Colorado’s Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) system provides critical programs that allow people with disabilities and older adults to live independently in their homes and communities. Over recent budget cycles, costs have grown significantly and steadily, placing increasing pressure on the state. This has resulted in cuts that are disruptive to individuals and families and unfortunately more cuts are anticipated.
Decisions about the future of the LTSS system cannot be resolved through one-off legislative responses or in the urgency of a budget crisis. Colorado needs a serious, structured conversation about what structural changes are required — one that happens outside the heat of any particular budget cycle, with the right people at the table.
With a grant from the Colorado Health Foundation, the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (CCDC) established the LTSS Work Group for exactly that purpose. Confluence Policy and Strategy Group serves as neutral process facilitator, managing the process and supporting the work of the Steering Committee and subcommittees.
This is not a process organized around a predetermined outcome. The purpose is to understand the system fully and develop recommendations based on that understanding.
Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (CCDC): Colorado’s cross-disability advocacy organization working to advance the rights and quality of life of people with all types of disabilities.
Colorado Health Foundation: Provided the grant funding the LTSS Work Group.
Confluence PSG: Serves as neutral process facilitator, managing the process and supporting the work of the Steering Committee and subcommittees.
The Work Group’s scope of inquiry covers the structural issues facing Colorado’s LTSS system. This includes the cost and operational pressures on the system, the experiences of the people who depend on it, the clarity and coherence of how programs are designed and administered.
The work is not tied to any specific piece of legislation or any particular budget cycle. It is not organized around a predetermined outcome.
Subcommittees will conduct deep dives into specific topic areas. Topics will be determined by the Steering Committee following its initial meetings. Areas expected to receive focused attention include, but are not limited to those shown on the right:
Structural drivers of cost and options for long-term financial sustainability.
Structure, access, and delivery of HCBS programs across Colorado.
How people access the system and how it is administered day to day. We do not anticipate addressing financial or functional eligibility
Services and supports for those with all types of disabilities including cognitive (congenital or acquired), physical disabilities, chronic illnesses and severe behavioral health disabilities.
The Work Group is structured in two tiers. The Steering Committee sets the direction for the overall work, selects and oversees the subcommittees, and reviews and votes on the recommendations each subcommittee develops.
Subcommittees conduct in-depth work in their specific areas, drawing on members with relevant expertise or lived experience, and bring recommendations back to the Steering Committee for deliberation.
Throughout the process, there will be meaningful opportunities for public input — not only through Steering Committee and subcommittee membership, but through comment processes and public-facing updates as the work develops.
Steering Committee forms and holds first meetings
Orientation, operating agreements, and initial scope setting
Subcommittees established, members recruited
Topics confirmed; applications and selection completed
Subcommittees conduct deep-dive work
Issue analysis, stakeholder input, and draft recommendations
Steering Committee deliberates on recommendations
Public input on draft recommendations
Final recommendations delivered
Governor, JBC, legislative health committees, and the public