Denver council committee to consider $686,352 Head Start health contract
The proposed agreement would use Head Start funds to continue Denver Health medical, dental and mental-health services for Denver Great Kids Head Start children and families citywide.
Denver’s City Council Health and Safety Committee is scheduled to consider a proposed $686,352 contract with Denver Health & Hospital Authority for medical, dental and mental-health services for Denver Great Kids Head Start children and families citywide.
The committee is scheduled to consider the proposal Aug. 26 as a consent item. Legistar lists the matter as bill 26-1206 in “Committee Consent” status. No approval had been recorded as of Aug. 21.
The Children’s Affairs contract request identifies the contract control number as MOEAI-202684220-00. The proposed term is July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, and the agreement would be paid with Head Start funds. The request describes the procurement as a competitive selection and identifies Denver Health as an existing Head Start vendor.
The 2022-23 Denver Great Kids Head Start annual report lists 1,344 funded Head Start and Early Head Start slots. It recorded enrollment of 1,074 Head Start children and 30 Early Head Start children in May 2022; those figures are historical and not a current enrollment count.
The report also documents Denver Health’s Early Childhood Mental Health team providing consultations involving 147 children and families, along with classroom consultations and training for staff and parents. Those figures describe service activity, not clinical outcomes. The report records $604,077.40 in actual 2022-23 spending in the combined Mental Health/Health/Dental Denver Health category, against a $604,164 budget.
If approved, the agreement would continue the services through June 30, 2027. The Aug. 26 committee hearing is the next step in the legislative process.