Governor Owens Archive

Colorado State Archives

Executive Orders from the Administration of Governor Bill Owens 1999-2005

FOR RELEASE:
Thursday, October 12, 2000

CONTACTS:
Dan Hopkins
303/866-6324
Amy Jewett Sampson
303/866-6323

OWENS ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $640,000 IN TOBACCO EDUCATION PREVENTION GRANTS AWARDED TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Grants awarded to Boulder, Denver, Mesa, Weld and Pueblo Counties

DENVER – Gov. Bill Owens today announced that $640,238 in tobacco education and prevention grants has been awarded to local health agencies from Colorado’s tobacco settlement monies.

"This funding will help provide needed services in these areas," said Gov. Owens. "I am pleased the state will be able to assist these local communities with tobacco prevention education and training."

These five new grants are in addition to $600,000 in grants awarded in September to three other local health departments from the $11.5 million in tobacco settlement funds allocated by the Colorado Legislature. The grant recipients are:

Boulder County Health Department, $116,000: The grant will be used to expand the department’s current smoking public education, awareness and training and prevention efforts. It also will be used to initiate special projects with the local mental health center and the Boulder Valley Schools. A smoking cessation conference also will be conducted and school-based youth tobacco coalitions initiated.

Denver Health and Hospital Authority, $210,000: This grant will be used to hire additional staff for Denver existing tobacco cessation, public education, awareness and training efforts. The Denver authority also will contract with the Denver Department of Environmental Health; the University of Colorado at Denver; and the Denver Police Athletic League to enhance smoking prevention existing programs. Mini grants will be established to fund expansion of existing tobacco prevention and cessation activities conducted by community-based organizations.

Mesa County Health Department, Grand Junction, $115,000: This grant will be used to hire additional staff to expand existing tobacco cessation, public education, awareness and training efforts into outlying areas of the county, such as DeBeque and Plateau Valley. The grant also will be used to develop a youth tobacco prevention coalition; to assess compliance with the Tobacco Free Schools Law; and to work with the local sheriff and rodeo association on spit tobacco prevention and cessation efforts.

This grant will be used to hire additional staff to expand existing tobacco cessation, public education, awareness and training efforts into outlying areas of the county, such as DeBeque and Plateau Valley. The grant also will be used to develop a youth tobacco prevention coalition; to assess compliance with the Tobacco Free Schools Law; and to work with the local sheriff and rodeo association on spit tobacco prevention and cessation efforts.

Pueblo City-County Health Department, $94,331: This grant will be used to hire additional staff, including a bilingual program coordinator and a tobacco cessation coordinator, and to implement a five-year strategic plan for the department’s tobacco use cessation and prevention programs. Relapse prevention training also will be conducted and the environmental tobacco smoke component will be integrated into the department’s home visitation program. The home nurse visitation program, which focuses on high-risk, low-income, first-time mothers, is funded from another portion of the state’s tobacco settlement monies.

Weld County Health Department, Greeley, $104,907: This grant will be used to expand the staff in the department’s tobacco use cessation and prevention program and to conduct training for department staff and local coalition members. The training will cover topics such as working with the minority communities on smoking cessation issues, leadership and comprehensive tobacco program development. The department also will work with high school athletic directors on spit tobacco prevention and cessation strategies.

The funds were allocated to the State Tobacco Education and Prevention Partnership (STEPP), which is based at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Senate Bill 71, passed during the 2000 session, created a Tobacco Program Fund that annually allocates 15 percent from the state’s total tobacco settlement to state tobacco education and prevention cessation programs.

Recipients of the three initial grants were El Paso County Health Department, Colorado Springs, $325,000; San Juan Basin Health Department, Durango, $99,992; Larimer County Health Department, Fort Collins, $189,904.

The remaining tobacco settlement funds awarded to the State Health Department’s STEPP program for the current fiscal year will be distributed later in the year based on guidelines and priorities to be established by a citizen advisory board appointed by Jane E. Norton, the State Health Department’s executive director. These funds also will be used to establish comprehensive tobacco-related education, prevention and cessation programs throughout the state.

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