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The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) recently recognized El Paso County for 2019 C-Stat Distinguished Performance, a measure designed to improve the outcome of individuals served.

The county’s outstanding performance efforts were tied to programs that help Coloradans, including helping more local families move toward a stronger economic future by keeping vulnerable adults and children safe, delivering crucial food and energy assistance in a timely manner and connecting people to employment.

“The El Paso County team is dedicated to serving children, youth, families, and adults in our community who may be in crisis,” said Julie Krow, El Paso County Department of Human Services executive director. “It is a challenging field that requires hard work and skill, and this honor recognizes their ongoing and consistent effort for excellence.”

C-Stat is a performance management approach that allows CDHS to better focus on and improve performance outcomes that enhance people’s lives. By identifying areas of focus, CDHS can determine what is working and what needs improvement. By measuring the impact of day-to-day efforts, CDHS can make more informed, collaborative decisions to align its efforts and resources to affect positive change for the people it serves.

The Distinguished Performance Award recognizes counties that are timely, safe and accurate in work and meeting goals. Counties that meet their goals are more likely to be meeting the needs of individuals and families in their community, and more likely to have higher completion rates of applications.

“The work done by El Paso County staff is critical to the safety and self-sufficiency of our community,” said El Paso County Commissioner Cami Bremer. “I know they worked very hard for this achievement, and they will continue their stellar efforts.”

El Paso County regularly exceeded state goals across most measures in the past year including:

• Colorado Works Entered Employment

• Timeliness of New Adult Financial Applications

• Timeliness of New Colorado Works Applications

• Timeliness of Initial Response to Abuse Neglect Assessments (Child Protection)

• Completion of Roadmap to Success (Independent Living Plan) for teens gaining self-sufficiency

“I want to thank El Paso County staff for their persistence, dedication and skill,” said El Paso County Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez Jr. “We were so close to this award last year, and it is an impressive accomplishment.”

In some measures, El Paso County staff have achieved 100 percent performance in multiple months, such as in Adult Protection Services Timeliness of Monthly Contacts. In the measure of Adult Protection Services Timeliness of Initial Response to New Reports, staff have achieved 100 percent performance each month in the past year.

“We believe in being people-first, and it clearly shows that El Paso County lives that out every day,” said CDHS Executive Director Michelle Barnes. “El Paso County is leading the way as a top performer by delivering fast and consistent services, helping Coloradans find resources and meet the needs of their families. Through C-Stat, we’re better measuring our impact and constantly improving the services provided to Coloradans.”

El Paso County was one of only two large counties to be recognized for 2019 Distinguished Performance. The county consistently performed better than other large counties in 14 measures.