The program that started it all.
In 2008 the Colorado Family Planning Initiative was launched by the Colorado Department of Health and the Environment with the financial support of a private donor. The Colorado Initiative ran from 2009 to 2014, providing LARCs to low-income women throughout the state. Although the program was a success by almost every measure, private funding ended in 2014. In the 2016-17 budget, the state did increase its funding for family planning (meaning preventive health counseling and education, health testing, screenings and referrals in addition to contraception.) The funding is well below the annual budget for the Colorado Initiative. And for those women wanting a LARC, it doesn’t help women who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but don’t earn enough to afford insurance. Choose When works with local providers to cover these gaps and assure that everyone in Northwest Colorado who wants a LARC gets one.
The Colorado Initiative success.
- 48% decline in birth rate for women ages 15-19 and 20% for ages 20-24
- 58% drop in teens giving birth a second or third time
- Abortion rate fell by 48% in young women ages 15-19
- Percentage of LARC users increased from 6.4% to 30.5%
- Infant enrollment in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) dropped by 26%
