Colorado government assistance programs — a CDHS benefits guide
Colorado wrote part of its safety net directly into the state constitution. This page covers the benefits that are offered — a plain-English guide to how they work and how to apply. The Old Age Pension pays monthly cash to residents age 60 and older, and it sits alongside other programs the state created on its own: Aid to the Needy Disabled for adults who cannot work while a federal disability decision is pending, and the Home Care Allowance for people who need paid help to keep living at home.
The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) oversees these together with SNAP food benefits, Colorado Works cash assistance for families raising children, LEAP for winter heating bills, and Energy EBT, an energy benefit Colorado invented on its own. Everything here applies statewide, from Denver and the Front Range cities to the Western Slope and the Eastern Plains, because each of Colorado's 64 counties delivers the same core CDHS programs through its own county human services office.
Help buying food — SNAP and Colorado's other food programs
SNAP is the largest benefit CDHS oversees. Approved households get a monthly amount loaded onto a Colorado EBT card, which works like a debit card at grocery stores, many farmers markets, and some online retailers. Colorado adds a twist of its own with the SNAP Produce Bonus, which puts money back on the EBT card when benefits are spent on fruits and vegetables at participating stores. Some adults without children in the home must meet work or training requirements to keep receiving benefits over time. The EBT card carries one more perk many people never hear about: discounted admission at museums and cultural attractions around the state that participate in the program.
SNAP is the main benefit, but smaller food programs fill gaps it leaves. Summer EBT gives families of eligible schoolchildren grocery money during the months when school meals are unavailable. Older adults age 60 and up can receive a monthly box of staple foods through Everyday Eats, Colorado's name for the federal Commodity Supplemental Food Program. CDHS also supplies food banks across the state through The Emergency Food Assistance Program, and no application is needed to pick up groceries at those sites — see the list of Colorado food pantries for locations.
The Colorado EBT card itself is worth more than the balance on it. CDHS keeps an official statewide list of museums and cultural centers that offer deeply discounted admission to anyone who shows a Colorado EBT card at the ticket window — including marquee destinations like the Denver Zoo, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, the Denver Art Museum, and the Denver Botanic Gardens. The card is shown as proof of eligibility rather than used to pay, discounts vary by venue, and the participating list changes, so it is worth asking at any attraction before buying tickets.
Monthly cash for families raising children — Colorado Works
Colorado Works is the state's version of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and it is built around more than the monthly payment. Each family works with a county case manager on a plan that can include schooling, job training, and employment help, with the cash benefit arriving by EBT card or direct deposit. Parents who are pregnant or caring for a child under 18 can apply.
One feature sets Colorado apart. When child support is collected on behalf of a family receiving Colorado Works, the full amount goes to the family — the state does not keep any of it to offset program costs. Counties also have room to shape how the program runs locally, so the services offered alongside the cash payment can look different from one county to the next. More detail is on the Colorado cash assistance guide page.
Cash aid for older adults and people with disabilities — the Adult Financial programs
This group of programs is where Colorado's safety net is most distinctly its own. The Old Age Pension, established in the State Constitution, provides a monthly cash benefit to low-income residents age 60 and older, funded entirely by state tax dollars. Other income a person receives, such as Social Security, reduces the payment rather than blocking it.
Adults age 18 through 59 who have a disability that keeps them from working can apply for Aid to the Needy Disabled. The State Only version pays interim cash while the person pursues federal SSI benefits; if SSI is later approved, the state recovers what it advanced from the back payment. A separate Colorado Supplement adds to the checks of people who receive SSI but less than the full federal amount.
Two smaller programs round out the group. The Home Care Allowance pays for a home care provider to help with daily needs like bathing, dressing, and meal preparation, so people with disabilities can stay in their own homes instead of moving to a facility. And for those who do live in a facility, the Personal Needs Allowance covers small personal and hygiene costs the facility does not supply. There is also a Burial Assistance benefit that pays funeral providers directly toward burial or cremation costs for residents who were receiving public assistance when they died.
Help paying heating bills — LEAP and Energy EBT
Unlike many states that route federal energy aid through community action agencies, Colorado runs its Low-income Energy Assistance Program through CDHS and the county offices. LEAP helps with home heating costs during the cold-weather months, when applications are open, and payment usually goes straight to the utility company or fuel supplier. Households facing a no-heat emergency, such as a broken furnace, should say so when applying — crisis help is part of the program, and the LEAP Colorado program page explains how that side works.
Energy EBT is the part of Colorado's energy safety net that exists nowhere else — a program the state built itself using the EBT system as the delivery channel. It sends one-time cash assistance for energy costs to SNAP households that have not received LEAP in the past year, with no separate application to fill out. The money arrives as flexible cash rather than a payment locked to one utility, and there is a second benefit as well: households that receive Energy EBT are assigned the highest utility allowance in their SNAP budget, which can raise their regular monthly food benefit. Getting Energy EBT does not block a later LEAP application, and nobody has to pay anything back for receiving both.
Job training and paid work programs
The employment programs at CDHS share one idea: it is easier to reach a steady job when someone pays you along the way. For SNAP recipients, that support comes through Employment First, which combines job search help with training and hands-on work experience. Adults who have been out of the workforce longer — the people whose resumes have a gap no certificate can cover — can turn to ReHire Colorado, a transitional jobs program that rebuilds a work history one real paycheck at a time. Families on Colorado Works have their own track in CW STEP, which pairs subsidized employment with training, and workers age 55 and older can earn while they learn through part-time community service positions in the Senior Community Service Employment Program.
Protection for at-risk adults and help with child support
County human services offices handle more than benefit applications — they are also the front door for Colorado's protective services. Adult Protective Services investigates reports of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of at-risk adults, and anyone who suspects a problem can make a report, not just doctors or caseworkers.
The same system connects survivors of domestic violence to the advocacy organizations and shelters funded through the CDHS Domestic Violence Program, and it is where parents open a case with Child Support Services to establish or collect support — money that, for Colorado Works families, passes through in full. One lesser-known CDHS office matters to anyone filing for federal disability: Disability Determination Services makes the medical decisions on Social Security disability claims submitted by Coloradans.
Benefits handled by other Colorado agencies — Medicaid, child care and WIC
Health First Colorado, the state's Medicaid program, and Child Health Plan Plus for kids and pregnant women are run by the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (website: https://hcpf.colorado.gov/), not CDHS. The same PEAK application covers them, and county human services offices accept those applications too — see the guide to health insurance programs for uninsured in Colorado for how the coverage works.
Child care help through the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program is led by the Department of Early Childhood, though families still apply at their county human services office or through PEAK. The Colorado child care assistance page covers it in depth. WIC, the nutrition program for pregnant women, infants, and young children, runs through the Department of Public Health and Environment and its local clinics.
How to apply for public assistance in Colorado
One application system covers nearly everything on this page. Colorado PEAK, the state's online benefits portal at https://peak.my.site.com, lets residents screen for eligibility, apply for food, cash, medical, energy, and child care programs, upload documents, and manage an existing case. The same can be done from a phone on the MyCOBenefits app for iOS and Android. For help using PEAK, call 800-250-7741.
Anyone who prefers paper or in-person help can apply at their county human services office — every one of Colorado's 64 counties has one, and the county determines eligibility no matter how the application arrives. LEAP also has its own line for requesting an application by mail or email: 1-866-HEAT-HELP (1-866-432-8435). The state headquarters is the Colorado Department of Human Services, 1575 Sherman St., Denver, CO 80203, phone 303-866-5700, though applications themselves go through the counties.
Local county benefit programs
The main counties in Colorado provide additional local programs to qualified residents in their community. These will be above and beyond any federal or state benefits. Select a county below to see a guide to local resources.
Adams County
Arapahoe County
Boulder County
Denver County
Douglas County
Jefferson County
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