) Stakeholders Policy Forum which included policy makers from the various systems to look at recommending policy changes; 2) An Information Clearinghouse where various audiences could receive accurate and updated information, technical assistance and training; 3) Piloting Consumer Navigators within two of Colorado's Workforce Centers to ensure universal access to all programs and services through these Centers; and, 4) Piloting various Demonstration Projects, e.g., piloting the use of assistive technology in the resource rooms of Workforce Centers to ensure greater accessibility and use by hard to serve populations and looking at creating a Medicaid Buy-In program for Colorado citizens. The grant funding for this project has officially ended.

The success of Project WIN has had national impact. Currently, the Consumer Navigator model (now called the Disability Program Navigator) has been replicated in all but 5 states and/or territories across the country through grants awarded by the Social Security Administration and U.S. Department of Labor. Colorado has 20 of these positions. Because of our success in implementing the Consumer Navigator model, Colorado WIN Partners has been asked to provide National Technical Assistance, Training for the University of Iowa Law Health Policy and Disability Center, (contractor through SSA and USDOL). They have also asked us to take part in the National Evaluation of the Disability Program Navigators.

Colorado Project TRAIN

In May 2002, the Colorado Workforce Development Council received a Work Incentive grant from the U.S. Department of Labor called Project TRAIN (Training Resources And Incentives Network). The Colorado Office of Workforce Development contracted with Colorado WIN Partners/UCDHSC to provide statewide technical assistance and training for the Project. The purpose of Project TRAIN was to assist Colorado’s Workforce System in creating a universally accessible workforce system for all of its’ customers. This goal is achieved through statewide replication of Project WIN’s Consumer Navigator (now Colorado Disability Program Navigator) model, creating universally accessible workstations, increasing the number of Benefit Planners available within Colorado and providing technical assistance and training for Colorado’s Workforce System.

Innovative State Alignment Grant for Improving Transition Outcomes for Youth with Disabilities Through the Use of Intermediaries

This is a five-year systems change grant funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy and awarded to the Colorado Office of Workforce Development in October 2003. The Colorado Office of Workforce Development contracted with Colorado WIN Partners/UCDHSC for training, technical assistance and evaluation of this new youth transition systems change grant. In the first year of the grant, a resource mapping process will be employed at both the state and local levels. The results of both state-level and local resource mapping data will be incorporated into a multi-agency, statewide plan that will serve as the basis for any necessary policy and procedural changes. Ultimately, the goals of this grant are to restructure state and local workforce investment delivery systems in order to better meet the needs of youth with disabilities; and extend the most successful transition practices learned from the K-12 efforts into the state’s system of workforce development (One-Stop system), including the postsecondary school sector. By the final year of the grant, transition systems change activities will be in place in each of the nine federally recognized workforce regions in Colorado including innovative efforts to design, refine, and implement practices designed to eliminate barriers to success for youth with disabilities.

 

National Technical Advisor for Disability Program Navigators
 

University of Iowa Law, Health Policy and Disability Center contracted with Colorado WIN Partners/UCDHSC to provide technical assistance and training for national training supporting the implementation of Disability Program Navigators (jointly funded by Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Labor and Employment) in fourteen states. Colorado WIN Partners developed curriculum for three training units: Identifying and Working with Individuals with Disabilities; Art of Negotiation: Effective Communication Strategies; and, System Collaboration: Building Partnerships. In November 2004, WIN Partners/UCDHSC is assisting in design of the national Disability Program Navigator training, facilitating track 3 (Building Successful Partnerships), and delivering topical presentations. In addition, Colorado WIN Partners/UCDHSC provides ongoing technical assistance through monthly teleconferences and site visits with four states. Colorado WIN Partners/UCDHSC has expanded this contract to include external evaluation. Colorado WIN Partners/UCDHSC will be conducting site visits in Wisconsin and Massachusetts for external evaluation activities.

 

Colorado Family Support 360
 

Family Support 360 is a 5 year implementation grant to promote integrated services and supports for TANF families who have children with developmental disabilities through Colorado’s Workforce Centers. This grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Developmental Disabilities awarded to JFK Partners/UCDHSC. Colorado WIN Partners/UCDHSC will be responsible for assistance in administering and evaluating the grant. Colorado 360 will create a Family Support Coordinator model, designed based on the JFK/WIN Partners Consumer Navigator model that has been adopted by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Social Security Administration. Family Support Coordinators will provide ongoing comprehensive training and mentoring to TANF case managers, and support to families who are on TANF. Other resources will include facilitating access to mental health professionals, ongoing parent training, resource and referral, technical assistance, parent support networks at the main Denver Human Services hub and two satellite locations, advocacy with the public school system, advocacy for inclusive child care for children with developmental disabilities and on-going follow along to help families meet desired outcomes.

National Governors Association/Policy Academy
 

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), selected six states to participate in a policy academy that will assist governors and their policy advisors improve the lives of young adults with disabilities. These six states, including Colorado, were chosen for their commitment to coordinating multiple state agencies to improve services and care for persons with disabilities. To address the comprehensive needs of this growing population, the HHS Office on Disability will work with the NGA Center and these states to address state systems integration and service coordination to successfully transition young adults with disabilities into independence. Through this policy academy, NGA and HHS staff along with a host of national experts will work with the six selected state teams to design and implement short- and long-term strategies and action plans tailored to each state's specific needs. The Policy Academy on Improving Outcomes for Young Adults with Disabilities is designed to help states develop practical solutions and policies to implement comprehensive and coordinated systems of care for young adults with disabilities who are transitioning from home and school to independence and work.