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Colorado Department of Human Services
CDHS family and community engagement
“I do believe that CDHS does hear us. They take our feedback and they’re applying it into the programs. And that’s a huge difference to me. It really makes me feel that we’re valued. Your voice is valued at the table.”
— Benu Amun-Ra
CDHS Family Voice Council
How to get involved with human services
At the Colorado Department of Human Services, we believe in a people-first approach to human services. That’s why we want your help in how we deliver those services. We want your participation, interest and awareness, and any other feedback. We want to work with you, and not just for you. Check out the many ways you can get involved.
Become a member of our Family Voice Council
One of the most effective ways to give input and help improve our programs and systems is to join the Family Voice Council. The council is made up of Coloradans who are or have been involved with CDHS services or programs. Members meet monthly to interact with CDHS staff and offer their valuable perspective and feedback.
Subscribe to our newsletters
CDHS offices, divisions and programs publish dozens of regular newsletters, which contain useful news and information for our partners, clients and the general public.
Consider a career with us — check job listings
Join us in serving the people of Colorado. CDHS offers job opportunities in many fields, including child welfare, developmental disabilities, mental health, nursing, social assistance programs and youth services, in addition to support positions in facilities management, food service, human resources and more.
Apply to serve
CDHS administers several types of boards and commissions, ranging from governor-appointed groups to internal ones. Many of these are open to people with lived experience in human services.
Attend a public meeting
Many of CDHS's board and commission meetings are public, and we invite you to attend those meetings. You can also attend meetings online or over the phone.
View the public meeting calendar
Leave us feedback
Honest and direct feedback is the best way for us to understand how our services are received. We want to hear suggestions, compliments and personal success stories — and complaints, too.
Leave a suggestion (or a compliment)
File a complaint
Why your involvement matters
CDHS relies on two important principles to guide the way we provide human services.
The first is a whole-community, whole-family, whole-person approach, also known as two-generation or two-gen.
The other is ensuring a barrier-free “CDHS for All.”
And to hold ourselves accountable to those principles, we created the Family and Community Engagement Plan, a roadmap to a more inclusive CDHS. The plan illustrates what we’ll be working on, how we’ll assess that work, and who we’ll hold accountable.
“Family and Community Engagement Plan”
Through their lived experience, community residents, families and youth are the experts in their own lives and we want to consider them when making decisions that will affect them. This expertise is critical to better understand issues holistically and create more equitable, sustainable and effective human service solutions that benefit all Coloradans. We want to meaningfully engage the people we serve to achieve the best outcomes together.
Download the “Family and Community Engagement Plan” here.
Two-generation approach to Colorado families
The two-gen approach encourages CDHS programs to serve children and their caregivers together, to harness the family’s full potential and to put them on a path to permanent economic security. When we build programs and implement policies with the whole family's educational and economic future in mind, it makes it easier to help them reach the social networks and resources they need. As a result, opportunity becomes a family tradition.
Learn more about our two-generation approach, and download the guide here.
“CDHS FAIR Framework and Action Plan“
Our “CDHS FAIR Framework and Action Plan” demonstrates our commitment to ensuring a CDHS for everyone throughout our organizational policies, practices, programs and spaces. The FAIR Framework and Action Plan provides alignment for our large and complex organization toward shared, measurable outcomes for individuals and teams to collectively model our values and focus on fairness, access, impact and relationships.
View the CDHS FAIR Framework and Action Plan here.
Contact us
Email Family and Community Engagement Manager Ndeye Ndao at ndeye.ndao@state.co.us.