Human Investment Plan

PUEBLO COMMUNITY HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN
Prepared by Camiros, Ltd. February 15, 2001
Contents
Forward .................................................................................................................................................. 1 Why Pueblo Needs A Human Investment Plan........................................................................ 1 History ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Project Management Process.................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 4 I. A Human Investment Plan for Pueblo ......................................................................................... 5 Healthy Economy ..................................................................................................................... 5 Quality of Life .......................................................................................................................... 6 People Ever Improving............................................................................................................. 7 People with Special Needs ....................................................................................................... 9 Community System and Strategic Focus.................................................................................. 9 Profile of the Communitys People............................................................................................. 11 A. Community Overview ...................................................................................................... 11 B. Economic Overview.......................................................................................................... 13 Employment......................................................................................................................... 13 Unemployment..................................................................................................................... 13 Major Employers ................................................................................................................. 15 Job Growth Forecast ............................................................................................................ 16 Wages................................................................................................................................... 17 Cost of Living ...................................................................................................................... 19 C. Population ......................................................................................................................... 19 Overall Population ............................................................................................................... 19 Age Distribution .................................................................................................................. 20 Ethnicity............................................................................................................................... 21 Household Income ............................................................................................................... 21 Poverty ................................................................................................................................. 23 Population Projections ......................................................................................................... 24 D. Other Social Indicators ..................................................................................................... 25 Education ............................................................................................................................. 25 Crime ................................................................................................................................... 27 Teenage Pregnancy .............................................................................................................. 28 Medically Underserved........................................................................................................ 29
II.
III.
Listening to the Community ....................................................................................................... 30 Household Survey Random Distribution............................................................................. 30 Household Survey Targeted Distribution ............................................................................ 31 Summary of Findings ............................................................................................................. 32 Focus Group ........................................................................................................................... 34 Issues, Items and Concerns Resulting from Key Person Interviews ...................................... 38 Community Values for Improving the Quality of Life in Pueblo ............................................ 42 Human Investment Strategies and Actions for Pueblo............................................................. 44 A. Wellness Strategies........................................................................................................... 44 B. Strategies for Self Sufficiency .......................................................................................... 49 C. Strategies for Providing Access Opportunities ................................................................. 55 D. Strategies for Youth and Family Support ......................................................................... 58 E. Strategies for a Caring Community................................................................................... 60 Putting the Strategies to Work ................................................................................................... 63 Local Government Efforts to Implement the Plan.................................................................. 63 Human Services Investment Objections................................................................................. 65 Recommended Program for Year One ................................................................................... 69
IV. V.
VI.
Appendix............................................................................................................................................... 72 Household Survey Report Provider Survey
PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN
Forward
Why Pueblo Needs a Human Investment Plan
The Human Investment plan is just that - a plan. It is not and analysis or evaluation of how the greater community is currently performing to support those in need of services. A plan sets a vision for the future, examines needs related to achieving that vision, translating the vision, into goals and objectives and, from there, development strategies, policies and recommended actions that can galvanize the community to improve itself in a coordinated manner. Communities have all kinds of resources. Land, physical improvements, finances, institutions, and image are among the resources that benefit the community. People - the human resource - are considered most important. Planning for the human resource is as important an activity as planning for economic development or the physical arrangement of the community. But these are not competitive elements. Each contributes to the advancement of the community. Planning for the human component and planning for the physical layout of a community are linked in a strategic sense. Without either, or both, the planning for the future would be incomplete.
History
In 1998, the Pueblo Area Council of Governments (PACOG), began a comprehensive planning initiative referred to as a "Master Plan" for Pueblo County to include five (5) major components: Land Use Transportation Environment Human Services Economic Development As a first phase in this major planning effort, PACOG is currently updating the Pueblo Regional Comprehensive Development Plan ("COMP Plan"). This is primarily a "physical" plan and focuses on issues related to growth and development of residential, commercial, industrial land use, as well as traffic, transportation, safety, infrastructure and public lands/facilities. More than seventeen years have passed since the City and County of Pueblo adopted the COMP Plan, and while updates/amendments related to specific topics have taken place, no comprehensive revision has occurred since its adoption.
Page 1
In considering the development of a "Master Plan," it was determined that the Communities of Pueblo 2010 Strategic Plan would provide the community "vision" for a comprehensive planning effort and that a Health & Human Services Plan would be developed as a separate plan rather than incorporating it as an "element" within the COMP Plan. Overall, this HHS Plan project was designed to help the community define what the future of human services would look like and provide a framework for achieving our health and well-being vision. Specific recommendations and actions will result from this planning initiative to ensure that the human and social needs of the community are addressed in future years. Both the City and County officials, along with other major funders of health and human services, will be assisted in their decision-making by this planning effort through the prioritization of needs, best practice recommendations, identification of new and innovative resources, and the adoption of core strategies and the listing of initial action programs.
Project Management and Process

In continuing this comprehensive planning effort, PACOG along with representatives from the City of Pueblo Department of Housing & Community Services, the Pueblo County Department of Housing & Human Services, and the Pueblo County Office of Budget met to formulate a "management team" and planning process. The group agreed upon a process similar to that being utilized in updating the COMP Plan and in the summer of 1999, a plan for managing the project, hiring a consultant, and establishing timelines was adopted by PACOG. The project name was officially declared the "Human Investment Plan." The following agencies/committees have been actively involved in the planning process: Pueblo Area Council of Governments (PACOG). Comprised of the Pueblo City Council and Board of County Commissioners, as well as representatives form the Pueblo West Metropolitan District, Colorado City Metropolitan District, Pueblo Board of Water, School District #60, and School District #70, PACOG will act as the lead agency during this planning process. Plan Management Team. This group has monitored the day-to-day progress and findings of the planning effort. The Management Team, whose membership has shifted over the course of the project, were appointed by PACOG, and represented the following entities: City of Pueblo Department of Planning City of Pueblo Department of Housing & Community Services Healthy Pueblo Communities 2010 Task Force PACOG Representative Pueblo County Department of Housing & Human Services United Way of Pueblo County Pueblo County Department. of Budget & Finance Pueblo County Department of Planning & Development
Page 2
Community Advisory Committee. This committee, composed of approximately 80-90 members, met repeatedly with the consultant and project management team to review on-going work and provide insight into the issues within the community that should be addressed by this planning effort. This advisory committee consists of members of the following groups: Healthy Pueblo Communities 2010 Task Force City of Pueblo Human Services Commission Pueblo County Housing & Human Services Advisory Committee United Way Allocations Committee
Consultant. PACOG retained the services of Camiros, Ltd. of Chicago and Denver to assist in the development of this plan. Camiros is a city planning consulting firm that holds to the principles that good planning must combine social and physical aspects of every community. Camiros brought to the effort an understanding of how to treat social and human resource issues in a planning context and the experience of preparing human investment plans for cities and neighborhoods throughout the country. Public Involvement in the Planning Process Throughout the development of the plan, there has been significant involvement with members of the community. This involvement manifested itself in a variety of ways, including the following: Since the start of the project in November of 1999 the Project Management Team has met over 30 times. Most of these sessions have included the consultants. Interviews were conducted with 37 persons in the community lasting between 45 and 60 minutes. A random mail out survey was distributed to 4,000 households throughout the city and county. An additional 1,170 surveys were also distributed to 15 sites throughout the community. Focus groups were held on eleven separate topics and over 90 persons participated in the discussions. Over 90 surveys were mailed to service providers in the community 39 were returned. Study progress and updates were presented at four PACOG board meetings and at one joint meeting of the Pueblo City Council and Pueblo County Board of Commissioners. Presentations on progress and updates were made at five Community Advisory Committee meetings. A community wide meeting was held to present preliminary findings and recommendations of the study.
Page 3
Acknowledgements
Many individuals have assisted in the preparation of this effort. Most notable were the primary members of the Project Management Team (PMT) who spent the time to review and react to the approaches and strategies that were discussed, refined and eventually found their way into the plan. Fran McClave, with Pueblo County, served as the primary contact for the PMT and performed many of the administrative functions associated with the project along with her insights into the pulse of the community. Others regularly involved in the PMT include Patsy Occhiato and Jan Lloyd with Pueblo County, Jeanne Hickman and Todd Ahlenius, City of Pueblo; Janet Fieldman with the Pueblo Community Health Center; and, Cathy Garcia with Action 22. Consultants for the project were Camiros, Ltd. and were led by Roy Fronczyk, Jacques Gourguechon and Stephanie Bakken.
Page 4
I. A Human Investment Plan for Pueblo

Greater Pueblo (City and County) is a complex, varied and culturally rich community with great people and potential. A working town, known as the "Home of Heroes" for its proud heritage as home to men and women who have made outstanding contributions to the country, Pueblo secures the southern end of Colorado's fast-growing front range along Interstate 25. The Rocky Mountains rise up within sight of the City on the western edge of the Pueblo County. Many people would like to share the substantial benefits, the natural and beautiful setting and lifestyle Pueblo offers. The climate, the location, the cost of living and the family character of the community offer its residents a wonderful place to live and work. The key to advance the inherent potential of Pueblo for current and future residents, is of course, a healthy economy and the quality of life for residents. Human investment planning addresses these two interrelated and essential conditions for achieving greater health and happiness in the Pueblo community. The basic Human Investment strategy to accomplish these aims is the promotion of a community culture of self-sufficiency, individual responsibility and personal development.
Healthy Economy
Good salaries, wages and a household income that can support a family in a decent manner are essential for people and families to fulfill their potential and contribute to the welfare of the community. A healthy economy depends on many factors, but certainly at the top of the list of important elements is the quality and capability of the labor force. This is a particularly germane to the Pueblo community given the level of wages and the limitations of today's labor force. Investment in people, especially those aspects that enable them to work better, smarter and at increasing levels of technology is an investment in the economy. A better-educated and technically trained work force is the core of economic investment. Many of the facilities that the community would invest in to advance the capabilities of the workforce are the same investments that attract new firms and retain existing employers. Quality basic education, technical training centers, job readiness facilities, transportation to work, childcare and many other so-called human investments are also economic investments. Human Investment does imply a shift in the driving force in one of Pueblo's competitive advantages wage rates. One of the planned outcomes of human investment is clearly to improve the capability of the area's work force. The desired shift will be to depend less on low wage rates as a competitive advantage and replace it with an increasingly skilled (and higher paid) work force. The key to this shift is improvements to the communitys basic education system.
Page 5
Quality of Life
Improving the overall quality of life for the people of the Pueblo community constitutes the second major purpose behind pursuing a Human Investment Plan. Quality of life can have different meaning to different people. Furthermore, there is typically a shift in emphasis placed on the various factors which make up quality of life at as a person ages and circumstances change. When income, marriage, health or age alter our situations we may have a different perspective on what really makes a difference in the quality of our life. Adequate food, clothing, and decent housing for self and family are elemental. Unfortunately, these basics cannot be taken for granted in Pueblo. Many people still struggle making ends meet. Members of the community tell of having to make choices between things most Americans take for granted. A healthy economy and good jobs that will support a family decently are basic to achieving a satisfactory quality of life. However, as important as good wages and a healthy economy that must produce them are to the people of Pueblo, other factors are also very important. Consider the following ten factors that contribute to one's overall quality of life. 1. Meaningful work with career opportunities as well as good pay is the other side of the economic opportunity factor. Earned income that can support a family is essential but work that reinforces an individual's sense of contribution to society and the community adds greatly to a persons sense of worth. 2. Comprehensive health systems grounded on wellness that is both accessible and affordable is another basic quality of life component. Comprehensiveness includes assuring healthy emotional and relationship life for adults and children. Wellness support helps individuals and families gain the information and skills to stay physically healthy and avoid unhealthy behaviors. Community wellness it is has proven to be a very powerful economic asset as well. 3. Housing and stable neighborhoods go together in providing the critical home base for individuals and families. Where one lives and the condition and safety of that place strongly influences the quality of life. Decent housing in clean and safe neighborhoods where neighbors are connected and hold a concern for each other is a goal most people aspire to achieve. 4. Family supports that allows parents to hold full time jobs with confidence while their children are in quality childcare is the single most important contribution the community can make to support family life in Pueblo. Others are also important especially those that increase the quality of parenting and enable families to spend positive leisure time together. Family support can reinforce family bonds, and when widespread, can positively effect community bonds as well.
Page 6
5. Recreational, cultural and spiritual pursuits are important but not available for everyone in Pueblo. Recreation and culture come packaged in many ways each with different costs. Opportunities (availability and access) to participate in a range of pursuits, especially those that are particularly unique to the Pueblo and Colorado area and to one's own culture make a real difference in quality of life. Spiritual content that has depth and meaning enriches the individual and connects him or her to the community in positive and healthy ways. 6. Diversity in the community strengthens everyone when it is given appropriate respect and is positively acknowledged and celebrated. Respect for self within the context of diversity enables one to respect and appreciate others. Misunderstanding of differences can spoil life for individuals and flood a community with conflict and alienation. Prejudice has no place in a healthy community. 7. Quality basic education, vocational training and educational resources that offer opportunity for lifelong learning, personal development and career advancement affect virtually all the other factors that contribute to quality of life. Families want the option for their children to advance in the educational system as far as their abilities carry them. College education should be accessible to those who qualify with necessary supports to make these opportunities realistic. Good educational resources and access to life-long learning are critical for successful economic development as well. 8. Clean and pleasing environment helps connect people to both their community and the surrounding natural environment. Clean air and water are every important to the people of Pueblo. People also want their community to have a pleasing appearance. No one wants to live in rundown surrounding; but more than that there should be special places throughout the community that inspire pride and wonder. General public housekeeping and control of the garish and excess signs and the like play a role in overall community appearance. A healthy natural environment that is maintained by community effort generates sense of place and pride. 9. Political empowerment with opportunity for meaningful participation in the decision making process create a sense of control over one's life and value for the individual. A political system that people generally feel is responsive to the concerns of active citizens and respectful to all persons will have broad ownership and support. 10. Safe neighborhoods and a community without the threat of violence or fear is important to all people. Personal safety is prerequisite if individuals are going to devote their full energy to personal and family improvement. A sense of safety provides real freedom at all levels of one's environment home, neighborhood and the community at large.
People Ever Improving

The purpose of human investment planning is to identify the tools for individuals to develop to their full potential, to have access to a varied and stimulating community environment and to live within a healthy, supportive social setting. Of course, each of us has a somewhat different definition of these values, and, each of us choose to pursue them in various ways. This is as it should be for an important goal of Human Investment is to give people choices to exercise their individuality in a healthy and positive manner. The tools to achieve this purpose are the programs, facilities, environments, work and learning opportunities and celebrations that provide economic opportunity, instruction, information, resources,
Page 7
context and support for life-long personal development, family strengthening and wide ranging leisure time activity. Human Investment goes hand in hand with economic development investments. Effective Human Investments will greatly improve the ability of the labor force to compete in the world economy. This, of course, is a key element in building a stronger local economy. Ultimately, a strong local economy will support higher wages. Increased household income will go a long way toward providing access to the activities that improve the quality of life for individuals and families. It is so important that it must be considered the core outcome of Human Investment activity. Investments that can have positive effect on the quality of the labor force (and the local economy) will take time. It will not happen overnight. Like any other plan, these Investments are future oriented. While certain short-term benefits are possible, the real pay-off may be a generation away. Thus planning for such investments is an appropriate governmental activity for local governments can provide the continuity necessary to stay the course for the long term. Human Investment planning is grounded on a basic trust in people. It respects people to do the right thing if given the opportunity. Human Investment planning assumes that people will act rationally and do what is in their best interest. It also assumes that they are not corrupt and out to misuse the resources that are set in place to assist them to realize their full potential. Further it assumes that most people will be content to fulfill their dreams, goals and ambitions within the confines of the prevailing social contract. A further assumption is that individuals can best evolve to their full potential when they are politically empowered to carry out their responsibility as citizens of a democratic society. The ideal is therefore a self-sufficient and fully engaged person who contributes to the economy, supports his or her community and family. That individual should also live in an environment where opportunities are continually opening for him. Learning, recreation, emotional support should be available when necessary to allow our residents to live healthy, positive lives a platform for which to choose to evolve to their highest potential As important as economic success is to individual success in life, it is not in and of itself sufficient. People are more complex and have equally important needs for emotional, spiritual and self-actualizing content in their lives. Human Investment planning must attend to all the prerequisites that are usually present in the lives of successful, contributing persons. They are: Good physical and mental health Physical and emotional safety Sound basic and advanced education Opportunity and access to meaningful work Opportunity access to recreation and leisure pursuits Family and community connections Spiritual and cultural interests of choice Self-esteem and the respect of others Opportunity to continuously learn, discover and wonder Decent housing in supportive neighborhood environments
People with Special Needs

These elements are also the same needed for people in the community who have special needs. The soul of every community is revealed by the concern and care it exhibits for those challenged by advanced age,
Page 8
emotional and physical challenges. In many ways this aspect of the community's human services facilities, and network are exemplary in their care and awareness of the support needs of this segment of the community. Maintaining these essential services and facilities needed to support these services is a fundamental for moving more forcefully into the realm of Human Investment.
Community Systems and Strategic Focus

Human Investment requires the engagement of a number of the community's major systems. Foremost among them are the human services system, the educational system, the health system, family support system, the transportation system, the communitys housing resources, the political system, public safety system and the spiritual resources of the community. All these systems are, of course, already in place. Each functions with intent and purpose to deliver the services defined by their particular mission. Human Investment planning suggests that these systems look to the individual in a more comprehensive way considering the total person and all of his or her needs as they deliver the essential service that is their charge. Thinking about the Human Investment strategies instead of community service units may be helpful. For people to thrive, comprehensive and strategic focus must be embraced by the support systems that allow people to develop to their full potential and partake in the community's quality of life. These systems all exist in the community at present. However, individual services or resources are not always perceived as part of a system. Adopting this perspective is useful in linking services to Human Investment goals and objectives and promoting efficiencies in future investment. In the Human Investment realm there are five basic systems to consider. Economic Empowerment which includes Technical Training Center Job Preparedness Child Care Elder Care Entrepreneurial Options Life Long Education Technical College Personal and Community Wellness includes individual, family and community health Physical Health Pre and Post Natal Care Drug and Alcohol Prevention Family Abuse Suicide Prevention
Page 9
Teen Pregnancy Prevention Mental Health Self-esteem Emotional and Relationship Health Public Safety
Access to Places and Resources Transportation Services Communication Information Internet Technical Assistance Support Centers Youth Support Early Childhood Education Mentoring Support for Problem Children/Families Youth Programs and Activities Tutoring Support Special Care Elderly Services Persons with Developmental Disabilities Leadership/Networking Promotion of Culture of Self-Sufficiency, Self-Development Establishment of a Network of Providers Centered on Clients Provision of Human Investment and of Needs on an On-Going Basis. Connection and Marketing with Economic Development Objectives and Programs
Page 10
II. Profile of the Communitys People

The following chapter provides an overview of the Pueblo Region in terms of its residents and its economic base, including appropriate data for both the City of Pueblo and Pueblo County. Also comparisons with conditions in other communities are provided, and in some cases, historical data is presented to illustrate trends. Projections are also provided as they have been adopted as part of the comprehensive planning process.
A. Community Overview
Located in the southeastern part of Colorado, the City of Pueblo and Pueblo County have served as an important transportation crossroads and trading center for over 150 years. Settlement activities have been focused at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek. At the confluence a small fort was established at the present site of the City of Pueblo in the early 1840's. Growth was rapid during the 1870's when the railroads came to Pueblo, and the present-day City of Pueblo was incorporated in 1886, consolidating three previously existing towns. The rolling terrain of the semi-arid high plains, observed throughout the County, is in stark contrast to the vegetation along drainageways and the irrigated lawns and tree-lined streets in the City of Pueblo. In 1881, the Colorado Coal and Iron Company established a blast furnace in Pueblo. This company was a forerunner of the present Rocky Mountain Steel Mills, and the emerging steel industry in Pueblo was a magnet to Eastern and Southern European immigrants seeking employment opportunities in America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In recent years, Pueblo has undergone a gradual transformation from a manufacturing to services oriented economy.
Page 11
Modern Pueblo continues to be a major transportation center, which is served by two U.S. highways, two railroads and numerous truck lines. The Pueblo trade area consists of over a dozen counties in Southern Colorado. Many residents of this region come to Pueblo in order to shop, or participate in the numerous cultural and recreation activities that are available. The Pueblo Region is the southern most population concentration of the Front Range of Colorado. The Front Range consists of a string of cities and towns extending some 150 miles from Fort Collins on the north to Pueblo on the south (see Figure II-1). The City of Pueblo makes up less than 2% of the land area of Pueblo County but accounts for over three quarters of the population of the County. Other communities located within the County include Pueblo West, a residential development originally conceived as a second home area oriented to the aquatic amenities offered by Lake Pueblo Reservoir. The development has become a year-round community, as has the Colorado City development, in the southern part of the county. The agricultural areas, located along the mesas to the east of the City of Pueblo, have increasingly taken on qualities of suburban development, with numerous large areas which have less to do with the agricultural history of the area. The smaller incorporated communities of Boone, Rye and Beulah have been holding their own, in terms of sustained growth.
Page 12
B. Economic Overview
Employment
Figure II-3
Over the past two decades the number of jobs have increased in Pueblo County but growth has been sporadic. In 1980 there were over 54,200 jobs in the County that increased to over 66,400 in 1998. In Pueblo, employment increased by over 22% during this period and added over 12,000 jobs for an average growth of 675 jobs per year. The State of Colorado showed an increase of 527,00 jobs during the same period and showed an increase of 35%.
JOB GROWTH in PUEBLO COUNTY 1980-1998

70,000 60,000 Number of Jobs 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0
198 0 198 2 198 4 198 6 198 8 199 0 199 2 199 4 199 6
1998
Year
Sour ce: Colorado Depar t ment of Local Af f airs
Unemployment
Figure II-4
The employment picture in Pueblo has brightened considerably since the recession of 1981-83. Figure II-4 shows a substantial decline in the unemployment rate. However, the unemployment rate in Pueblo of 4.8% in 1999 remains substantially higher than Colorado's rate of 2.9% and the U.S. rate of 4.2%. The graph to the right shows recent unemployment trends in Pueblo, the State of Colorado, and the U.S.
AVERAGE ANNUAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PUEBLO, COLORADO and the UNITED STATES
18.0% 16.0% 14.0% 12.0% 10.0% 8.0% 6.0% 4.0% 2.0% 0.0%
Pueblo Colorado U.S.
Economic Base In the past decade Pueblo has undertaken a concerted effort to diversify the local economic base. There has been a major shift in employment within the various industry sectors in Pueblo. Manufacturing now employs a smaller proportion of workers than in 1978. During the late 1970s approximately 20% of the
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
199 8
Page 13
labor force was employed in Manufacturing while in the present decade just under 10% of the jobs are in manufacturing. As Manufacturing jobs declined, employment in Wholesale and Retail Trade and Services increased. Retail and Wholesale Trade and Services comprised 42% of the jobs in 1978 and in 1998 that increased to over 55% of the employment in the region. Other changes include a small percentage decrease in Government and Transportation, Utilities and Communication employment and a slight percentage increase in Construction and Finance, Insurance and Real Estate. The data in Table II-1 shows the distribution of employment in other industry sectors of the local economy.
Table II-1: EMPLOYMENT TRENDS - DISTRIBUTION BY TYPE and PLACE OF WORK YEAR 1990 1,890 5,710 2,190 10,430 1,680 12,260 10,330 44,490 Total Increase 1978-98 1,530 -3,860 -510 5,120 1,060 7,140 890 Av. Ann. Increase 1978-98 77 -193 -26 256 53 357 45
INDUSTRY Construction Manufacturing Transport, Communication & Utilities Wholesale and Retail Trade Finance, Insurance & Real Estate Services Government TOTAL
1978 2,080 9,000 2,850 9,480 1,730 9,260 9,890 44,290
1982 1,820 5,630 3,100 9,090 1,720 8,940 9,650 39,950
1986 2,060 4,300 2,370 9,880 1,860 9,680 10,050 40,200
1994 2,650 5,350 2,290 12,150 1,810 13,550 10,200 48,000
1998 3,610 5,140 2,340 14,600 2,790 16,400 10,780
55,660 11,370 569 Source: City of Pueblo On-line Data
A comparison of the distribution of jobs in Pueblo, El Paso County, the neighboring county to the north, and the State of Colorado is shown in Figure II-5. There are some consistent patterns of distribution between the three entities. For example, the distribution of Construction and Service jobs vary by only one percentage point and by two percentage points in Finance, Insurance and Real Estate jobs. Larger variations occur in the Retail Trade sector in which almost 25% of Pueblos jobs are located, compared to 19% in El Paso County and State of Colorado. Also there is a noticeable difference in the government sector where just over 19% of the Pueblos jobs are in that category compared to 15% in El Paso County and the State of Colorado.
Page 14
Figure II-5
COMPARISON OF EMPLOYMENT DISTRIBUTION PUEBLO- EL PASO-STATE OF COLORADO
35% 30%
Pueblo El Paso State
PerCent of All Jobs
25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%
ct i on
rin g
Tr ad e
Tr ad e
ns tru
an s/C om
Re tai l
an ufa
sa le
Se rv ice s
ns ur /R E
Major Employers The following table shows the employment figures for Pueblo area firms employing more than 250 workers. Over one-third of all Pueblo workers were employed by these firms. Within the past two decades, two of these employers (Rocky Mountain Steel), and the Colorado Mental Health Institute) have experienced significant reductions in their employment. This is offset in some degree by the addition of Convergys Marketing, Trane Co., the Target Distribution Center, Columbia House, the Boeing Co., Mission Foods, and B.F. Goodrich into the ranks of the top employers. As has been mentioned previously, a major transition in Pueblo's employment has occurred during the past two decades. Although Pueblo has lost some major employers, new firms, many having different occupational requirements have joined the ranks of Pueblo's largest companies.
Tr
ho le
Fi n/I
Co
Go v
er nm en t
ctu
m/ Ut il
Page 15
Table II-2 LARGEST EMPLOYERS, PUEBLO COUNTY, April-May, 1999. Name School District #60 Convergys Parkview Medical Center University of Southern Colorado Centura/St. Mary Corwin Medical Center Pueblo Community College Colorado Mental Health Institute Pueblo County City of Pueblo Trane Company School District #70 Rocky Mountain Steel Mills Target Distribution Columbia House Wal-Mart Colorado Dept. of Transportation Reg. 2 King Soopers Boeing Company US Postal Service Mission Foods Pueblo Safeway, Inc. Pueblo Goodwill Industries Pueblo Diversified Industries US West Communications BF Goodrich/Aerospace Type of Establishment Education Telemarketing Health Education Health Education Health Government Government Air conditioning equip. Mfg Education Steel product mfg. Retail warehousing Audio recording distribution ctr. Retail department store Government Retail grocery sales Aerospace Government Tortilla product mfg. Retail grocery sales Retail/vocational rehab Vinyl products mfg./job placement Telecommunications Aircraft carbon brakes mfg. Number of Employees 2,415 2,000 1,527 1,345 1,265 1,011 1033 895 879 850 844 800 742 593 480 365 355 347 313 300 290 290 275 260 250
Source: Pueblo Business Journal and Pueblo On-line Database.
Job Growth Forecast Forecasts for the amount and type of employment expected in the next thirty years have been prepared as part of the Comprehensive Development Plan Update for the Pueblo Region. The methodology used in these projections is described in Development Trends and Demand Analysis Pueblo Region, Colorado, April 1999. The projections are shown in Table II-3 and indicate that the total number of jobs is expected to increase by approximately 65,200 in the next thirty years. This represents an 87% increase over current levels (Year 2000=74,00 total jobs and Year 2030 = 139,300 total jobs). There would be an average of 2,170 new jobs created from all sectors each year over the next thirty years. The leading job categories include Services, which is projected to increase at a rate of 940 new jobs per year and the Retail Trade category that is estimated at 556 jobs per year. The slowest growing industry sectors are Wholesale Trade at 32 jobs per year, Transportation, Communications and Utilities at 38 jobs per year and Agricultural Services and Mining at 23 jobs per year. A graphical representation of the growth of the most aggressive job categories is shown in Figure II-6.
Page 16
Table II-3: EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS FOR THE PUEBLO REGION, 2000 - 2030 YEAR INDUSTRY Agricultural Services, Mining Construction Manufacturing Transport, Communication & Utilities Wholesale Trade Retail Trade Finance, Insurance & Real Estate Services Government TOTAL 2000 1,548 4,964 5,608 2,926 1,711 17,463 3,793 24,345 11,728 74,088 2005 1,690 5,928 5,869 3,145 1,858 20,165 4,162 28,406 12,857 84,090 2010 1,816 6,982 6,111 3,368 2,015 22,960 4,512 32,770 14,077 94,601 2015 1,941 8,079 6,339 3,575 2,173 25,777 4,841 37,400 15,357 105,471 2020 2,040 9,196 6,562 3,765 2,331 28,580 5,163 42,228 16,691 116,556 2025 2,127 10,352 6,790 3,946 2,498 31,439 5,483 47,389 18,090 128,113 2030 2,229 11,435 6,978 4,053 2,674 34,139 5,794 52,553 19,444 139,287 Total Annual Increase Increase 2000-2030 2000-2030 680 23 6,472 216 1,370 46 1,127 38 963 32 16,677 556 2,001 67 28,208 940 7,716 257 65,199 2,173
Source: Table E-4 and E-5, Employment Forecast, Pueblo Regional Comprehensive Development Plan Update
Figure II-6
Wages
EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS 2000-2030
The wages paid to 60,000 Services Pueblo workers are very low 50,000 Retail Trade relative to other All Others 40,000 U.S. metro areas. Government In 1998, of the 30,000 Construction 315 U.S. metropolitan 20,000 areas, Pueblo ranked 261st in 10,000 the level of wages, 0 according to a report issued by 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 the U.S. Bureau of Year Labor statistics. The annual average Pueblo area wage was $23,953, up 3.7% from the previous year. The 1998 average wage for U.S. metropolitan areas was $33,381, a 5.2% increase from 1997. Although Pueblo has seen a growth in real wages for the past seven years, it has not been of sufficient magnitude to raise the community's ranking in the level of wages relative to other U.S. cities. The 1992-93 growth rate in Pueblo area wages was 3.8%, which ranked 14th of the over 300 U.S. metropolitan areas surveyed. For 1993-94, Pueblo's growth ranked one-hundredth; for 1994-1995, it ranked seventy-first; for 1995-1996, Pueblo ranked 259th; for 1996-1997, it ranked 260th, and in 1997-1998, it ranked 213th in terms of annual growth. The net effect
Number of Jobs
Page 17
of several years of good growth was that Pueblo's overall rank in 1995, relative to the other metro areas increased by only 10 compared to 1994. The table below shows that the U.S., and in particular the State of Colorado, has seen solid gains in wages for the past three years. Pueblo, while achieving some wage growth, has not fully participated in the prosperity.
Table II-4 COMPARATIVE WAGES RATES PUEBLO and OTHER METRO AREAS, 1992 1998. 1992 Pueblo $19,700 Percent Change from 3.4% Prior Year All US Metro Areas $27,051 Percent Change from 5.1% Prior Year Pueblo Relative to US Metro Areas No. of Metro Areas 320 Rank by Level of Wages 289 Rank by Annual Growth 274 Rate in Wages 1993 $20,455 3.8% $27,539 1.8% 310 272 14 1994 $21,066 3.0% $28,125 2.1% 310 272 10 1995 $21,869 3.8% $29,099 3.5% 311 262 71 1996 $22,347 2.2% $30,238 3.9% 313 269 259 1997 $23,091 2.2% $31,717 4.9% 315 271 260 1998 $23,953 3.7% $33,381 5.2% 315 261 213
Source: Pueblo On-line Data.
The question of whether average annual wages will be able to catch up and surpass national and regional averages in the future is related to the type of employment projected for the region. In Table II-3, projections illustrated that the growth in jobs would primarily occur in Services and Retail Trade, and to a lesser extent in Construction and Government. The following table describes the current wage levels in those and other categories of employment with comparisons to neighboring counties and the state.
Table II-5: AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGES By INDUSTRY, 1998 INDUSTRY Services Retail Trade Government Construction Fin., Ins, & Real Estate Manufacturing Trans, Comm. & Utilities Wholesale Trade Ag. Services, Mining TOTAL ALL INDUSTRIES 1998 Median HH Income Pueblo County $20,820 $14,914 $29,652 $26,685 $31,228 $35,054 $33,966 $29,625 $14,210 $23,956 $35,300 El Paso County $29,768 $15,834 $32,122 $32,122 $32,414 $36,254 $48,859 $33,934 $17,453 $29,413 $45,800 Fremont County $16,970 $13,221 $33,454 $21,994 $22,966 $28,394 $31,719 $22,149 $14,296 $24,586 $35,400 State of Colorado $31,483 $17,191 $32,520 $33,409 $42,343 $41,077 $46,154 $43,226 $20,249 $32,257 $49,300 Pueblo Co Difference from State -$10,673 -$2,277 -$2,868 -$6,724 -$11,115 -$6,023 -$12,188 -$13,601 -$6,048 -$8,301 -$14,000 Pueblo Co. Difference from El Paso -$8,958 -$920 -$1,764 -$5,437 -$1,186 -$1,200 -$14,893 -$4,309 -$3,252 -$5,457 -$10,500
Source: Colorado Employment and Wages, 1998, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
Page 18
The above table shows that Pueblo is far behind El Paso County and the State of Colorado in average wages paid for all industry groups. The concern with wages keeping up with regional and national trends will first require catching up with those wage rates.
Cost of Living One of the rationales used to justify the low wages paid in the region is that the cost of living is low and therefore it is acceptable to pay lower than average wages. Based on the first quarter data for 2000 Pueblo had the 20th lowest overall cost of living of the 317 cities in North America. Using a index value of 100.0, which indicates the cost of the living in the average US community, Pueblos index value of 90.4 indicates that it is less expensive to live in the community than the national average. Pueblo ranked lowest of all of the Colorado cities surveyed. The survey also itemizes the various components of the costs of living. The following table identifies those separate categories and compares them to other Colorado cities. Pueblo ranks first in overall cost of living of the cities shown. All categories of expense are lowest with the exception of groceries, which has the second high ranking.
Table II-6 COST OF LIVING IN SELECTED COLORADO CITIES Colorado Community Pueblo Colorado Springs Grand Junction Fort Collins All Items 90.4 102.2 100.9 103.1 Groceries 112.6 102.7 106.7 114.2 Housing 77.2 118.9 106.8 112.0 Utilities 83.8 76.3 85.4 79.4 Transportation 91.1 99.0 103.1 99.9 Health 102.0 121.3 103.3 112.5 Miscellaneous Goods & Services 90.5 92.0 95.8 95.5
Source: Pueblo On-line Data, American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association, First Quarter, 2000.
C. Population
Overall Population The Pueblo Region has had stagnant population growth for the past three decades. Table II-7, below, illustrates this trend. From 1960 to 1999 population in the City of Pueblo increased by an estimated 11,600 persons, which is 12.8% higher than the number of people in 1960. During the same period the remainder of Pueblo County experienced an estimated 28.8% increase over 1960 levels and there is an estimated 7,900 additional people. The majority of the population growth in the county is associated with two large subdivisions, Pueblo West and Colorado City. In 1960, Pueblo was the second-largest city in the State of Colorado. In 1998, it ranked sixth-largest. Pueblo County ranks as the 10th largest county in 1999 but is not ranked as one of the 10th fastest growing in the State in amount of additional population.
Page 19
Table II-7: POPULATION CITY OF PUEBLO AND PUEBLO COUNTY YEAR 1960 City of Pueblo Remainder of Co. TOTAL 91,181 27,526 118,707 1970 97,774 20,464 118,238 1980 101,686 24,286 125,972 1990 98,640 24,411 123,051 1999 102,821 35,441 138,262 Total Increase 11,640 7,915 19,555
Average Percent Annual Increase Increase 1960-1999 298 203 501 12.8% 28.8% 16.5%
Source: US Bureau of the Census, Colorado Division of Local Affairs
The following table illustrates how Pueblo compares with other Colorado communities in growth in more recent years with Pueblo failing to match the growth experienced elsewhere. With the exception of Boulder, which has long instituted strict growth controls, Pueblo has experienced little of the growth of other municipalities.
Table II-8
POPULATION TRENDS IN SELECT COLORADO COMMUNITIES
Boulder Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Average Annual Change Percent Change 1990-99 85,127 86,810 89,548 91,430 91,891 93,588 92,600 92,446 92,823 92,970 871 9.2%
Colorado Springs 280,430 286,305 297,770 307,361 317,874 325,605 331,616 338,016 344,719 350,181 7,750 24.9%
Ft. Collins 87,491 90,858 93,367 96,260 99,181 101,994 104,724 107,563 110,250 113,508 2,891 29.7%
Greeley 60,454 61,285 63,089 64,530 65,343 66,708 67,941 69,993 72,078 73,826 1,486 22.1%
Lakewood 126,475 128,958 132,926 134,813 135,217 136,129 138,737 139,966 142,615 143,201 1,858 13.2% PUEBLO 98,640 98,848 99,493 100,912 101,373 101,921 102,165 102,723 102,757 102,995 484 4.4%
Source: Colorado Division of Local Affairs and Pueblo On-line data.
Age Distribution The age composition of the population in Pueblo has undergone a significant transition since 1960 as shown in Table II-9. The population under age 18 has declined steadily to where there are approximately 11,400 few people under the age of 18, representing a 25% decline. Conversely, the proportion of the elderly population has increased by approximately 9,500, or 85%, over the number of 65 year old residents in 1960. This increase is due in part to the increased life expectancy of the population, the migration of younger age segments of the population away from Pueblo, and Pueblo's reputation as a desirable place for the elderly to live. Although the trend of an increasingly elderly population is a
Page 20
national one, it is reflected to an even more pronounced extent in Pueblo. On the basis of 1999 estimates approximately 12.7% of the U.S. population was age 65 or older. For Colorado, the corresponding figure was 9.8%. For Pueblo County, 15.0% of the total population is age 65 years or older.
Table II-9 AGE DISTRIBUTION IN PUEBLO COUNTY YEAR Age Distribution Under age 18 18-64 65 years and over 1960 45,834 61,697 11,176 1970 42,985 64,131 11,122 1980 36,891 74,512 14,569 1990 32,479 71,895 18,677 1999 34,396 83,173 20,694 Total Increase -11,438 21,476 9,518
Average Annual Increase -293 551 244
Percent Increase 1960-1999 -25.0% 34.8% 85.2%
Source: US Census and Pueblo On-line Data.
Ethnicity The Hispanic population in Pueblo grew significantly during the 1980 to 1990 period, while other racial groups correspondingly declined. Table II-10 shows that almost 40% of the City of Pueblo's population is Hispanic, based on 1990 Census figures, compared to 35.5% ten years previously. Within the City of Pueblo, over half the population under age 10 years was Hispanic. A 1998 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau suggests that the Hispanic population continues to grow at a faster rate than the County's total population. The 1990 - 1998 growth rate for the Hispanic population was 23.4%, compared to an overall population gain of 9.6%. The 1998 Pueblo County Hispanic population is estimated at 54,401, or 40.3% of total County population. The Black population has been very stable historically, and currently is estimated to comprise a little over 2.0% of the County's population.
Table II 10: POPULATION BY ETHNICITY IN PUEBLO and PUEBLO COUNTY City of Pueblo Percent 1980 1990 Change White (Non-Hispanic) 62,188 56,451 -9.2% Hispanic 36,078 38,969 8.0% Black 2,030 1,932 -4.8% Other 1,390 1,288 -7.3% TOTAL 101,696 98,640 -3.0%
Pueblo County 1980 80,606 41,631 2,135 1,600 125,972 1990 73,382 44,090 2,020 1,550 123,051 Percent Change -6.5% -5.0% -3.1% 5.9% -2.3%
Source: US Census and Pueblo On-line Data.
Household Income The table below indicates that during the past three decades, Pueblo has made limited progress in narrowing the household income gap relative to the United States and the average in the State of Colorado. Previously there was a discussion of the wages in the community that is only one component of income. Household income consists of wages, self-employment income, interest, dividends, net rental income, social security income, public assistance income such as TANF or SSI and retirement income.
Page 21
Households are defined as groups of one or more persons occupying a housing unit. A household may be one family, a person living alone, or two or more families or unrelated persons living together. However, Pueblo does not appear to have achieved its share of the economic prosperity that has occurred in Colorado and nationally in recent years. Household incomes are a little over three-fourths of the U.S. national median and almost 70% of the median for households in the State of Colorado.
Table II MEDIAN HOUSEHOLDS INCOME TRENDS PUEBLO, STATE OF COLORADO AND THE UNITED STATES Pueblo State of Colorado United States Pueblo as a Percent of Colorado Pueblo as a Percent of United States 1969 $8,553 $9,555 $9,590 89.5% 89.2% 1979 $18,251 $21,279 $19,917 85.8% 91.6% 1989 $24,997 $35,930 $35,225 69.6% 71.0% 1999 $36,100 $51,800 $47,800 69.7% 75.5%
Median incomes are the basis for qualifications for many assistance programs. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) develops annual income limits for each metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area in the country, which are used for eligibility in many housing and other assistance programs. The estimated median family income for the United States for 1999 was $47,800, for metropolitan areas in Colorado was $54,800 and in Pueblo it is $36,100. The following table provides estimates of the number of households in various income categories. These estimates show that the incomes of 59% of Pueblo households are less than the median for the area.
Table II-13: ESTIMATE OF HOUSHOLD INCOMES IN THE CITY and COUNTY OF PUEBLO, 1999 Percent of Total 17% 14% 18% 11% 9% 21% 12% 100% Cumulative Percent 17% 30% 48% 59% 67% 88% 100%
Household Income Groups 1. Extremely Low <30% of Median 2. Very Low Between 30%-50% of Median 3. Low Between 50%-80% of Median 4. Between 80%-100% of Median 5. Between 100%-120% of Median 6. Between 120%-200% of Median 7. Over 200% of Median
Number 8,853 7,421 9,585 5,655 4,588 11,276 6,276 53,654
Source: 1999 Basic Trendline Data for Block Groups, Pueblo County, Claritas and US Department of Health and Human Services
The following illustration graphically portrays the extent and distribution of household incomes in Pueblo County.
Page 22
Figure II-7
DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLD INCOMES

15,000
10,000
NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS
5,000
Median Income $36,100 per Year
1. Income <$10,800
5,000
2. Income $10,800$18,000
3. Income $18,000$28,800
4. Income $28,000$36,100
5. Income $36,100$43,320
6. Income $43,200$72,200
7. HH Income $72,000+
10,000
15,000
INCOME GROUPS
Poverty The consequences of low household incomes and low wages is widespread poverty in the Pueblo area. The most current estimate of the number of persons living below the poverty level is 18.7%, which is substantially higher the 10.2% rate in the State of Colorado and the 13.3% in the United States. The following table compares the poverty rates of selected Colorado counties with Pueblo County. As shown has the highest percentage of poverty in the Front Range counties, but when compared to southern Colorado counties it has one of the lower poverty rates.
Table II-14: POVERTY RATES IN SELECTED COLORADO COUNTIES, 1997. County Pueblo Weld Denver El Paso Larimer Arapahoe Jefferson Douglas Percent Poverty 18.1% 12.5% 16.4% 9.5% 8.5% 6.4% 5.4% 1.9% County Crowley Las Animas Otero Huerfano Bent Pueblo Baca Fremont Percent Poverty 32.3% 23.8% 22.8% 23.4% 24.5% 18.1% 19.1% 17.2%
Source: US Census, Estimates of Poverty in Colorado, 1997.
Page 23
Population Projections Projections for the Pueblo region were prepared as part of the Comprehensive Development Plan Update. The projection of future conditions is based on a most likely scenario for future land development in Pueblo County. The forecast extends from the current population of just under 140,000 to a target population of 200,000 which is anticipated to be reached in the year 2030. The population forecast is presented in Table II-13 for all persons in Pueblo County by age grouping in 5-year increments.
Table II-13: POPULATION FORECAST NUMBER OF PERSONS BY AGE YEAR 2015 10,992 11,065 10,720 11,382 12,853 12,295 12,994 12,871 11,625 9,170 9,879 10,095 9,267 7,774 5,396 4,252 3,306 3,595 169,531 Total Av. Ann. Increase Increase 2000-2030 2000-2030 2,337 78 2,233 74 3,502 117 3,642 121 3,299 110 1,006 34 2,780 93 3,310 110 6,653 222 8,127 271 4,092 136 -388 -13 2,273 76 5,399 180 5,986 200 4,029 134 922 31 657 22 59,859 1,995
Age Group 0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85 plus TOTAL
2000 9,057 9,629 9,508 11,031 11,842 10,248 8,219 9,505 10,200 9,685 8,422 6,185 5,512 5,408 5,441 4,493 3,035 2,503 139,923
2005 9,776 9,596 10,057 10,870 12,420 11,844 10,858 8,734 9,838 10,297 9,620 8,310 6,063 5,286 4,961 4,654 3,423 2,894 149,501
2010 10,527 10,293 10,004 11,406 12,263 12,399 12,404 11,312 9,050 9,929 10,224 9,483 8,114 5,818 4,883 4,277 3,566 3,305 159,257
2020 11,276 11,531 11,494 12,106 12,852 12,892 12,891 13,451 13,168 11,723 9,140 9,775 9,876 8,885 7,204 4,723 3,326 3,573 179,886
2025 11,589 11,816 11,959 12,877 13,579 12,898 13,485 13,348 13,743 13,256 11,667 9,060 9,578 9,473 8,234 6,298 3,700 3,565 190,125
2030 11,394 11,862 13,010 14,673 15,141 11,254 10,999 12,815 16,853 17,812 12,514 5,797 7,785 10,807 11,427 8,522 3,957 3,160 199,782
Source: Table P-2, Development Trends and Demand Analysis, Pueblo Region, April, 1999
This previous examination of the history of population growth suggests that two trends will characterize Pueblo's population for the foreseeable future. It will contain an increasing proportion of elderly persons, and it will become increasingly Hispanic. The overall extent of population growth will partly depend upon the success of Pueblo's continuing efforts to attract new businesses as well as the expansion of existing ones.
Figure II-8
PROJECTED POPULATION BY AGE GROUPS
60,000
50,000
NUMBER OF PEOPLE
40,000
30,000
20,000
Age 0-19 Age 20-34 Age 35-44 Age 45-64 Over 65 Years
10,000
0 2000
2005
2010
2015 YEAR
2020
2025
2030
Page 24
Perhaps the most important trend to be examined is the rate of net migration. Population will either move into an area or leave it. Generally speaking, more persons have left the Pueblo area than moved into it during the past twenty years. The most encouraging development, though, is the fact that since the early 1990's, Pueblo's job creation efforts and emphasis on economic development stemmed the tide of negative out migration from Pueblo. In recent years, more population has moved to Pueblo than has left.
D. Other Social Indicators

The section describes additional data that are indicators of the social conditions found within the community. Education Educational services are provided by two school districts in the Pueblo Region. School District #60 primarily serves the area encompassed by the City of Pueblo. There are 17,789 (1999 enrolment) students in the district schools that includes 21 elementary schools, 7 middle/junior high schools and 4 high schools. Also, there three special schools and 12 non-public schools in the district that have an enrollment of 976 students. Almost 53% of the students in the public system are Hispanic, 42% White and the remaining 5% are American Indian, Asian or African American. The district has 939 teachers and a student-teacher ratio of 19.2. School District #70 serves the area outside of the City of Pueblo and covers an area of 847 square miles. Fall 1999 enrollment in the district was 6,845 students who were educated in 8 elementary schools, 7 middle/junior high schools, 4 senior high schools and 12 other facilities. The ethnic distribution of students shows 75% as being White, 23% Hispanic and 2% are American Indian, Asian or African American. The district has 343 teachers and a student-teacher ratio of 19.9. According to the 1990 Census, approximately 73.2% of persons age 25 and over in Pueblo had completed high school. This is slightly below the U.S. National figure of 75.2%, but is substantially below the Colorado percentage of 84.4% with a high school education. In 1980, 66.0% of Pueblo city residents had completed high school, compared to 66.5%, nationally. Pueblo's high school completion rate has, therefore, declined slightly, relative to the U.S. Pueblo School District #60 and #70 administers a variety of tests designed to measure the academic performance of its students. For elementary students the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) has become the recently adopted standardized test. The table below shows the results of testing in reading and writing for various grade levels. The results indicate that in School District #60 reading levels are on par with state averages in the third grade, are making marked improvements in the fourth grade and exceed state averages in the seventh grade. Writing proficiency in somewhat behind the state levels in School District #60. Test scores for School District #70 were not provided.
Page 25
Table II-14: CSAP READING and WRITING SCORES 1996-97 Reading Third Grade District 60 State Reading Fourth Grade District 60 State Reading Seventh Grade District 60 State Writing Fourth Grade District 60 State Writing Seventh Grade District 60 State 1997-98 67 66 44 57 53 57 1998-99 68 67 57 59 56 44 19 31 30 36 31 34 30 41
Source: Accountability Reports, School District #60
Table II-15, below illustrates School District #60s graduation rate relative to the State of Colorado. School District #60s 1992-1999 graduation rate was well above the State as a whole. School District #60s dropout rate, however, was also well above the states rate, particularly during the last 3-4 years.
Table II-15: GRADUATION, DROP OUT and ACT SCORES, SD# 60 AND SD# 70. Year 92-93 93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 Graduation Rates SD 60 Colorado 85.3 79.9 85.8 78.5 85.5 77.4 87.3 77.6 84.9 78.5 88.7 80.0 85.6 79.9 Dropout Rates SD 60 Colorado 2.4 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.4 4.8 4.0 5.9 3.6 4.4 3.5 6.0 3.3 SD 60 ACT Scores Colorado
20.0 20.1 20.0 20.4 19.6
21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.5
Source: Accountability Reports, School District #60
Most college bound students take the American College Test (ACT), which is required by Colorado colleges and universities. Table II-15 reveals that District #60 students did not perform as well on the test as students statewide and nationally, although the differences apparently are not extreme.
Page 26
Crime City of Pueblo In examining the recent trend of crimes for the City Pueblo, it is apparent that since 1995, there has been a reduction in the overall crime rate, including the rate for property and violent crimes. The crime rate for violent crime has dropped consistently since 1996, following a slight increase in the rate during 1995-1996. Although 1999 saw a slight increase in the crime rate for property crimes, the overall trend since 1995 has been one of decreases in the rate of crimes committed per 100,000 population. Violent crime represents an aggregate of the Murder/Manslaughter, Rape, Robbery, and Aggravated Assault categories, while property crimes include Burglary, Larceny, and Auto Theft.
Table II-17 CRIMAL OFFENSES CITY OF PUEBLO YEAR TYPE OF OFFENSE 1994 1995 Murder/Manslaughter 8 9 7 Forcible Rape 84 46 69 Robbery 167 182 202 Aggravated Assault 1,212 1,131 1,026 Burglary 1,424 1,468 1,251 Larceny 4,052 4,475 4,012 Auto Theft 390 512 407 Total Offenses 7,337 7,823 6,974 NUMBER OF OFFENSE BY TYPE 1,368 1,387 1,304 Violent Crimes 1,471 Property Crimes 5,866 6,455 5,985 5,670 CRIME RATE NUMBER OF OFFENSES PER 10,000 POPULATION Violent Crimes 145.1 134.2 135.8 126.9 Property Crimes 578.7 633.3 585.8 552.0 1996 13 74 196 1,104 1,348 4,305 332 7,372 1997 1998 13 82 172 884 1,214 3,994 344 6,703 1,151 5,552 112.0 540.3 1999 6 100 161 825 947 4,382 303 6,724 1,092 5,632 106.0 546.8 Change Annual Change 1994-99 5 Yrs., 1994-99 -2 -0.4 16 3.2 -6 -1.2 -387 -77.4 -477 -95.4 330 66 -87 -17.4 -613 -122.6 -379 -234 -39.1 -31.8 -75.8 -46.8 -7.8 -6.4
Source: Pueblo Police Department Annual Reports and Pueblo On-line Data.
Pueblo County District Court The Pueblo County District Attorneys office is structured into a number of units or departments that prosecute cases which range from serious felonies to misdemeanors. The level of the caseloads in these various categories reflects a level of criminal involvement in the county. Table II-19 describes the recent history of types of cases and shows an increase in each category, except traffic cases. However, there are slight decreases from 1998 to 1999 in each category, which are explained by a number of new reporting procedures that were instituted and data entry of cases.
Page 27
Table II-19: DISTRICT COURT CASES, PUEBLO COUNTY TYPE OF CASES Misdemeanor Cases Felony Cases Traffic Cases Juvenile Cases 1994 2,115 1,422 7,278 513 1995 1,491 1,613 6,877 542 1996 Annual Increase 5 Yr., 1994-99 1,934 3,224 3,348 3,244 225 1,622 1,810 1,780 1,641 44 6,635 8,258 8,949 6,825 -91 813 596 778 750 47 Source: 1999 Annual Report, 10th Judicial District Attorney, Pueblo Colorado. 1997 1998 1999 Total Increase 1994-1999 1,129 219 -453 237
Teenage Pregnancy Teen pregnancy has been described by many as the number one health issue in Pueblo. Pueblo has one of the highest, second only to Denver, incidence of births to teens in the state. The table below compares the incidence of teen births in various areas within the state and then compares them to the state averages in 1999. Children are born to teenagers at a rate of 19.9 births per 1,000 females aged 10 to 17 in Pueblo County. This compares to a rate of 18.0 births per 1,000 teens in neighboring Otero County and 11.9 births per 1,000 in the State. Births to teens represent over 8% of all births in Pueblo County, which compare to 4.5% of the births in the State. Almost 93% of teen births are to unmarried females in Pueblo, compared to 86% in the State. In Las Animas County all of the teenage births are to unmarried women. Over three-fourths of teenage births are to Hispanic females in Pueblo compared to 58% in the State of Colorado. Nationally, teen pregnancy rates have declined, while the trend of a high number of teenage births in Pueblo has continued throughout the decade of the 90s with the number of births per year holding consistently at 20 births per 1,000 teens.
Table II-20: TEENAGE BIRTHS IN SELECTED COLORADO COUNTIES, 1999 Pueblo All Births/All Ages Births to Teens (age 10 -17) Births to Unmarried Teens Births to Hispanic Teens Births to Unmarried Hispanic Teens Total Population Total Female Population Female Population Age 10-17 Births/1000 Births/1000 Teens (all) Percent of All Births to Teens Percent of Teen Births - Unmarried Percent of Teen Births to Hispanic Teens 1,904 154 141 107 102 135,931 69,791 7,746 27.3 19.9 8.1% 91.6% 75.9% Weld 2,630 157 135 105 86 160,441 80,928 9,620 32.5 16.3 6.0% 86.0% 77.8% COUNTY Mesa 1,467 70 60 20 15 112,914 57,909 6,750 25.3 10.4 4.8% 85.7% 33.3% Otero 254 24 23 19 19 21,637 11,132 1,336 22.8 18.0 9.4% 95.8% 82.6% Las Animas 172 13 13 10 10 16,211 8,266 896 20.8 14.5 7.6% 100.0% 76.9% State of Colorado 59,550 2,670 2,305 1,347 1,132 4,016,304 2,021,283 226,327 29.5 11.8 4.5% 86.3% 58.4%
Source: Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment
Page 28
Medically Underserved Pueblo serves as a hub city for many health services throughout the 22 county southeastern Colorado region. There are a growing number of persons beyond those who are uninsured that face financial and access challenges, which results in a large number of underserved in the community. There are estimated to be over 25,000 uninsured persons in the community and just over 19,000 (19,216 in October 2000) Medicaid insured. The Colorado Indigent Care Program reports that there were over 29,000 claims made for the program in 1999 and that 745 of those eligible for Pueblo CHP+ were in enrolled in the program. Also, approximately 29,000 community residents are seniors, many of whom are experiencing difficulties with Medicare coverage and living on fixed incomes; and approximately 18,000 veterans. Each group is experiencing challenges to access health care. Additionally, salaries in Pueblo are low enough so that insurance coverage may not be affordable for many.
Page 29
III. Listening to the Community

As part of the Pueblo human investment planning process, several surveys were conducted. A community-wide (including the City of Pueblo and Pueblo County) household survey was conducted in February and March, 2000. The survey was designed to identify human service needs in the community and some of the barriers to providing those services. Random and targeted distribution methods were employed. In addition, another survey was developed and distributed during key person interviews and at various meetings and presentations.
Household Survey - Random Distribution

One of the means of acquiring public input for the HIP was to undertake a sample survey of the population in the community. A sample is a relatively small subset of the total population. The study utilized a simple random sampling technique whereby each household is chosen entirely by chance and each household in the community has an equal opportunity of being included in the sample. Four thousand, (4,000) questionnaires were distributed to randomly selected addresses in the city and county. A random number software program was used to select the households in a distribution equal to the number of households in each Zip Code in the community. For example, Zip Code 81001 represents approximately 20% of the population in the entire county and thus approximately 20% of the questionnaires, or about 800, were sent to residential addresses in Zip Code 81001. The number of questionnaires distributed (4,000) was based on the commonly accepted rule of thumb in which a 10% response rate is considered typical. There were 460 responses received or just over 10% of the surveys distributed. Determining how representative the findings of the survey are in relation to the general public is important to interpreting the results. This is referred to as the level of confidence in the findings. Based on the number of households in the community and the number of responses received, the survey results have a confidence level of 95%, plus or minus 4.6%. This means that it is expected that 19 out of 20 households (95%) would provide answers similar to those reported in the survey. For example, the survey showed that 35.9% of the households identified that Someone in the household is having a lot of anxiety, stress or depression. If this survey was repeated to a random sampling of area residents it is expected that between 40.4% and 31.3% ( 4.6%) would respond that this is a problem in their household. Increasing the size of a sample only marginally affects survey results. For example it would be necessary to receive 1,089 survey responses to reduce the error to 3% (as opposed to the 4.6%) and to reduce the percentage error to 1.0% 8,430 surveys would need to be returned. In the last five presidential
Page 30
elections, the Gallup Poll has interviewed fewer than 4,000 voters for each election. Yet in all five elections, the Gallup organizations margin of error in predicting the popular vote in the presidential election has been less than 2%. All of these factors combined lead to the conclusion that the survey results are valid indications of the concerns in the community.
Household Survey - Targeted Distribution

In addition to the random survey a distributed survey was also carried out. The survey instrument was the same but the survey was distributed to various sites in the community. The following table, (Table 1) identifies where the survey was distributed. Approximately 1,170 surveys were distributed and 295 were returned for a response rate of 25.2%.
Table III-1: SITES FOR DISTRIBUTED SURVEY Consumer Survey Distribution Sites Board of County Commissioners Beulah General Store McClelland Library Pueblo Community Health Center SRDA Pueblo County Dept. of Social Services Pueblo County HHS Commodity Food Distribution Pueblo County HHS Commodity Food Distribution Eastside Child Care Center Southside Child Care Center City-County Health Department Latino Chamber of Commerce Pueblo County Clerk - Courthouse Pueblo County Treasurer - Courthouse Southern Colorado AIDS Project Number Distributed 20 50 100 100 100 100 125 150 25 25 100 50 100 100 25 1,170 Target Group General General General Low Income/General Elderly Low Income Homebound/Low Income Low Income Children/Families/Low Income Children/Families/Low Income General General General General General
Interview Survey A third survey was also used to gauge the perceived needs in the community. This survey was distributed at key person interviews and during various presentations and meetings held while gathering data for the study. It was not intended to be a statistically reliable survey, but was simply another tool to gain insight from knowledgeable members of the community. In addition to asking about community needs, a check off list of quality of life concerns was administered.
Page 31
Usefulness of Surveys Surveys are not a vote or referendum on the issues, concerns and problems in the community. A sample survey describes the probability or likelihood that a condition is present in the community. There are certainly some biases associated with using questionnaires and samples to gauge the concerns in a community. For example, the respondent may not answer a question truthfully. There may be a nonresponse bias in that some population groups do not elect to answer the survey. Or perhaps a household was simply having a bad day when the survey was completed. These minor limitations should not detract from the usefulness of the survey results, particularly when one looks at the number of similar issues that surfaced in response to the various survey techniques used. The elderly population is somewhat over represented. The percentage of older people responding to the survey was greater than their actual percentage of the population. This is not surprising given the typically higher response rate of older citizens to surveys. The income levels of the households responding to the Random Survey and the community as a whole are similar. However, the people responding to the Distributed Survey had lower incomes than the general public. There is good representation from virtually all parts of the county. There were responses from all zip codes with the exception of the outlying eastern portions of the county that is sparsely populated. Most surveys fail to attract responses in proportion to the ethnic minorities found within a community. In this case, the Hispanic community appears to be underrepresented in the survey responses. In order to account for this, responses by ethnic background has been extracted from the data and reported where appropriate.
Summary of Findings
In order to account for any under representation of the population characteristics in the community a number of cross tabulations of the results are located in the Appendix. This view of the responses permits the identification of differences that may be a result of age, income or ethnicity. Household Problems The top problems facing residents of the community are listed in the following table. The left hand column shows the results from the Random survey and the right hand column the ranking from the Distributed survey.
Page 32
Table III-2: Rank from Random Sample 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
HOUSEHOLD PROBLEM Someone is the household is having a lot of anxiety, stress or depression. Not being able to afford legal help. Not being able to pay for or get medical insurance. Not having enough money to pay the doctor or buy prescription medications. Not being able to afford recreational activities. Finding it difficult to budget. Housing needs major repairs. Not being able to afford cultural or art activities. Not having enough money for clothing or shoes. Not being able to pay the utility bills. Not enough money for food. Not enough money to pay for housing.
Rank from Distributed Sample 3 11 1 4 5 2 8 7 6 10 12 9
Barriers to Service The top reasons why households do not look for help in solving problems is shown in the following table. The left hand column are Random survey responses and the right hand are from the Distributed survey.
Table III-3: Rank from Random Sample 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
BARRIERS Could not afford fees or costs. Was not eligible for help. Services were not available. Did not have information on available services Thought service would cost too much. Did not like the services or they did not help. Had to wait too long to get help. Worried about the quality of service. Didnt want to go outside of family and friends. Had a prior bad experience Services were too far away. Concerned that agency would tell other about the problem.
Rank from Distributed Sample 2 4 1 3 5 9 8 10 3 7 12 13
Other Issues from Households Many people wrote comments as they filled out their household survey. The following is a summary of the comments. Some of the more common concerns cited related to the following: Income/Financial Worries Medical/Insurance Concerns Transportation (Transit) Needs Lack of Jobs Quality/Availability of Schools/Daycare Assistance for the Elderly Alcohol/Substance Abuse
Page 33
In addition to the formal, but random survey a brief questionnaire was distributed to a variety of community boards and various public meetings associated with the project. The results of the survey are not meant to be a statistically valid sample of opinion but to gage the pulse of those who care about and are knowledgeable in the community. Community Concerns Those interviewed during the process and attendees at meetings were asked to list the top concerns facing the community. The top ten list includes: 1. Pueblo has a high incidence early teen pregnancy. 2. There is a need for more health care assistance for low income and moderate-income persons in Pueblo County. 3. There is an additional need to provide quality, affordable childcare in Pueblo County. 4. Pueblo County has a high incidence of underemployment; a significant number of people are incapable of making a living wage to adequately support their family. 5. General mental health counseling services (not specifically addressed to the chronically mentally ill) are lacking for most populations in age groups in Pueblo. 6. There is a critical decline in the integrity of the family structure of Pueblo County. 7. There is a critical lack of low-income affordable housing in Pueblo County. 8. Pueblo County is starting to experience the senior boom. 9. There is a lack of prevention programs in Pueblo County; funding assistance is provided after the problem becomes critical. 10. Pueblo County has a high incidence of poverty, which drives the needs of human service delivery. Quality of Life Concerns The quality of life is very important to Pueblo Area residents. When asked to identify the major issues that need to be addressed to preserve those qualities, the following were listed: 1. Quality Jobs (full time jobs paying a wage that can support a family and provide health and other reasonable benefits). 2. Quality Day Care for Working Parents. 3. Availability of Vocational Training for all who want it. 4. Availability of a College Education for all who want it. 5. Housing Opportunities 6. Stable Neighborhoods 7. Availability and Affordability of Health Care 8. Parental Responsibility 9. Improving the Appearance of the Community 10. Protection of Streams, Creeks and Drainageways
Focus Group
Focus group sessions were held on a variety of topics, which grew out of the community survey. A total of 12 sessions were held over eleven topics with over 90 persons participated. The Focus Group discussions provided greater depth to the issues identified in the survey. A summary of the participants comments and perceptions are as follows:
Page 34
Arts/Culture/Recreation It is a lack of awareness, not lack of funds, which prompted household survey respondents to indicate they had problems affording recreational and arts/cultural activities. More support for the arts is needed in the schools and from the communitys leaders. Volunteerism needs to be encouraged to both support and instill appreciation of art, culture, and recreation. Pueblo needs to make a financial commitment to its arts, cultural, and recreational programs and facilities. A new recreational center and a new performing arts center should be considered. Health Services 25% of Pueblo residents are uninsured. Approximately 10% more are underinsured. Concerns regarding the affordability of health care/insurance cuts across socioeconomic lines. Greater emphasis needs to be placed on providing good early childhood programs. Pueblo has a higher percentage of people suffering from many diseases e.g. diabetes, heart disease, etc. than found in other communities. The demand for health services is impacted by Pueblos higher than average percentage of seniors in the community. Pueblo has too many low-paying jobs that do not offer benefits. A persons ability to obtain medical care is greatly impacted by their pay and accompanying employee benefits. Lack of awareness, having no insurance or being underinsured, the inability to afford prescription medications and the lack of transportation are the primary barriers to providing quality health care. The future of health care in Pueblo should focus on wellness programs. Housing It is primarily the poor and working poor (50% below median income) whose needs are not being met. The number of complaints received by the public agencies dealing with housing problems has significantly decreased. Complaints received usually involve the elderly and young people (teens with children or teens involved with gangs and/or drugs and alcohol). Pueblos wage increases are not keeping pace with housing price increases. Affordable/subsidized housing projects are extremely difficult to develop due to neighborhood opposition. Financial institutions are often unwilling to provide home financing to lower income individuals. Pueblo area citizens, particularly the elderly, who do not want to accept government assistance, often reject government help. Stringent, inflexible building codes and regulations often preclude builders from developing affordable housing and citizens from making needed improvements. The private sector needs to become more involved in addressing the housing needs government cannot do it alone.
Page 35
Social Responsibility & Leadership Pueblo has been able to attract many low-paying jobs, but now Pueblo must focus on attracting higher-paying jobs. Attention must be given to educating and training Pueblos labor force. Need to look to the private sector to address many of Pueblos problems, the public sector cannot meet all needs. The participants indicated that Pueblo lacks a strong sense of community and/or a sense of shared responsibility. Creating a youth-friendly community is essential. The root causes of teen pregnancy, teen substance and alcohol abuse, and youth violence need to be addressed. More attention needs to be given to the education Pueblos children are receiving. The focus group participants generally felt very optimistic about the communitys recent accomplishments and regarding Pueblos future. Pueblo leadership should make a concerted effort to meet to discuss topics of concern, to coordinate projects undertaken, and to recruit and shape future leaders. Legal Services Agencies offering legal services (both civil and criminal) to the poor community of Pueblo have extremely large caseloads. The lower and middle-income people have the most difficult time obtaining legal help. Pueblo needs an active bar association to help meet the needs of Pueblo residents seeking legal services. Cases of domestic violence are rising in Pueblo. 80% of assault and domestic violence cases involve alcohol and/or drugs. Mental Health Providers The Pueblo community needs to be educated regarding mental illness. In the combined experience of the focus group participants, people will only discuss mental illness if they remain anonymous. Most insurers have very poor coverage for mental illness. Lack of services for children and high risk adolescents is a big problem. Due to Pueblos cultural diversity, a one-size fits all approach to mental illness will never work. A perception exists that Pueblo is the dumping ground for the mentally ill from other states and cities. The number of prisons in the Pueblo area is believed to contribute to the number of mentally ill in the community. Great services are available for those with acute mental illnesses, however, if you arent acute it is much more difficult to get care. Early intervention programs are seen as the best way to address mental illness. Coordination and awareness of existing programs should be pursued.
Page 36
Teen Pregnancy Moms and Dads Teen moms and dad seemed to have unstable home lives. The young people generally acknowledge that having a baby as a teenager is difficult (the degree to which they thought this corresponded to the amount of support they received from their family and whether or not they have had the baby yet). Two of the six people in attendance planned the pregnancy. None of the six young people are married, but three of them planned to marry the mother/father of their child. In several cases the families were supportive of the decision to have a child, but some admit that it has seriously strained relations with their family or individual family members. Teen moms and dad only had a cursory understanding of contraceptive use prior to the pregnancy. They believe that sex education needed to start earlier. The teens long for positive adult influences in their lives. The teen moms and dads felt peer pressure to have sex, not to get pregnant. Many of the participants admitted to significant alcohol use around the time that they got pregnant. Most of the young women receive little support, emotionally or financially, from the fathers. The focus group participants plan to finish high school, however, they all had friends or acquaintances who had dropped out due to pregnancy. The teen moms and dads have difficulty making ends meet and rely heavily on programs such as WIC and Medicaid. The teen moms received, or are receiving, good prenatal care. Parkviews school-based wellness program is viewed as an invaluable resource in helping them access prenatal care and other available resources (e.g. WIC and Medicaid). The teens believed that the education at Central is inadequate, too easy and that all of the school districts resources go to South where the rich kids go. All of the teens live with at least one parent, although two were planning to move out soon. The majority of the teen participants are not committed to staying in Pueblo. Teen Pregnancy (Moms and Dads) Pregnant teens find out about available services primarily through word of mouth. A perception exists among providers that the school board does not want to, or will not effectively, deal with the issue of teen pregnancy. Cultural differences affect how young people view teen pregnancy. Very few effective education programs (outside of the schools) exist in Pueblo. More than half of teenage girls drops out of school before graduation for high school in Pueblo. Lower income teens tend to have their babies and do not consider adoption. Middle and upper class girls tend to have abortions. In the participants experience, family dysfunction seems to be common among pregnant teens. The focus group participants believe that a silent majority exists that want effective sex education to be taught in the schools; a small but vocal conservative group prevents this from occurring. A belief exists that the churches have not had much of an impact on the issue of teen pregnancy because many young people do not go to church and because most tend to teach abstinence. Boys/young men need to be educated and taught responsibility.
Page 37
Seniors Seniors are particularly concerned about the rising cost of health care, prescription medicines, and insurance. Many seniors would prefer to stay at home, but would like to be offered services similar to those that are institutionalized. It is difficult to find good home health care professionals because of the low wages paid in that industry. Some seniors do not receive the care or services they need because they are too proud to ask for help. Programs should be developed to help seniors make better use of the Internet. Programs using information technology should be developed to help seniors meet their practical needs as well as their social needs. (This could enable more seniors to stay at home). The participants are concerned about the rising cost of housing. Seniors are concerned about the affordability and quality of legal help. (Many people are reluctant or unwilling to work with paralegals). There seems to be a trend of seniors taking care of seniors. Seniors feel that they are often pulled in many different directions and asked to do too much. Families need to be educated regarding the preparations needed for, and the demands of, taking care of an elderly family member. Employment/Education Pueblo needs to find better ways to match employers with employees and make better use of known techniques. A high percentage of the current workforce has not graduated from high school. High employee turnover is a significant problem in Pueblo. There is concern that the school system is not producing a prepared workforce. Interagency collaboration, or lack of collaboration, was cited as an issue. The role of a parent in directing their children regarding career choices is viewed as being critical. However, many parents do not have the knowledge or capability to provide sound career counseling.
Issues, Items, and Concerns Resulting from the Key Person Interviews
Another means of assessing the concerns of the community involved personal interviews with over 35 knowledgeable observers within the community. Some who were interviewed were long-time residents who provided a historical view of conditions, while others were newcomers whose comments reflect experiences in other communities around the country. Highlights of those comments are as follows: Working Poor. The term working poor can be used to describe a number of situations that families and individuals find themselves in the community. Working poor applies to those who make just enough money to not qualify for assistance. Assistance in terms of housing, medical expenses, health concerns, and training or education to get a better job. Possibly it is those families and individuals who were just above the poverty level or eligibility threshold that could or should form a focus to any of the investment planning proposals.
Page 38
Seniors. Many believe that seniors are being taking care of. That's not difficult to understand given the media attention about programs, how much more active seniors are in this day and age, and the promotions of the AARP. Seniors are also eligible for many entitlement programs and benefits. Thus, there is a perception, and many times perception becomes a reality, that seniors are well cared for in Pueblo. Others believe that many seniors remain isolated and are in need of access to services. Small Businesses. Pueblo has become the town of small businesses. The closing of the steel plant, weapons plant and downsizing of the state mental hospital have resulted in small businesses becoming the order of the day. One of the questions, or concerns in the Hispanic community as it relates to small business opportunities is the level of interest or ability for the minority community to tap into entrepreneurial attitude. Are there opportunities to provide education and assistance for people who want to start their own businesses? Leadership. The succession of leadership in the community is weakening. Historically there's been a family role in leadership in the community whereby a father may have been involved in City Council and his son or grandson or nephew would continue with service to the community. It doesn't appear to be the same sort of family commitment, if that's the proper term, to the need for public life in the community. Volunteerism. One of the common issues that arose in the interview process pertains to dedication of resources or time from an individual. A dedication would mean that individuals who contribute money, or volunteer their time, would do so only if theyre particular and specific interests are benefiting. One example came from United Way donations. A contributor can designate funds go to a specific purpose, like the Boys and Girls Club. If no designation is made, then the contribution goes into the general fund, so speak, which is then allocated on a case-by-case basis by the United Way. The same thing is true of volunteerism. Individuals seem to want to volunteer for a specific purpose. Habitat for Humanity for example, has long list of volunteers, while other causes or programs are begging for help. That puts some of the unpopular or less popular causes or needs at a competitive disadvantage. Denial. A number of people believe that issues such as racism, teen pregnancy, domestic violence, substance abuse and homelessness are not recognize the in the community. Turnover. High turnover rates in the labor force may be a problem. Personal Debt. There was a perception by some that personal debt high in the community. Alcoholism. A number of persons interviewed talked about to the problems alcohol is causing the community. It's broken up families, caused increased domestic violence and maybe indirectly responsible for teen pregnancy and other social ills associated with youth in the community. There is a common acceptance of the use of alcohol in the community. However, there are long-term consequences from the results of abusing alcohol. Collaboration. Numerous persons mentioned collaboration or the lack of collaboration. It just seems that the need to protect turf has reduced and some cases eliminated the desire to collaborate for the good of the community. Absent in much of the discussion about collaboration are the faith organizations. The churches and other religious organizations do not play a prominent role in addressing community concerns. Neighborhoods. Migration to Pueblo to work in the steel mills came from a variety of ethnic groups who
Page 39
settled in the community into their own neighborhoods. During the last 30 to 40 years neighborhoods have disintegrated. Children of families moved away to either other neighborhoods in the community, to outlying areas, and to locations for job employment and betterment. There may be a reason to look at neighborhoods as the foundation upon which to rebuild the community in the family. The reintroduction of neighborhood could also form the basis of satellite service delivery. Services can come out to the neighborhoods or groups of neighborhoods. The Cycle of Poverty. A number of individuals have observed that there is definitely a cycle of poverty in the community. The cycle not only he extends throughout generations within a family got to their maybe a connection between repeated single parent pregnancy East and the notion of benefits been gained through the poverty cycle. Nothing to Do. There also is a common perception that there are few activities for lower middle-class families and youth in the community. These would include cultural as well as recreational activities. Nothing for Teens to Do. The youth focus group, the recreation focus group, and a number of those interviewed indicated that there is nothing for teens to do. No Problem. Some interviewees did not think there was a problem in the community pertaining to human needs. If there is a problem, the existing social service agencies will take care of it. In general, the longtime members of the community who were interviewed, had this opinion. A Tracking System. The developmental disabilities agencies have the capabilities to monitor and track the progress of children with disabilities as they age, that is from children to young adults, or until they no longer can stay in the school system. Deinstitutionalization. Deinstitutionalization has many implications for the Human Investment Plan. More persons with emotional problems are in the community and they create a need that is presumably to be met by local entities. Social Service Resources. People in need do not know what kinds of assistance programs are available. Agency/Program Independence. Individual initiative by agencies are not given adequate recognition or acknowledgement. Programs with independent financial support (non-local government) should be rewarded but are not. Parenting/Problem Solving. Some interviewees felt that parenting skills are lacking and not being taught or acquired through school or family. Problem solving is needed for basic work ethics. Transportation. Some expressed concern about the adequacy of Pueblos transit system, an issue that affects a variety of age groups: for the young being able to get to recreational activities, for employees to get to jobs, and for seniors to get to medical appointments or social events.
Page 40
Minority Employment and Opportunities. The need and desire to educate how to get a business going, the necessary financial tools, how to keep a business going, motivation to start a business. Education. Generally, people held support and hope for improvements in the school system. However, deep concern over the state and quality of public education in Pueblo is widespread. Changes are occurring slowly and recent successes in selected schools offer hope. Rebuilding faith in the communitys schools will require an accelerated pace of improvement.
Page 41
IV. Community Values for Improving Quality of Life

Strategic Investment Visions and Values
Based on the work of the Human Investment Plans Advisory Committee Members, the Project Management Team, the analysis of needs, and other assessments and priorities, the following goals appear to be most important and are listed in priority order: 1. Individuals and families need the ability to earn an income that will help them be self-sufficient. For most people, this need translates into an opportunity to work. Although the employment rate in Pueblo is lower than it has been in years, many of the jobs are low-paying and offer few, if any, benefits. As the Pueblo economy matures, attention needs to be given to the quality of the jobs that Pueblo is trying to attract. For the effort to be successful, Pueblo also needs to be concerned about the quality of its workforce. Educational needs run the gamut. A basic education is necessary to be employable and to function in our complex society. In some cases basic literacy is needed. To qualify to work, people must be trained or retrained for jobs that are available in the community. To attract new industry a qualified workforce must be in place. Higher education is needed for the advanced technology and service jobs that are fueling the national economic boon. Families also need support services, such as childcare, adult day care or transportation, to maintain employment. Other individuals are limited because of physical, mental or social disabilities, and the goal for these individuals is to provide investments in services that will help them become as self-sufficient as possible. 2. Basic needs for shelter, food and clothing that must be met to encourage self-sufficiency. If people are working, they are generally better able to provide these necessities. In times of crisis, individuals and families may need special help to obtain these services. The shift towards lower paying service jobs has left many families unable to provide for basic family needs. Some face persistent underemployment. The goal in providing investment in these services is to help people overcome their problems and become self-sufficient. For some with chronic physical, mental or social disabilities, they need ongoing support to maintain these basic needs. 3. Basic health care is necessary to allow members of the community to be productive. This includes health care for the most vulnerable citizens who are least likely to have services available to them including: poor and low-income families and individuals, seniors, persons with disabilities, persons addicted to drugs or alcohol, and persons with developmental disabilities. Investments need to be provided within the context of health care reform.
Page 42
4. Support for families is essential to creating a healthy community. Pueblo, like other communities in the United States, has a large number of single-parent families and families where both parents must work in order to make ends meet. In addition, Pueblo has a high rate of teen pregnancy and, too often the absence of family. Consequently, community support for families is crucial. This includes ensuring quality day care and after school care for children and supervised extracurricular activities for 12-18 year olds. It also includes investing in services (family counseling, parenting education, marriage counseling, preventing despair) that support parents and families functioning under stress. 5. Reduction and prevention of violence and abuse is critical to the health and safety of citizens. Violence often erupts in families in the form of child neglect or abuse (including sexual abuse), spousal abuse, and elder abuse and neglect. There is a need for investment in services that deal with family conflict and help people improve parenting skills. Violence resulting from alcohol abuse by youth is a growing concern that must be addressed by turning youthful energy to more positive activities. Business, education, and youth must be brought together to address youth issues and to invest in youth development strategies. 6. Individuals need opportunities for social interaction and building positive relationships. Recreation services and community educational opportunities, for all Puebloans, help build healthy relationships and direct energies into positive activities. These activities are especially important for youth to build positive role models and lifestyles and for seniors who may become isolated from society, increasing their vulnerability. Investment in these services should include library and cultural activities, as well as recreational pursuits. 7. Encourage interaction and cooperation among community members and organizations. Everyone has a role in improving the Pueblo community. Getting people more involved in their community is a proven way to instill civic pride (and get needed projects done). This includes people who have never participated in community efforts as well as its leaders. Encouraging volunteerism should be a high priority. In addition, with their greater means and authority Pueblos business and community leaders should be encouraged to confront issues important to the community and supported in their efforts to solve them.
Page 43
V. Human Investment Strategies and Actions for Pueblo

Teamwork is the Overall Premise of the Preliminary Human Investment Strategies
Success in implementing any of the prior strategies can only be accomplished through a collaborative process. Collaboration, in which partners share a vision, establish common goals, and then agree to use their resources to achieve them, is necessary. Partnerships among educators, human service professionals, business and government leaders, civic and religious leaders, leaders of community-based organizations and other citizens are required to implement the human investment strategies proposed. Human investment strategies for the Pueblo community fall into five (5) categories; A. Wellness, B. Selfsufficiency, C. Access, D. Youth and Family Support, and E. Community Caring. Within these categories, the Plan recommends eighteen (18) strategies designed to advance the greater Pueblo communitys quality of life and provide more economic leverage to the working people of the City and the County of Pueblo. In order to implement the human investment strategies, an initial set of action steps are offered. Action steps are programs and projects that operationalize the strategies. It is expected that such actions will change over time as some prove to be effective and are refined, while others that do not perform as expected will be replaced with new ideas and concepts to carry out the strategies in the Plan. There are eighty-one (81) initial action steps in this plan. Recommended actions are attached to the strategies, however, a number of actions could be applied to numerous strategies. (Each of the strategies have a letter prefix S and the actions have a prefix A attached.)
A. WELLNESS STRATEGIES
S-1 Promote Community Wellness.
Institute programs that will engage companies and other employers in wellness to serve as an economic development tool, as well as promoting better health throughout the community and healthy community objectives. Improve access to health and human services for the medically unserved and the medically underserved members of the community. An important component of this strategy should be one that changes attitudes throughout the community regarding the impact of low wage jobs that do not provide health benefits. Such jobs are not an asset to the community but a liability. The lack of understanding of this in the past is one reason that Pueblo has a very large percentage of its residents that are uninsured and underinsured.
Page 44
Actions
A - 1 Develop a comprehensive county-wide multi-media public health education campaign. Work with local media providers to ensure that the program makes best use of each medium, e.g. television or newspaper presentation. The campaign should include health tips (e.g., the importance of regular checkups and control of blood pressure) as well as safety tips (e.g., the importance of the use of seat belts and infant and child car seats), nutritional advice (e.g., the importance of reducing dietary fat), health coverage options, and alternatives to violence (e.g., the value of family counseling services and implementing non-violent behavior modification responses, such as timeouts). Information about mental and emotional health should be a part of this project. This campaign should draw on existing materials and efforts to the greatest extent possible and should coordinate content and distribution. Link with the School-based Wellness Center Program, currently available in SD #60 which should be expanded into SD #70. This represents a sound community partnership in that Parkview Hospital supports this program that serves school-age youth. The services are enhanced through a network of established support systems and community resources. A - 2 Develop a mental health network and outreach system for the general public in mental health awareness, services and how to access the system. The mental health outreach plan can be customized to fit different age groups and populations within the community, including children, teens and seniors. A - 3 Create a community insurance pool to provide medical coverage to those persons who are not covered by private insurance, TANF insurance support or other health coverage programs. Remove the administrative barriers to accessing existing medical insurance programs. Coordinate with the Pueblo Coalition for the Medically Underserved to acquire adequate provision for health insurance for the medically unserved and underserved in the community. Identify an entity to supply medical insurance to these organizations. A - 4 Set up an entity designed to provide health insurance to non-profit community-based groups that use facilities owned and operated by public school districts and other public and quasi-public organizations. This entity may take the form of a non-profit insurance company or insurance cooperative, or it may take some other form, depending on the legal and indemnity requirements of those being protected and insured. Enlist pro bono legal and financial assistance in setting up and maintaining the insurance pool. Establish a registry for non-profit groups that wish to participate in the insurance pool. A - 5 Distribute health education materials via workplaces, schools, health providers, neighborhood associations, proposed neighborhoods centers and other quasi-public outlets. Information should include resources for uninsured residents.
Page 45
A - 6 Conduct community-wide health fairs and forums designed to attract the medically underserved and specific groups such as veterans, uninsured residents, children and others. Invite all health care providers - public and private - to participate in planning, setting up and conducting the fair. Reconstitute the Health Fair on a smaller scale for presentations at community-wide festivals, such as the Chile Frijole Festival and Colorado State Fair, and other appropriate venues. A - 7 Join the ranks of cities working to achieve designation as a Wellness Community. Collaboration between heath care organizations, employers, public health agencies and the schools under the leadership of the Wellness Corp can provide the organizational framework to work with national organizations (the most prominent is WELCOA) to achieve this end. Designation helps economic development efforts as it improves the overall health of individuals and families. Work with the business community to actively commit to this initiative and publicly promote health and wellness for workers and the community through the Community Wellness movement. Such a Wellness Community component can provide businesses with information regarding cost effective health benefits for their employees in an effort to address Pueblos high uninsured rate.
S-2
Reduce Teen Pregnancy.
Develop a community wide commitment to reducing teen pregnancy in Pueblo. This will include teaching pregnancy prevention and responsible behavior in primary community institutions including the public schools.
Actions
A - 8 Assemble a "catalogue" of approaches and make it available to all health and wellness providers. Identify an appropriate sponsor to post it on the web. Health education programs related to sex education, AIDS prevention, sexually transmitted diseases and the risks associated with teenage pregnancy should be included in this catalogue. Update this catalogue on a regular basis. A - 9 Establish outreach programs in public schools, all public and private health clinics and centers as well as home health workers. The policy will provide age appropriate sex and pregnancy prevention education and information and materials to young persons. Remove policy barriers preventing the dissemination of birth control information for sexually active persons. Ideally, such information will be coordinated at appropriate age levels with the Self-Worth curriculum described the youth development curriculum strategy. These programs could be further integrated into the health and family life classes in the schools and may be a part of normal health visits and special seminars put on by area health clinics and health centers throughout the City and County. A - 10 Strengthen networking and the interchange of resources among all organizations addressing teen pregnancy, particularly faith-based youth leaders and counselors to enable more effective positive messages concerning healthy living habits, human sexuality, values, character, responsible relationships and managing peer pressure.
Page 46
S-3
Institute a Curriculum for Youth Development.
The high incidences of teen pregnancy, suicide, violence, school dropouts and youth crime are all actions that short circuit young lives. Children ages 6 thru 17 will benefit from a concerted and coordinated effort to incorporate a community-based curriculum emphasizing self-worth, hope and self-esteem. All organizations serving youth should be involved in planning and implementation.
Actions
A - 11 Introduce a comprehensive curriculum in the schools designed around the theme of; My World, Myself Living with Both, which is a national program which teaches life long values of individual self-worth, awareness of positive futures and the importance of being members of family and society. This curriculum, to run from kindergarten through high school, will teach the importance of developing and maintaining healthy relationships and developing the characteristics needed to become productive citizens. Children will thrive with instruction about the elements and characteristics of healthy behaviors and will be taught self-responsibility skills and ways to avoid dangerous or destructive activities in the face of group and peer pressure. A - 12 Support and expand the Pueblo County Sheriffs Youth Advisory Council initiative to all in Middle and High schools in Pueblo County. The initiative is comprised of a number of programs conceived, organized and run by high school students who step up into leadership roles as mentors and models for younger teens and preteens. The Sheriffs initiative, developed and refined in Pueblo, has achieved considerable success and may well become a model for communities throughout Colorado and beyond. A - 13 Promote and expand teen councils sponsored by the City of Pueblo, Pueblo County, and other prominent organizations giving strong voice to youth in community decision-making. A - 14 Publicize the availability of existing programs that foster personal development for youth.
S-4
Reduce and Prevent Alcohol Abuse and Violence.
Violence often erupts in families in the form of child neglect or abuse (including sexual abuse, spousal abuse, and elder abuse and neglect). There is a need for increased investment in services that address substance abuse, deal with family conflict and help people improve parenting skills.
Page 47
Actions
A - 15 Communities for a Drug Free Colorado (CDFC), as well as other similar prevention/early intervention efforts, to initiate a zero-tolerance campaign and monitor its results. Strengthen the anti-drug public education program, spearheaded by the City and County, working with community agencies that are currently providing services to reduce and eliminate substance abuse, as well as educators, counselors, public safety organizations, medical professionals and media representatives. The program should be intensive and ongoing for a number of years. Coordinate this program with the schools, through the CDFC Initiative, and other substance abuse and health addiction programs. A - 16 Establish County gun control laws that will reduce the potential for youth gun violence, such as a countywide requirement for trigger locks. A - 17 In communities recognized as high drug use/solicitation areas, help neighborhood groups institute a Take Back Our Neighborhood initiative. Utilize community development specialists, attached to the units of local government to provide the administrative support to the neighborhood groups; organize clean up efforts to address specific community issues (e.g., a boarded-up house being used for illegal drug use and trafficking; an isolated vacant lot used to shield illegal drug use, etc.). Use the Drug-Free Zone rule to help establish safe routes for school children and families. A - 18 Work collaboratively with law enforcement, district attorney, judges, treatment centers, legislators, public defender and others to develop and implement more effective alternative sentencing, prevention and drug/alcohol treatment options.
S-5 Create Opportunities for individuals to Experience Social Interaction and Build Positive Relationships.
Recreation services and community educational opportunities for all Puebloans help build healthy relationships and direct energies into positive activities.
Actions
A - 19 Improve the variety and availability of recreational programs for children and youth and ensure that these programs are accessible to all who want to participate. Increase publicity about the availability of existing programs that foster personal development and recreation for children and youth. Establish a broad based Recreation Commission that would coordinate a comprehensive approach to recreation that offers true educational activities around established, local resources for all citizens (e.g., a school district might use the Arkansas River Walk Project [HARP] to conduct biology, zoological, and/or environmental experiments, etc.). Encourage the local agencies that are currently providing recreational activities to develop and distribute a Whaz UP? Newsletter, which would inform the general public of the upcoming recreational activities. This would be very effective if the Public School Districts, and private schools, would agree to provide a central distribution place, where the youth could take a copy, if they were interested. Encourage Board of Directors/Trustees to place two or more youth on their Boards; perhaps one representative from each High School.
Page 48
A - 20 Conduct youth roundtables in all parts of the community to identify needed and desired recreational programs. These roundtables should be conducted at least every two years. Ensure that units of local government attach a staff person to this activity, to ensure that the issues/needs identified by the youth actually are addressed by decision makers, and that the youth receive a follow through report. A - 21 Establish a Cultural Arts Commission to coordinate, assist, and nurture cultural endeavors within the community. The Commission would function as a cultural community planner and would facilitate partnerships between artists, cultural organizations, and governmental and civic organizations for the production and presentation of exhibitions and festivals. The Commission would also be charged with building community momentum to encourage restoring art and music curricula into the public schools. The Commission should partner with the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Centers Educational component, which has already established strong linkages with both public and private schools within the community. A - 22 Establish a system of support groups for people of all ages concentrating on girls and boys, ages 12 to 20. This system may be undertaken by the communitys faith-based organizations through a strengthened and expanded ecumenical network and other community based groups. Numerous organizational concepts can be developed to galvanize groups. Teenage girls book groups have proven successful as an organizing principle in low and moderate-income neighborhoods, elsewhere. Many cities now have initiation groups for teenage boys that provide them with positive adult male role models and a group of their peers to assist them maneuvering through the difficult teenage years.
B. STRATEGIES FOR SELF SUFFICIENCY

S-6 Provide Advanced Technical Training Options.
The economy must have several means of providing technical training to Pueblo workers if the community is going to compete effectively for good jobs in the future. Pueblo Community College and the University of Southern Colorado should collaborate in the delivery of technical training, through a Technical Training Institute, to serve the communitys work force and employers. The Institute would function from multiple, satellite locations and may have a strategically placed new facility in, or immediately adjacent to, the industrial/business park. The Pueblo Community College, the University of Southern Colorado, the Greater Chamber of Commerce of Pueblo and The Latino Chamber of Commerce of Pueblo should be approached to become partners in this endeavor, through a broad-based community approach to meeting the needs of all businesses, large and small, not just the needs of PEDCO (Pueblo Economic Development Corporation) and the Industrial Park. This should be tied into efforts to improve minority persistence rates in Pueblo Public Schools.
Page 49
Actions
A - 23 Expand the communitys resources in technological training by creating an Advanced Technological Training Institute to strengthen the collaborative effort between the Pueblo Community College, the University of Southern Colorado, the Greater Chamber of Commerce of Pueblo, and The Latino Chamber of Commerce of Pueblo with participation from the communitys high schools. The Pueblo Public School Districts can utilize certain academic and elective programs already in place (drafting; wood working; auto shop, etc.) to expand the second year of the course through hands-on experience, much in a traditional, apprentice-styled program. While some training is ongoing in the community, this initiative would ensure the update of facilities and equipment as well as capacity, on an ongoing basis. Direct training on duplicate plant equipment would be available along with more basic skill training to increase the general level of competence and capacity of the technical work force. These facilities and accessible resources would be available to students preparing for the work world and those already in it who wish to advance their skills and credentials. Training facilities and programs can be offered to present and new employers targeted to technology-based industries. Other communities have seen new start up high technology companies and even entire new industries grow up under the influence of top quality technological training institute. A - 24 Through an expanded partnership between public and private entities, expand the small business retention programs established by the Greater Chamber of Commerce of Pueblo and The Latino Chamber of Commerce to continue to address growing enterprises which have passed the start-up stage, but need more capital and different organizational, planning, and management skills to succeed in the next stage of business development.
S-7
Focus on Labor Force Preparation, Job Readiness and Job Placement.
Those who need basic job training and those requiring remedial education and work ethic instruction should be able to access it. In the strong economy of the year 2000, Pueblo County has an unacceptable level of unemployment relative to the rest of the State of Colorado. Many people require a job setting to learn not only basic academics that are essential to securing and holding a job but also the positive habits and discipline required in the work world. Other people have the work habits and basic education needed to succeed in the work force but require basic job skills training. Pueblo Community College is the source of this kind of job preparedness currently and warrants strong community support as it continues to carry out its mission in the face of a quickly changing global economy.
Page 50
Actions
A - 25 Bolster and expand workplace literacy and workforce education programs that address persistent reading, math and communication deficits among substantial segments of the community's workforce, which keep large numbers of employees from advancing to higher-paying jobs. These programs should be made explicit parts of a larger business attraction and retention program. A - 26 Encourage the expansion of the role of the Parent Teacher Associations and the Parent Booster Groups to develop a representative group, of a definite number, which would include parents that could undertake any number of very positive initiatives that may be difficult for the school districts to accomplish individually. With the volunteer assistance of community professionals, this group, a Parent/Student Review and Evaluation Team could develop an initiative to design and implement systemic reforms that increase the number of students, especially disadvantaged and minority, who are academically prepared to access, enter, and succeed in postsecondary education. A Parent/Student Review and Evaluation component, for each School District, could accomplish this goal through the application of high standards, encouraging and supporting the professional development of teachers, the provision of support structures and education system realignment in the pursuit of advanced student achievement. This collaborative initiative should be a partnership between Parents and Students and the Greater Chamber of Commerce of Pueblo, The Latino Chamber of Commerce of Pueblo, Pueblo Public School Districts 60 and 70, the Pueblo Community College and the University of Southern Colorado. The initiative may be best positioned to sponsor the new curriculum proposal coming out of this plan addressing the personal development, emotional and character growth of Pueblos children so that they have the tools necessary to perform at the levels of expectation set by the Parent/Student representative group. A - 27 Establish a Jobs Clearinghouse via the Internet with a Pueblo Jobs Home Page. Other public-access sites and radio station should also provide information. Information links should list sites for training and tutoring programs. Access to information is key to keeping Pueblos residents competitive and connected to each other and to services. A - 28 Continue to support the University of Southern Colorado and the Pueblo Community College with their efforts to find creative ways to serve the working, continuing education student and to help integrate older persons back to school so they can gain the skills to stay current as productive members of the workforce. Encourage both entities to publicize the Credits for Working Experience component to help bring the working person back to an educational pursuit to either earn the first college degree or earn a graduate degree. Approach businesses to offer support and incentive with these endeavors. Opportunities for convenient, life-long-learning are considered a hallmark of a high quality-of-life in a community and are essential for all people to advance their personal development and economic
Page 51
opportunities to the full potential. Barriers to taking advantage of what now exist and may be added, such as childcare and transportation to places of learning and training should also be eliminated as part of this initiative. A - 29 Encourage the two Chambers to combine the existing Business Roundtables into one, greater business roundtable of the fifteen largest city/county employers to identify specific employment opportunities based on industry projections and then make commitments to develop training plans which will train people specifically for these slots. Support the establishment of a partnership between employers and the area educational institutions- - the high schools, the Pueblo Community College and the University of Southern Colorado to ensure the upcoming workforce has the required skills for those jobs. A - 30 Promote the new Work Link (One Stop Career Center) through advertisements, Internet links to community websites, public service announcements, business associations, human service agencies, and other methods so that citizens have information about the job training and employment related services offered in this centralized and accessible setting. One of the most critical areas of assistance that the Work Link needs from the community is the ongoing updating of the availability of communitys resources. A Community entity should be charged with the responsibility of coordinating the gathering of specific resource information and providing the updates to the Work Link system.
S-8
Create A Strategic Plan for Economic Development.
Create a countywide strategic plan for economic development. This plan will address: job creation, retention, and attraction. This plan needs to incorporate the demographic profile information that is identified within the Human Investment Plan, which indicates changes need to be made, with regard to current economic development activities: An effort must be made to bring in employers that are able to a livable wage, with benefits to local workers. This will help raise the areas median income level and lower the number of persons in Pueblo County, Colorado that are considered to be below poverty. Additionally, this will begin to reduce the number of persons and families that are uninsured and underinsured, with regard to health coverage. The plan will be prepared under the direction of a broadbased community task force representing all elements of the economic community, (e.g. employers, workers, educators trainers, heath care professionals, and economic development organizations).
Actions
A - 31 Establish a strategic planning task force charged to prepare a Strategic Plan for Economic Development. This task force should draw from the entire County and have comprehensive membership from all sectors of the community. The overriding goal of the strategic plan will be to identify, select and detail strategies that will enable deepening of the greater communitys economic infrastructure to plan for quality economic growth, an increasing supply of high paying jobs, and a much more prepared and capable work force. A - 32 Prepare and adopt the Strategic Plan for Economic Development during the next two years.
S-9
Enhance An Entrepreneurial Culture and Support System.
Most new jobs in this country are created through entrepreneurial action. Estimates have been made that upwards of 85 percent of new jobs are the result of people starting new businesses. Whatever the numbers, strengthening the communitys entrepreneurial environment is good for the economy. Many
Page 52
communities have done so by attending to both the culture and building support systems for entrepreneurs. The history of local entrepreneurial action is an important story to tell and to establish models that raise the appeal of joining in starting new businesses. Current entrepreneurs can also be celebrated through Chambers of Commerce activities, new articles, awards and presentations at local high schools.
Actions
A - 33 Develop a marketing campaign to retain and bring talented young people back to Pueblo using internships, scholarship programs, incentives and business opportunities. A - 34 Further expand the Made in Pueblo and Buy it in Pueblo campaign, which originated with the Pueblo Chile Mira Sol Chile Corp. Initiative, which successfully utilized primary and secondary products, to promote small businesses. Efforts such as this support local companies and focus attention on the products and services offered by local firms, particularly entrepreneurs. A - 35 Promote entrepreneurial activities focused on environmental remediation. The field of environmental remediation is growing. Brownfields in the community offer a laboratory and training resource for this initiative while it cleans up the environment and prepares sites for economic development often in prime locations for expanded employment activities. Contaminated site clean-up, lead based paint removal, and asbestos removal tend to pay higher-than-average wages and provide many small business opportunities. A - 36 Recycling offers opportunities to create new markets for recycled goods and products made with recycled materials and reasonable paying new jobs. A - 37 Further support the Chambers of Commerce in their endeavors to provide financial and other special support services for newly established entrepreneurs and a capital fund to provide for the special difficulties beginning small businesses have in raising capital for business start-ups. A - 38 Develop a special business retention program to address existing businesses and growing enterprises who have passed the start-up stage, but need more capital and different organizational, planning, and management skills to succeed after the start-up stage. Continue to support the Greater Chamber of Commerces SCORE Program, which provides entrepreneurial consultancy among senior and retired executives that are willing to volunteer their time and knowledge to help start-up and second phase entrepreneurial businesses.
S-10 Support Child Care.

Accessible and affordable quality childcare, which is a sensitive issue for all working parents, is an important resource for the Pueblo community. When integrated with early childhood education, it becomes one of the most important areas of human investment the community can make. Parents with small children can join the work force with confidence knowing that their youngsters are in good hands and are getting the initial learning experience they need to thrive in life. Childcare combined with early
Page 53
childhood education, generates a high return and high impact investments for the future of Pueblos children. Added capacity and quality care facilities with early childhood education should be high on the communitys agenda.
Actions
A - 39 Develop a plan that will offer a reasonable and do-able way to increase the number of affordable childcare slots for infants and toddlers; assign the task to the Healthy Pueblo Communities 2010 Task Force. A Gaps Analysis should be accomplished to determine the current inventory, the need, and the gaps. Review and prove the need for childcare services during non-traditional hours. If the need is proven, find ways to provide day care at non-traditional hours (7-24) to assist parents who do not work a traditional 8-5 schedule. Also review the perceived need for employer-based child care services. Link information with the information generated by the most recent childcare survey/study conducted by the County of Pueblo. Include this component in the Gaps Analysis. A - 40 Work with the State of Colorado to develop more stringent requirements and guidelines for child-care providers and to develop more licensed homes, especially for those caring for infants. Support the Pueblo Early Childhood and Education/Pilot Council in its efforts to enhance quality, licensed, affordable childcare, including non-traditional care. Also support the Pilot Councils early Childhood Professions Development Plan and support the Pilot Council in its efforts to expand early childhood education opportunities to all its preschool age children. A - 41 Expand the provision of services provided through intergenerational programs and the use of senior centers as care venues. Co-locate child care in the proposed multi-purpose, neighborhood community centers (see Access below) utilizing the neighborhood residents as volunteers in interaction programs (story time; cooking classes; music classes; craft projects, etc.) A - 42 Approach Pueblo Community College and the University of Southern Colorado to add a variety of Early Childhood Education curriculum to their programming. Continue and expand Early Childhood Professions and degrees and credential programs at all campuses of Pueblo Community College and develop a Pueblo Early Childhood and Education/Professions Undergraduate Degree Program at the University of Southern Colorado. One component of the overall program should be a childcare worker training and certification program geared for small in-home childcare operations. Also Pueblo Community College should consider the development of an on-campus, Early Childhood Professions student learning laboratory. A - 43 Support City, County, State, Federal and Business/Corporate partnerships and collaborative efforts to generate revenue to subsidize the provision of quality, licensed childcare, particularly for the working poor.
Page 54
A - 44 Integrate early childhood education with day care services whenever possible as a means to avoid simply warehousing children while parents are at work. Establish creative ways to provide affordable childcare and still pay a livable wage to childcare providers. Launch an initiative that will deliver childcare scholarships to those who may be entering or reentering the work force or who are of modest means who are not otherwise eligible for day care support.
C. STRATEGIES PROVIDING ACCESS OPPORTUNITIES

S-11 Institute Demand Responsive Transit.
Access to convenient and affordable public transportation is a very important factor in the lives of many Pueblo residents. Demand responsive service is the primary operational strategy and should be given serious consideration. Attention should be given to those who are entering the work force or who fill positions at the lower end of the pay scale who need reliable transportation to work and other locations at all hours.
Actions
A - 45 Estimate the actual need for a demand responsive system through City and County transportation planning efforts and market research. A - 46 Evaluate the partnering of the City of Pueblo and Pueblo County with private industry in developing the part of a demand responsive system focused on employees and their needs. An example would be providing bus passes to employees. A - 47 Build upon SRDAs (Senior Resource Development Agency) expertise in providing demand responsive transportation services to seniors. Determine the feasibility of expanding services to other groups or individuals needing access to work, school, medical services and other appropriate destinations. A - 48 Explore the feasibility of requiring new business that benefit from public subsidies to provide van pool service or incentives to transportation, such as carpool matching, bus passes and carpool preferential parking.
Page 55
S-12 Improve Government Communication and Marketing to the Community.

All local governments will serve their constituents well in the next Century if they improve and upgrade their role as communication and information providers.
Actions
A - 49 Develop a plan to wire the community in an effort to effectively facilitate citizen access to information sources. This system would build upon existing services through local governments, libraries, schools United Way, and other organizations in order to connect Puebloans to sources inside and outside government so as to enable them to gain the resources they need to thrive in all aspects of their lives. Explore the opportunity to establish an entrepreneurial portal, where new businesses could have immediate and extensive access to the world-wide web and information highway. A - 50 Work with local media outlets to give wide local coverage to all events and persons that reflect positively on Pueblo. Entrepreneurs, students, schools, artists and arts organizations, cultural associations and institutions, festivals and celebrations, care-givers, volunteers and others who contribute to the quality of civic life should be featured regularly. Establish "Citizen and Volunteer of the Month" awards and a Pueblo "Feature of the Month" program that showcases ethnic or racial communities, the arts, the emerging trails system, entrepreneurism, learning and schools, music, or many other aspects of civic life. These features may be used in schools, media presentations, libraries, scholarly programs, and local festivities as a way of drawing attention to the positive aspects of life in Pueblo and to recognize individual contributions to civic quality and pride. A - 51 Piggy back on the promotional activities of the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the Colorado State Fair as a means to further attract and advertise the amenities available in the community. A - 52 Generate optimism among Puebloans. Strengthen the community image of Pueblo. Look to the positive opportunities that exist. Encourage civic engagement, volunteerism, philanthropy, cultural pride and celebrations of success throughout the community.
S-13 Establish An Office of Information and Strategic Development.

Establish an Office of Information and Strategic Development sponsored by the Pueblo Area Council of Governments (PACOG) and associated with the Health Pueblo Communities 2010 Task Force, which will provide the community with the necessary organizational mechanism to achieve the level of cooperation needed to make the initiatives in this Human Investment Plan a reality. The mission of this new office will be to act as the communitys gateway for information on available services, the monitoring of needs, the facilitating of grants and development actions to support human investment and ongoing human service activities. This office will also be staffed to assure the implementation of the Human Investment Plan after its adoption.
Page 56
Actions
A - 53 Create an Office of Information and Strategic Development. It will be positioned to identify and encourage coordination among the various agencies and entities that serve the greater Pueblo community. It should be supported by PACOG, in association with the Healthy Pueblo Communities 2010 Task Force as an undertaking in support of community actions that help all people in Pueblo County. Formalizing the activity and establishing an office with a specific charge can advance the plan and make the current actions of the public and private sectors more efficient in their investment in human services. It will not be an operating agency in the sense of carrying out any single program. Rather, the Office of Information and Strategic Development will provide information for funding resources, coordination, and networking support. In concert with these activities, the Office will ultimately advance the capabilities and resources of the communitys service, education, cultural and care agents in their many varieties and formats. In a sense it could be the back-up support for the elected officials leadership role in the realm of human investment that elected officials desire to play. A - 54 Recruit and train a team of local organizational development professionals to work with the Office of Information and Strategic Development. The Team should be capable of assisting Pueblo- based organizations in developing positive networking, coordination, and organizational development skills. Sponsor and encourage joint actions by the not-for-profit and community service community that pursues the same or similar missions.
S-14 Support Neighborhood Based Multi-Purpose Community Centers.

Multipurpose community centers strategically located in neighborhoods in the City of Pueblo and rural areas of Pueblo County can offer residents access to the services and the connections needed to support their efforts to improve their lives and the lives of their children.
Actions
A - 55 Determine the number of centers needed throughout the community through an analysis of natural barriers, neighborhood boundaries and socioeconomic patterns. A - 56 Develop a Community Center building program for the required size to accommodate meeting rooms for trainings and neighborhood use, space for computer consoles, and an information desk and announcement area for community events, with possibly a child care facility, a community policing substation and adequate parking. An expanded center may also include recreation facilities such as a gymnasium, aerobic room, craft room, exercise and weight room and an indoor recreational swimming pool. This should be designed with a One Stop approach that will eliminate fragmentation of community services. A - 57 Conduct a financial feasibility study to determine the probable costs for construction, operation and maintenance of such a facility and identify the possible funding sources. Evaluate the opportunities of
Page 57
rehabilitation of existing buildings such as schools and libraries, publicly owned but underutilized structures, as well as vacant land for new construction. A - 58 Expand and coordinate community efforts to improve the quality of neighborhood life through clean-up and improvement projects. Link with organizations that are currently providing cleanup/environmental activities, as these organizations already have active volunteers and have developed support through in-kind donations and services. Sample beneficiaries might include schools, libraries, public housing residents, low-income senior blocks, and neighborhood organizations. Crews would consist of citizens who are trained in horticulture, giving them marketable "green industry" skills. On-thejob training would focus on clean up health issues, particularly if the clean-up is targeting the removal of hazardous materials, horticultural practices, community outreach, job retention, and project management. Local High Schools, might be interested in designating this as one of their projects. Collaborate with local businesses that will donate the time of their employees as volunteers. A - 59 Broaden and implement a community policing and safety program directed to Pueblos neighborhoods that co-locates police substations, fire stations and other neighborhood services in Neighborhood Community Centers (see Access above). Locating in Neighborhood Community Centers puts law enforcement and fire personnel in direct contact with the neighborhood residents on a daily basis, enabling relationships between police, firefighters and residents to flourish along with addressing the need for real and perceived safety and crime reduction. This presence develops partnerships between police and fire personnel and people around the issues of neighborhood safety, youth development, and neighborhood improvements in a comprehensive manner. Community police also play the role of a gateway agent channeling individuals and families in need to appropriate service agencies.
D. STRATEGIES FOR YOUTH AND FAMILY SUPPORT

S-15 Develop A Comprehensive Community Mentoring and At-Risk Youth Guidance Program.
Boys and girls throughout the Pueblo community would benefit by widespread mentoring. At risk youth can be identified early in life and may be surrounded by a system that will pay careful attention to them and their needs for guidance and support to act in a positive way before personal problems become community or police problems.
Actions
A - 60 Coordinate and expand mentoring efforts to deal with problems encountered by young people, especially at risk males. Actively recruit Hispanic, African-American, Asian and Native American men as potential mentors; involve grandfathers and other elders to increase the pool of potential mentors. Young males need special attention and care if they are to meet the challenges facing them. All youth of this age group need parental and community support. However, reality shows us that youngsters from low-income environments, especially males, have special needs and vulnerabilities. Mentoring and tutoring programs for this group are crucial to achieving a healthy and productive community. Men individually or from social and service groups are as mentors for at risk teens are especially important. A - 61 Coordinate and expand mentoring efforts to deal with problems encountered by young people, especially at-risk females. A strong and faithful mentorship relationship with teenage girls has proven to reduce early and/or unwanted teenage pregnancy in other communities. Female leadership and women taking care of female teens and young women will do more than any other effort to assist young women in
Page 58
the community. Mothers need to be with and provide counsel to their daughters within the context of positive female roles in the next century. Women of all backgrounds need to mother those youngsters who do not have mothers. A - 62 Work with established programs (e.g., Communities In Schools; Young Mens Christian Association; Boys & Girls Club of Pueblo County, etc.) that have established positive and successful mentorship programs. Send a recruiting letter that provides a brief statement on the problem, including current statistics, to all Board of Directors from local agencies; place notices to recruit mentors at the local Colleges and University; with units of local government and the local United Way; target women-specific agencies, such as the YWCA and business womens organizations. A - 63 Work with media outlets to ensure that positive stories about mentors, both men and women appear regularly. Undertake a campaign to raise the profile of mentoring programs conducted by faith-based and other organizations to encourage their involvement, participation and support. A - 64 Promote intergenerational mentor pairings than could occur between older mentor and younger charge or between mentoring units. Ideally, each young male and female would have a mentor from whom to learn tolerance and acceptance and the wisdom of age and possibly another culture. It may be appropriate for the faith-based organizations in Pueblo to consider taking the leadership role in this area, through an active ecumenical council or network throughout the County. Perhaps Catholic Charities, which already is involved in providing social services in communities, might agree to be the facilitating group to coordinate this critical community need. The public and private school systems could be approached to provide the names of youth who are wanting/needing the support this program will offer. A - 65 Coordinate activities with the local Pathways for Youth Program, which operates as a non-profit and is sponsored by the District Attorneys Office. This is an intervention Program that provides a continuum of services for high-risk youth, particularly, juvenile offenders. This program provides an alternative to incarceration for juveniles. The program offers motivation and skill building activities that foster a determination for youth to stay out of jail. Program activities include Pre-GED classes; GED; Substance Abuse Education; and Anger-Conflict Management classes.
S-16 Enhance Family Strengthening.

A variety of programs supporting the ethic of family strengthening, parenting skills and healthy families should be enhanced.
Actions
Page 59
A - 66 Engage the proposed Wellness Corps (see Strategy A) to use grassroots organizations to encourage healthy behaviors and address the cultural and social influences affecting those behaviors. Use the Wellness Corps as a means to pass information from the grassroots level to community-wide providers of health-care services and vice-versa. Ask each neighborhood organization to designate its own Wellness Community committee and/or liaison for participation in the Wellness Corps. Perhaps a Community Development Planner will take the leadership role to ensure the success of the initiative. Involve medical, nursing, social work and mental health students and professionals with members of the Wellness Corps to increase their familiarity with grassroots issues and problems as well as their understanding of the cultural and social dimensions of health care delivery. A - 67 Work with the school districts and youth organizations to gather information about the nature, content and success of after school recreation, learning and physical-activity programs. Such programs warrant support to provide positive supervised after school activities for children from households where parents work. A - 68 Continue to hold a Children and Youth Summit every one to three years to set a community Agenda for Youth upon which to organize funding activities, programs and actions in a coordinated and responsive manner. Additionally, the information gained through participation of a Youth Summit enables human service planners information with which they can evaluate the effectiveness, and issues of viability of current programs, with regard to the communitys service capacity and needs. A - 69 Consider the Pueblo Council on Children and Youth (PCCY), which is under the auspices of the Healthy Pueblo Communities 2010 Task Force to act as the communitys advocate for children and their needs. PCCY would serve to monitor public policy discussions asking the question Is it good for Children?
E. STRATEGIES FOR A CARING COMMUNITY

S-17 Promote Cooperation and Volunteerism.
Everyone has a role in improving the Pueblo community. Getting people more involved in their community is a proven way to instill civic pride and get needed projects accomplished.
Page 60
Actions
A - 70 Continue paying diligent attention to issues of human relations and discrimination issues such as lending practices, insurance company performance, fair housing practices, and equal employment opportunities. Diversity and cultural awareness training and education should be implemented through the new Pueblo Human Relations Commission. Employment and advancement practices in critical service areas must reflect the racial composition of Pueblo. Every system and institution in the community also needs to better reflect the population and carefully respond to calls for equal treatment and fairness. A - 71 Examine ways to promote conflict resolution and problem solving at all levels of the community. A - 72 Examine ways to better coordinate volunteer services among Pueblo organizations and institutions including the recruitment, training, management and recognition of citizens giving back to their community.
S-18 Preserve and Expand Affordable Housing.

Pueblo has a large supply of old housing stock, which could be utilized for affordable housing, but much of it is in need of repair and upgrading. Shortages of affordable housing exist for low-income households, seasonal farm workers, the homeless and the disabled are recognized. Strategies are needed to continue to develop new homes, to renovate existing units, to revitalize neighborhoods, and to educate community residents on various aspects of the responsibilities and issues of homeownership.
Actions
A - 73 The supply of existing housing is the communitys largest source of affordable housing. Preserving the stock of existing units, through greater enforcement of existing building codes and development regulations will assist in maintaining the supply. Conditions in neighborhoods, especially infill areas, also need to be improved to encourage the investments in the housing supply. A - 74 Promote infill development that uses existing infrastructure and services rather than expensive extension of roads, water and sewer lines. Review the regulatory techniques such as administrative streamlining, density bonuses and the elimination of over zoning for industrial uses for its application in promoting infill development. A - 75 Delinquent taxes often deter development of infill parcels. Consider forgiveness of taxes and funding of off-site improvements to encourage development.
Page 61
A - 76 Take a more active role through land assembly, land banking and through leasing and joint venture arrangements using publicly owned land. A - 77 Preserve existing affordable housing supplies through ordinances that link the demolition or replacement of certain housing types to the replacement of such housing elsewhere. If a unit is demolished, it needs to be replaced somewhere else. Options to direct replacement would include payment of a fee in lieu of such replacement or the payment of relocation assistance to existing tenants. A - 78 Rehabilitation of older deteriorating homes provides a good supply of affordable single-family homes in the City and County. The Citys neighborhood revitalization program and housing rehabilitation loan program, and the Countys rehabilitation and housing programs, including addressing the need for decent and affordable farm worker housing, should be emphasized and expanded. These programs should include working with older homeowners who are aging to make preventative and corrective maintenance and repairs. A - 79 Promote higher density housing in new developments. Increasing density spreads the land costs and costs of public services and facilities among a greater number of dwelling units. The result is presumably low cost affordable housing. A - 80 Examine the subdivision and zoning ordinance for land development cost items such as street widths, curb and gutter requirements, landscaping standards, parking requirements, and setback requirements which may be modified and presumably affect housing costs. A - 81 Encourage local non-profits to address the need for the general public to learn about landlord tenant rights, first-time homebuyer issues, predatory lending practices, the need to develop responsible credit habits, and dissemination of affordable housing resource list.
Page 62
VI. Putting the Strategies to Work
A. Local Government Efforts to Implement the Human Investment Plan

Partnerships among government officials, educators, human service professionals, business leaders, civic and religious leaders, leaders of community-based organizations and other citizens are required to implement the human investment strategies proposed. Success in implementing any of the above strategies can only be accomplished through a collaborative effort in which partners share a vision, establish common goals, and then agree to use their combined resources to achieve them. The following objectives are set forth to guide the efforts at implementing the Human Investment Plan by the Pueblo Area Council of Governments (PACOG) including the City of Pueblo and Pueblo County Integration and Collaboration Objective The Pueblo Area Council of Governments including the City of Pueblo and Pueblo County will support integrated and collaborative services. 1. Participate in planning and allocation processes that consider a county wide family services network. The City of Pueblo and Pueblo County will work on systems that insure Pueblo area residents receive services in proportion to the population distribution in the area 2. Coordinate with other funding agencies to reduce the burden of duplicative application and reporting requirements on service providers. (Some of this has already been accomplished through City, County and United Way.) 3. Give priority for funding to programs that serve the multiple needs of the individual within the context of his or her family and deliver comprehensive services by coordinating with other service providers in the community. 4. Increase City and County efforts to make its direct services more collaborative and to integrate these services with those provided by other community service providers. 5. Continue to support collaborative planning efforts such as the Consolidated Child Care Pilots and the One-Stop Career Center (Work Link Center). 6. Support ongoing needs assessment and data collection/analysis of the real state of Pueblo in order to increase knowledge and understanding of Pueblos unmet needs and quality of life issues.
Page 63
Facilitating Change Objective The Pueblo Area Council of Governments including the City of Pueblo and Pueblo County will be active as a facilitator of change to respond more effectively to the changing needs of the community. 1. Develop policies and legislative initiatives that encourage more effective and efficient service delivery. 2. Work with other community agencies to support or build coalitions of service providers to better coordinate service delivery as well as increased state, federal and private resources for local human services and programs 3. Increase the City and Countys capacity to provide technical assistance to the community and to build the community's capacity to deliver services. Provide increased support to non-profit organizations with resource development (fundraising, grant writing) program planning, research, marketing, collaborating, staff training, etc.
Accessibility Objective The Pueblo Area Council of Governments including the City of Pueblo and Pueblo County will work to make information and services more accessible, user friendly and affordable to the public. 1. Seek creative ways to make information and services available at times and locations that are more convenient to the public. 2. Support a coordinated information clearinghouse to be provided through various communication methods (telephone, internet websites, information and referral programs) so that individuals and organizations can easily access accurate and current information about programs, services, initiatives and projects within the community. 3. Encourage community wide coordinated systems that broker or direct clients to services. 4. Encourage the provision of services that are sensitive to the diversity of our population. 5. Support efforts to eliminate duplication by consolidating and coordinating services, but recognize that choice is an important factor in using services. Issues such as service delivery methods, ethnic sensitivity and location may justify the replication of services. 6. Support community wide systems that provide advocacy for clients who are not able to access services for which they are eligible.
B. Human Services Investment Objective

The City and County will continue to invest in human services as a means to help its citizens become more self-sufficient.
Page 64
1. In order to enhance the quality of life for the residents of our community, continue to maintain or increase funding to existing programs that address the ongoing needs of children, families and senior citizens. 2. Provide support during the next decade to existing or new programs that invest in children and youth, including programs related to domestic violence and abuse (children, youth, families and seniors), and to recreation and employment opportunities for at-risk youth. 3. Improve the City and Countys capacity to monitor programs and provide technical assistance and support to help agencies become more effective and to provide higher quality services. 4. Fund a balance of prevention and intervention services, meeting current needs that threaten health and safety, but also addressing the root causes of problems by facilitating services that will reduce the impact of these problems, thereby avoiding future crisis situations for individuals and families. 5. To enhance continuity of services, allocate contracts to outside service providers on a two year basis whenever possible, while recognizing the requirement for executing contracts for a one year period. 6. Adopt criteria for the allocation of contract funds and staff resources based on community needs and values. 7. Find better ways to identify and evaluate programs successful elsewhere so that they can be replicated in the community. 8. Encourage service providers with City and County contracts to maintain a broad base of funding support so they are not totally dependent on local funding. 9. Encourage programs and services to empower clients to become more independent and selfsufficient. 10. Consider additional support to community based service providers who involve clients and neighborhood residents in decisions about service delivery and who give clients and residents opportunities to be involved in the delivering of services. 11. Require organizations and programs to pursue collaborative relations with other entities in order to decrease duplications and increase efficiency of service delivery.
Page 65
Implementation and Evaluation of Progress Implementation requires two basic commitments: partnerships across and between the public and private sectors and community resolve to carry out ongoing evaluation and monitoring of the programs and projects that will be undertaken as part of the human investment initiative in the greater Pueblo community.
Partnerships Local government cannot and has never been the sole provider of human services. Partnerships need to exist between government and the private sector, and between the non-governmental human investment organizations and community conscious business entities. The proposed Office of Information and Strategic Development seeks to establish a method to help all these groups perform their human investment mission better, with more capacity and more efficiently through collaboration across the governmental and not-for-profit communities.
Evaluation and Monitoring The purpose of evaluation is to organize and analyze data in such a way as to facilitate decision-making. Decisions must be made in order to allocate scarce resources among competing projects. Evaluation techniques are intended to allow decision-makers to; evaluate progress towards achieving program objectives; focus attention on potential and actual problems; obtain frequent and accurate status reports; and, determine whether the expenses incurred through implementation are justified by the achievements of the program. The evaluation program of this Human Investment Plan includes a method to evaluate individual programs and an overall evaluation process to monitor Pueblos human investment initiative. The methodology recommended for the Pueblo human investment planning process is a value-oriented approach that involves the community in setting relative priorities among the plans seven basic values at an given time in the life of the plan. The value-oriented evaluation methodology provides a method that can be used to determine what actions to devote resources to, what new things to add to the human investment arsenal and whether current actions should be abandoned and replaced with new, more productive programs.
Community-Based Weighting of Priorities The plan and its related implementation activities can be kept in tune with the communitys priorities through annual community-based weighting of the seven human investment values and a regular five year assessment of the values themselves. The former is a part of the ongoing monitoring and evaluation process, while the latter constitutes a periodic update of the premises of this Human Investment Plan. The Human Investment Plans Community Advisory Committee, established by the Healthy Pueblo 2010 Task Force, carried out the initial community-based weighting exercise. They gathered on November 10, 2000 to carry out the relative value weighting process by assigning 100 value points to the seven human investment values. The results follow:
Page 66
COMMUNITY VALUES Individuals and families need the ability to earn an income that will help them be self-sufficient. Basic needs for shelter, food and clothing that must be met to encourage selfsufficiency. Support for families is essential to creating a healthy community. Basic health care is necessary to allow members of the community to be productive. Reduction and prevention of violence and abuse is critical to the health and safety of citizens Encourage interaction and cooperation among community members and organizations. Individuals need opportunities for social interaction and building positive relationships
Weighted Rank 24.3 14.7 12.7 11.8 7.3 4.6 4.1
Human Investment Performance Criteria Operational programs that address one or more of the seven human investment values should undergo continuous monitoring and an annual, formal evaluation. Basic criteria that apply to all programs and actions and action-specific criteria related to the specific activities and promised outcomes that each action is to deliver to the community. The degree to which the action delivers on the promised outcome and meets promised performance criteria. The progress made in working toward the projected outcomes of the action. The level of quality achieved in meeting or making progress toward the promised outcome(s) of the action. The time frame in which the actions outcomes were achieved. The number and characteristics of the people served by the action. A cost-benefit analysis, that is, were the criteria met within reasonable budget allowances. The extent to which action sponsors maintain a broad base of funding support so they are partially or wholly independent of local governments. The degree to which the action or services enable clients to become more independent and self-sufficient.
Page 67
The level of involvement of clients and neighborhood residents in decisions and operation of the action The degree to which action sponsors work collaboratively with others in partnerships
During the start-up phase, it will be necessary to establish action-specific performance criteria for ongoing activities. New programs selected from this plan to round out the first program year after plan adoption, should have clearly stated action-specific performance objectives and outcomes that will be used to judge their performance as well. Once established, these criteria will be periodically measured and reported to the Office of Information and Strategic Development (OISD) through quarterly status reports. The quarterly reports should contain data and information necessary to track the action throughout its active period of community support. Once an action is selected and included in the program, a baseline of information needs to be established from which to measure the actions progress in achieving its goals and objectives Once in possession of the basic data submitted in quarterly reports, evaluation criteria can be applied to evaluate performance against the actions stated objectives When current actions are not doing the job, new initiatives will need to be brought forward. Determining whether or not to support new actions has to be based on the proposed actions prospects for success. The community-weighting factor can be applied equally well to new, untested, action proposals in the same manner as it is to those actions that are ongoing. By using the multiplier as the final step in the scoring of the future action candidate.
Selection of Action Programs and Projects. Throughout the implementation year, the progress of each action will be monitored and tracked by the OISD staff to assist in determining if it is a action that is using resources appropriately to achieve the human investment strategy it is designed to carry out. Concurrently, new actions may apply for sanction and support. These new actions need to be analyzed for merit and possible inclusion into the program as well. New actions should be reviewed and placed in a queue for future implementation when additional resources become available through budget savings, existing project completion or discontinuance, or an influx of additional funding. Selection of new actions, whether listed in this plan or not, should be subject to the same evaluation process as are ongoing actions. However, since there will be no past history or data to draw upon, the selection evaluation will be based on reasonableness of projected promises and outcomes as well as the veracity of the proposing sponsoring group or groups. In either case, ongoing or new, three steps are involved in the evaluation 1. A determination must be made linking the proposed action to one or more of the seven human investment values stated in this plan. 2. An actual or projected achievement rating must be given to each such action measuring its performance (actual or projected) against the ten human investment performance criteria listed
Page 68
above. A simple numerical scoring system (i.e. 1 to 10) should suffice with the higher number signifying greater level of performance for each of the ten criteria. 3. The aggregate score of each action would then be multiplied by the community-weighting value interpolated and adjusted where necessary in those cases in which an action is clearly addressing more than one of the seven human investment values. The end result is a numerical score that attempts to relate one action to another to assist the community logically and thoughtfully distribute scarce resources. It must be remembered that the scoring should not be seen as the way to decide, but rather an indication only of what is now working and what appears to have a good chance of working in the future. It is finally, the good judgment of decision-makers that must do the actual selection of the actions to support in setting the human investment program.
Evaluating the Overall Human Investment Initiative Evaluating the individual actions is important. Equally important is the periodic evaluation of the overall human investment program. A thorough evaluation of the human investment initiative should be carried as part of the regular plan update process. It is recommended that the first major update be undertaken three years after this plan is put into implementation. After that the update should be suficient on a five year schedule. The update should consist of elements that measure the overall effectiveness of all human investment efforts. These include; the efficiency by which the OISD is able to operate; the overall impact the efforts and plan related actions have made upon the community, and accountability of the program to the residents, businesses, and institutions of Pueblo County. Three types of overall evaluation tests are recommended and should be designed: for effectiveness, efficiency, and impact. Each has criteria that pose questions that will help decision-makers determine the effectiveness of the overall program for the people of the greater Pueblo community.
C. Recommended Program for Year One

An initial program is defined as 1-3 year time frame targets 20 actions for the various community action agents. Local governments, the City of Pueblo and Pueblo County, are only two such agents. The others include: the business organizations, as a group the educational community, faith-based councils, and the communitys not-for-profit human service providers. It is recommended that each of the ten identified groups undertake two action programs or projects each for the first three years. Recommended actions include the following (the numbers in parenthesis refer the actions more fully described in the Strategies and Actions section of the report): The Business Community Work to achieve the Wellness Community designation (Action 7) Promote partnerships and collaborations to provide quality day care (Action 44) The Education Community Design a healthy living curriculum (Action 11) Initiate a collaborative effort for an Advanced Technical Training Institute (Action 23)
Page 69
The Faith-Based Community Develop a comprehensive youth mentoring program (Action 64) Develop a support system for at-risk youth (Action 22) The Human Service Agencies and Not-for-Profits Public health education (Action 1) Mental health network (Action 2) Public Safety and Justice Agencies Youth advisory councils (Action 12) New ways of dealing with alcohol and drug abuse (Action 15) Pueblo County Conduct youth roundtables in all parts of the community (Action 20) Establish a jobs clearinghouse (Action 27) Pueblo Area Council of Governments Support a Strategic Economic Development Plan (Action 31) Support the Office of Information and Strategic Development (Action 53) City of Pueblo Institute a Take Back Our Neighborhood initiative (Action 17) Initiate Neighborhood Based Multi-purpose Community Center investigations ( Action 55) Community Wide Collaborations Form a Recreation Commission (Action 19) Community Wide Health Fair (Action 6)
Media Community Coverage of local events and person who reflect positively on Pueblo (Action 50) Publicize the widespread effect of mental health issues in the community (Action 2 - also part of Human Service Agencies above)
Page 70
Possible Role of the 2010 Commission The 2010 Commission was formed in 1994 to monitor progress toward achievement of the Communities of Pueblo County Strategic Plan. The Commission also created several task forces whose function was to assure the continuing work of the strategic plan. The Commission is viewed as an ideal vehicle through which many of the actions of the Human Investment Plan could be implemented. The following is an example how some of the actions could be adopted by various task forces of the Commission.
2010 Commission
Education Task Force
Economic Development Task Force
Healthy Pueblo Communities Task Force
Government Task Force
Infrastructure Task Force
Historic Preservation Task Force

Catalogue of Approaches To Pregnancy Prevention Advanced Technical Training Institute Workforce Preparation
Arts/Culture Task Force
Environmental Task Force

Teen Councils Jobs Clearinghouse Media Liaison
Recreation Task Force
Demand Responsive Transit
Small Business Retention Business Roundtables Work Link Cultural Arts Commission
Mental Health Outreach Community Insurance Pool Affordable Childcare Partnerships in Childcare, Early Childhood Education
Recreation Commission
Environmental Remediation Entreprenurialism
Page 71
VII. Appendix
Survey Results Pueblos Human Investment Plan, April, 2000. Survey Results Inventory of Human Service Providers, June, 2000.
Page 72

Human Investment Plan

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Human Investment Plan

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

PUEBLO COMMUNITY HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

Prepared by Camiros, Ltd. February 15, 2001

Appendix............................................................................................................................................... 72 Household Survey Report Provider Survey

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

Project Management and Process

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

I. A Human Investment Plan for Pueblo

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

People Ever Improving

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

People with Special Needs

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

Community Systems and Strategic Focus

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

II. Profile of the Communitys People

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

JOB GROWTH in PUEBLO COUNTY 1980-1998

Pueblo Colorado U.S.

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

1978 2,080 9,000 2,850 9,480 1,730 9,260 9,890 44,290

1982 1,820 5,630 3,100 9,090 1,720 8,940 9,650 39,950

1986 2,060 4,300 2,370 9,880 1,860 9,680 10,050 40,200

1994 2,650 5,350 2,290 12,150 1,810 13,550 10,200 48,000

1998 3,610 5,140 2,340 14,600 2,790 16,400 10,780

55,660 11,370 569 Source: City of Pueblo On-line Data

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

COMPARISON OF EMPLOYMENT DISTRIBUTION PUEBLO- EL PASO-STATE OF COLORADO

Pueblo El Paso State

PerCent of All Jobs

25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

Source: Pueblo Business Journal and Pueblo On-line Database.

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS 2000-2030

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

Source: Pueblo On-line Data.

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

Source: US Bureau of the Census, Colorado Division of Local Affairs

Source: Colorado Division of Local Affairs and Pueblo On-line data.

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

Average Annual Increase -293 551 244

Percent Increase 1960-1999 -25.0% 34.8% 85.2%

Source: US Census and Pueblo On-line Data.

Source: US Census and Pueblo On-line Data.

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

Number 8,853 7,421 9,585 5,655 4,588 11,276 6,276 53,654

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLD INCOMES

Median Income $36,100 per Year

Source: US Census, Estimates of Poverty in Colorado, 1997.

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

D. Other Social Indicators

PUEBLO HUMAN INVESTMENT PLAN

20.0 20.1 20.0 20.4 19.6

21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.5

Source: Accountability Reports, School District #60