colorado's middle class squeeze

Insurance & Middle Class Health Squeeze

The squeeze demands real policy solutions.

Two-Generation

Bound to Succeed: Two-Generation Approaches to Education in Colorado

Our research report discusses an important emerging strategy that helps low- to moderate-income families move out of poverty, known as a two-generation approach. 

Graduates in caps and gowns celebrating the conclusion of the ASPIRE Colorado pilot program during a commencement ceremony.

Testimony: Support HB16-1196 for ASPIRE Colorado Pilot Program

Based on research, the college savings accounts that will be established through the pilot program authorized in HB16-1196 will help expand the number of Coloradans from low-to moderate-income families who enroll in and complete college.

Two graduates in caps and gowns, benefiting from the Middle Class College Savings Act, embracing at a graduation ceremony.

Testimony: Support Middle Class College Savings Act

Increasing the deduction for families making less than $250,000 per year will boost their current savings and provide an incentive for modest-income families to begin saving for college.

A mother and her three children engaged in an outdoor arts and crafts activity as part of the Expand Pilot Program.

Testimony: Support SB16-022 to Expand CCCAP Cliff Effect Pilot Program

The “cliff effect” occurs when a modest increase in a family’s income puts them over the income limit for child care assistance and they lose all of their benefits.

Colorado Preschool Program

Colorado Preschool Program is Effective & Should Be Expanded

High-quality preschool puts children on a path to success. It provides a positive start to school and is the first step on a journey that prepares students to reach their full potential.

Two children ride scooters in a concrete urban space under a partly cloudy sky, symbolizing the ongoing report on measuring opportunities for working families.

Report: Measuring Opportunities for Working Families

These are the key areas where we can enact change to unleash the potential of Coloradans and provide greater opportunities for Colorado's families to advance toward economic independence and security.

paid sick leave

Costs & Benefits of Paid Sick Leave

Workers who lack paid sick leave are more likely to come to work sick, send their children to school while sick, recover more slowly from illnesses, and rely on expensive visits to emergency rooms than are workers with sick leave.

Report cover highlighting issues facing Colorado families in 2010 with the title 'Opportunity Lost Report'.

2010 Opportunity Lost Report

In an update to our 2004 report, Opportunity Lost: When Hard Work Isn't Enough for Colorado's Families, the Bell's 2010 study finds working poor and low-income families now fare worse on many of the same indicators examined in the previous report.

A row of similar doors against a patterned wall with one door painted yellow, standing out from the rest, highlighted in the 2005 Opportunity Report.

2005 Opportunity Report

What is opportunity? How is it generated and sustained in the 21st century? In this 2005 iteration of "Colorado: The State of Opportunity," the Bell seeks to answer these questions and more.

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