Joint Budget Committee Hearing Next Week!

Government funding is critical to our ability as an agency to provide services to people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD).  Most of our funding comes from Medicaid, a federal program that is administered by each State.  Since the bulk of our funding is impacted by fiscal concerns at the State level, it is critical for us to follow and participate in the State budget process.

Every year, the Colorado General Assembly's Joint Budget Committee (JBC) meets with each department to discuss their budget for the upcoming year.  The JBC process starts with a "briefing," where a JBC staff-person presents the department budget request to the Committee, and offers recommendations for follow-up questions and requests.  The Department prepares written responses to the questions, and responds at an in-person "hearing."

The two governmental agencies that have the most impact on our services are the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) and the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS).  The hearing for both HCPF and CDHS will occur on Tuesday, 12/22, from 9-12, at the Legislative Service Building in Denver (200 East 14th Avenue).  The hearing is a public event, and all are welcome to attend.  If you would like to listen to the hearing but are unable to attend in-person, you can listen to the event by clicking on this link (click on "Year-Round Committees" on the left side of the page, and then "Joint Budget Committee").

Through our involvement with this process, we become more educated about our system, and ensure that the people we serve receive the best possible services here in Colorado!

Super Hero for the Month of November!

Every month, Innovations presents the “Super Hero of the Month” award to the employee or provider who has best demonstrated excellence in one or more of our Innovations Quality Standards:

• Health, Safety, and Wellbeing
• Effective and Efficient
• Respect and Dignity
• Opportunities
• Integrity
• Care

This month, the award was presented to Martha Heimbaugh, who is an Administrative Assistant for our Innovations for Children program.

Martha was nominated by her supervisor, who wrote:

Martha has been such a trooper through all the changes in foster care, yet she continues to have the most upbeat attitude about things. She's done such a great job keeping everyone organized and is an amazing support system.  She is always on top of things and keeps foster care running smoothly.  Martha is always willing to assist with projects and to create new tracking systems that are effective and efficient.  She is a wealth of knowledge and is pleasant to be around.  Thank you, Martha for everything that you do.

If you see Martha around, please congratulate her on being our Super Hero of the Month!