Colorado § 8-3.7-202 - Statewide welcome, reception, and integration grant program - created - rules.

§ 8-3.7-202. Statewide welcome, reception, and integration grant program - created - rules.

(1) The statewide welcome, reception, and integration grant program is created in the department to provide grants to community-based organizations that provide culturally and linguistically appropriate navigation of services and programs to migrants.

(2) Grant recipients shall prioritize migrants who have arrived in the United States within the past three years and shall use the grant award for one or more of the following services and programs, including, but not limited to:

(a) Conducting an intake and assessment of needs;

(b) Providing cultural orientation;

(c) Providing case management;

(d) Distributing emergency and transitional supplies, including food and clothing;

(e) Providing employment services or referrals to employment services, including career coaching, counseling, navigating, training, including training on workers' rights and identifying how to address and avoid exploitation, certification and licensure, and job placement;

(f) Providing housing, housing-related services, or referrals to housing, including advising about the obligations under a lease, paying security deposits, conducting background checks and home visits for sponsors, and orienting migrants to rent and online payment systems;

(g) Providing English as a second language classes or a referral to English as a second language classes;

(h) Providing financial orientation, including understanding credit, loans, and unbanked issues for undocumented individuals;

(i) Providing or providing referrals to mental health services;

(j) Providing referrals to physical health services;

(k) Providing services or referrals to disability services;

(l) Assisting migrant parents to enroll their children in public school or summer programs, including early childhood programs, to enable the parents to find employment and to help the parents navigate school and summer program systems;

(m) Providing interpretation and translation services;

(n) Providing transportation, bus passes, and orientation to the bus and transportation system;

(o) Providing immigration legal assistance or referrals to immigration legal services; and

(p) Other eligible expenses, as determined by the department and the administering entity in consultation with community-based organizations.

(3) (a) The department shall issue a request for proposals for a nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501 (c)(3) of the federal "Internal Revenue Code of 1986" to administer the grant program. The department shall select and contract with a nonprofit organization that has a statewide reach of organizations serving migrants and demonstrated expertise in:

(I) Administering grant money;

(II) Training, monitoring, and evaluating grant recipients to ensure the grant recipients comply with grant requirements;

(III) Providing metrics and submitting required reporting in a timely fashion;

(IV) Working collaboratively with other migrant-serving organizations; and

(V) Working with multilingual migrant communities.

(b) (I) No later than December 31, 2024, the department shall select and enter into a contract with the administering entity, which contract is subject to annual review and renewal.

(II) Notwithstanding subsection (3)(b)(I) of this section, if the department issues a request for proposal but does not identify a nonprofit organization that meets the requirements for selection as the administering entity, the Colorado office of new Americans created in section 8-3.7-103 shall act as the administering entity of the program.

(c) The administering entity shall collaborate with the department to develop the grant application, the application process, and the selection process for grant recipients that are culturally competent and linguistically accessible and comply with the state "Procurement Code", articles 101 to 112 of title 24.

(4) The department and administering entity shall implement the grant program pursuant to this part 2. Grants must be awarded pursuant to this part 2.

(5) Upon receiving notice from the administering entity that a community-based organization is selected to receive a grant, the department shall, as soon as practicable, transfer the amount of the grant award to the administering entity, which must then transmit the grant award to the grant recipient.

(6) The administering entity or selected grant recipients must not be a political organization, as defined in section 1-45-103, and grant awards must not be distributed to a political organization or used for political purposes.

Source: L. 2024: Entire part added, (HB 24-1280), ch. 437, p. 3054, § 1, effective August 7. L. 2025: IP(2) amended, (HB 25-1244), ch. 250, p. 1250, § 2, effective May 24.