Leading a statewide engagement effort for the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF)
Overview
In 2022, the Civic Consulting Collaborative (CCC) led a statewide engagement effort to improve access to Colorado’s Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) for people with disabilities. The process centered voices of trusted, grassroots community organizations that understand the unique barriers their communities face when accessing complex systems like Medicaid and HCBS.
The result?
The engagement process resulted in clear recommendations for Colorado’s Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) which administers the state’s Medicaid program. This led to continued work with HCPF, as we are now leading the redesign of member-facing materials through their ARPA Initiative 3.04, making sure these materials are accessible, culturally relevant and effective for diverse communities.
Many of the same community organizations that participated in our engagement effort are actively involved in shaping these materials. This work has directly increased awareness of HCBS and improved enrollment among historically marginalized groups.
Background: The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) had identified significant gaps in HCBS enrollment among historically marginalized communities and brought in CCC to design and lead an inclusive, community-centered process to address these disparities. Led by CCC's Amy Engelman, Jack Becker, and Roshan Bliss, the team partnered with CREA Results, led by Fernando Pineda-Reyes, to ensure Spanish-speaking and Hispanic/Latino communities were fully represented. Together, they designed a process that centered the voices of community-driven organizations – trusted grassroots groups that deeply understand the unique barriers their communities face when accessing complex systems like Medicaid and HCBS.
Centering Community Expertise and Shared Learning
Community-driven organizations have long acted as trusted intermediaries, guiding individuals through bureaucratic, linguistic and cultural challenges to access essential services. Their deep relationships and lived expertise made them ideal partners for this work. CCC facilitated a series of co-designed “learning exchanges” where state leaders and community partners engaged in honest, two-way dialogue. State agencies shared information about HCBS program complexities, while community partners offered real-world insights into the systemic, cultural and linguistic barriers their clients navigate every day.
Key recommendations from these sessions included:
- Building trust through personal, culturally respectful relationships
- Ensuring language and cultural relevance in all materials and outreach
- Providing individualized navigation support across multiple systems
- Leveraging trusted community networks for warm handoffs and referrals
Moving From Engagement to Action
The work didn’t stop at recommendations. Building on this momentum, CCC continues to support HCPF through ARPA Initiative 3.04, leading the redesign of member-facing materials to ensure they are accessible, culturally relevant, and effective for diverse communities. Many of the same community partners who contributed to the learning exchanges are now actively involved in shaping these materials.
Delivering Results Through Inclusive Collaboration
By centering collaboration, trust and lived expertise, CCC’s approach is directly increasing awareness of HCBS, improving enrollment among historically marginalized groups and helping individuals and families across Colorado get the support they need to thrive in their homes and communities.
The full project reports and recommendations are available on HCPF’s Community Access to HCBS project website.