Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Office of Children’s Affairs consolidates youth services, shifts programs as 2026 budget trims staff
Summary
Denver’s Office of Children’s Affairs (OCA) presented a 2026 budget that consolidates youth development programs into a single division, shifts two major initiatives to other city agencies and reduces staff and operating dollars while increasing grant dollars to community providers.
Denver (Consolidated County and City) — The Office of Children’s Affairs (OCA) told the Health & Safety Committee on Oct. 29 that its 2026 budget restructures youth services into a single youth development and engagement division, transfers two programs to other city agencies and absorbs personnel and operating reductions while directing a larger share of general-fund dollars to community grants.
Jess Ridgeway, Executive Director of the Office of Children’s Affairs, said the changes are intended to “maximize the dollars that go out directly to support children and families” and to create greater cohesion across youth programs. Ridgeway described the move as “streamlining youth development and engagement services into a single division.”
The reorganization accompanies two agency transfers: the Tasty Food Program — which Ridgeway said has served “over a 100,000 meals to kids and youth in Denver from ages 3 to 18” so far this year — will move to Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE). Youth Violence Prevention…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
