HB24-1280 Summary

• Creates the Statewide Welcome, Reception, and Integration Grant Program administered by the Department of Labor and Employment to provide grants to community-based organizations serving migrants who arrived in the U.S. within the past year and do not qualify for federal support services.

• Grants may fund services including intake assessments, cultural orientation, case management, emergency supplies, employment services, housing assistance, English language classes, financial literacy, mental and physical health referrals, school enrollment assistance, interpretation services, transportation, and immigration legal assistance.

• Establishes a $2.5 million cash fund with a one-time transfer from the General Fund on July 1, 2024, and allows the administering entity to receive no more than 10 percent of transferred funds for administrative costs and capacity building.

• Requires the Department to select a nonprofit organization to administer the program by December 31, 2024, based on demonstrated expertise in grant administration, grant recipient oversight, metrics reporting, migrant-serving collaboration, and multilingual community work; if no suitable nonprofit is found, the Colorado Office of New Americans administers the program instead.

• Requires annual reporting to the House and Senate health committees on the number of migrants served, services provided, grant recipients' locations, and migrants' service satisfaction within three months of the administering entity's report.