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Denver Options’ Youth Corp Shadow Disaboom.com CEO

December 7, 2007

Denver Options’ Youth Corp Shadow Disaboom.com CEO

Denver, CO, December 7, 2007 – Disaboom.com, a new networking site for people with disabilities, partnered with Denver Options for Disability Mentoring Day. The mentoring program is designed to benefit students and job seekers with disabilities. Marvin Conway and Stephen Esparza, of Denver Option’s Youth Corp Project, shadowed J.W. Roth, Chairman and CEO of the new disability website. The Youth Corp Project helps teens with disabilities get the support they need to find paid employment after they leave school. The project has a 60% employment success rate for the young people in their program which is well above the national average for young people with disabilities in paid employment.

Dr. J. Glen House created Disaboom.com. He became quadriplegic as a result of a skiing accident at age 20 and went on to finish his medical training. The site combines networking features like Facebook with information of about medical news, career advice, dating resources and travel tips with a focus on disability needs.

More than 100 million people have disabilities worldwide, but there are few forums for information that focuses on education and products designed to meet specific disability needs. Disaboom.com launched in August of 2007. “Our mission is to provide an immersive online experience for people living with or directly affected by disabilities or functional limitations,” said Roth.

Many people with disabilities are under employed or are not employed. The mentoring day creates a stronger connection between employers and potential employees with disabilities. Those connections lead to jobs and the workplace benefits from a diverse workforce that brings a new and valuable perspective.

For Stephen and Marvin, the day offered exciting look at the power of the internet to bring people and ideas together. Both young men say they will be able to use what they learned when exploring specific employment opportunities in the future.

For more information about Disaboom visit www.disaboom.com. For more information about Denver Options’ Youth Corp Project contact Georgia Sigala at 303-636-5954 or visit Denver Options’ website at www.denveroptions.org.

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Noodles Holds Benefit for Denver Options

August 6, 2007

A Good Meal + A Good Deed: Noodles & Company Holds Benefit Night for Denver Options, Inc.

Denver, CO, August 6, 2007 – The national food retailer Noodles & Company supports its community by holding a benefit night for the non-profit organization Denver Options, Inc. The night will be held on Wednesday, August 8th 2007 from 5-9pm in which 20% of all proceeds from the Noodles & Company located at Iliff and Peoria go to support Denver residents with intellectual disabilities.

“Noodles & Company has always been committed to supporting the communities where we do business, and we strive to nourish and inspire,” said Bobbi Miller, General Manager at the Iliff and Peoria location. “We’re proud to support Denver Options and be an active member of the community.”

Denver Options has seen an increase in community support throughout Denver and the surrounding areas in the last two years. “We’ve had the opportunity to partner with many private organizations recently and are really seeing the mutual benefit that comes out of these relationships,” says Joan Marwitz, Director of Communications & Outreach at Denver Options, Inc.

Denver Options is a non-profit organization that provides flexible, personalized services to help people with intellectual disabilities live active and purposeful lives. The Denver Options staff finds the services and resources people need to achieve optimum health and explore lifelong learning opportunities. They focus is on individual talents and interests, helping people turn personal goals into everyday reality. They offer wide ranging services that include helping families manage the demands of caregiving, navigating funding resources and providing parent education and support.

For more information about Denver Options services for people with intellectual disabilities, visit www.denveroptions.org, and for more information about Noodles & Company, visit www.noodles.com.

View Press Release in .pdf format

Denver Options to appear in TV series "Touching Hearts and Changing Lives"

July 13, 2007

Denver Options is part of a 30 minute TV show called "Touching Hearts and Changing Lives" on the national television series "Today's Family".

It is being nationally broadcast this summer on the ABC Family network as well as WE - Women's Entertainment and 48 other regional networks.

The segment can be viewed locally on Comcast Channel 17 (Ion) or Direct TV channel 255 - Ion and/or channel 59.

Times/Dates:

Shane Co. Takes People with Disabilities Out to the Ball Game

JUNE 25, 2007

View Press Release in .pdf format

Denver Options Excels in Fiscal Responsibility

JANUARY 26, 2007

Year after year Denver Options’ administrative costs are far below the national average and recommendations of the Council of Better Business Bureaus for nonprofit organizations.

For more information see our Annual Report.

The Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Educational Symposium Series Presents

Sue BuckleyWorld-Renowned Professor & Researcher

Effective Teaching Methods for Children with Down Syndrome

March 2-3, 2007

Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center, 7800 East Tufts Avenue, Denver, CO 80237

• Sue Buckley is the founder and director of The Down Syndrome Education Trust in Portsmouth, UK – the world’s leading organization for research in the education and development of children with Down syndrome.
• With over 30 years of experience in developmental disabilities and with expertise in cognitive development including language, literacy and memory development, she has won numerous community and science awards for her work on Down syndrome.
• Holding a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Reading, she is a chartered psychologist, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and has authored numerous papers and books related to Down syndrome.

Session for Professionals -- Friday, March 2, 2007
8am to 4pm, $15 per person or $25 for two (includes continental breakfast & lunch)

• Successful educational and therapy approaches
• Developing speech, language and memory
• Teaching reading and math
• Encouraging good behavior
• Research collaborations

Session for Parents, Family & Caregivers -- Saturday, March 3, 2007
8am to 4pm, $15 per person or $25 per couple (includes continental breakfast & lunch)

• Good education choices
• Improving your child’s speech
• Teaching reading and math
• Ensuring good behavior and friendships

Partial Scholarships Available
Simultaneous Spanish Translation

Information and Reservations: Mile High Down Syndrome Association (303) 797-1699.

Rocky Mountain News

Ref C revenue a boon for state; $300 million of excess funds will boost capital projects, transportation

October 31, 2006

By Ann Imse

The state collected $300 million more under Referendum C during fiscal year 2006 than the legislature expected when it set the budget last spring.That brings to $1.116 billion the total taxes that Ref C allowed Colorado to keep for the year that ended in June. It is money that otherwise would have been returned to taxpayers under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights.

According to Colorado's complex budget laws, that extra $300 million automatically is split into $200 million for transportation and $100 million for capital projects, said Henry Sobanet, the governor's budget chief.

State Rep. Jim Kerr, R-Jefferson County, said called it a "major increase" over expectations.

House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, hailed the announcement.

"The good news is we're back" economically, said Romanoff, one of the architects of Ref C.

As it happens, he noted, $1.1 billion is exactly the amount of tax revenue Colorado lost during the recession and could not recover as long as TABOR remained in force.

"There's a multibillion-dollar backlog in road and bridge repairs," he said. "More roads and bridges will get fixed."

Sobanet could not immediately calculate how much the average taxpayer would have received in the TABOR sales tax refund. That's because a good part of the $1.116 billion would have been returned to taxpayers in 15 other tax breaks, for things ranging from child care to capital gains.

The auditor's office said revenue jumped because personal and corporate income taxes rose, a one-year corporate tax break expired and oil and gas severance taxes leaped by 54 percent. The state also earned more on its money, as interest rates rose from 3.2 percent to 3.9 percent on average.

During the 2005 Ref C campaign, critics said the measure would keep more money from taxpayers than the $3.7 billion projected over five years. Sobanet's latest estimate over five years is $3.9 billion, counting the actual figure for 2006 and assuming there will be a recession by 2010, which Sobanet does.

Dan Hopkins, spokesman for Republican Ref C proponent Gov. Bill Owens, predicted the total could still be $3.7 billion by the time the five years is up, in 2010.

Campaign literature last year promised the Ref C money would be divided among K-12 schools, higher education and health care. The actual language of Ref C allowed it to be spent on those three items plus transportation and police and fire pensions.

The legislature spent all of the $815 million it expected for 2006 in these five areas and nearly all of it on the three priorities promised - K-12, higher ed and health care.

The state transportation commission will allocate the $200 million, but spokeswoman Stacy Stegman could not determine late Monday if that is in addition to the $536 million that transportation already expected to spend in 2007 from Ref C.

Last week, the commission decided to spend $90 million of unanticipated Ref C funds on paving worn-out roads, $45 million rebuilding the Interstate 25 interchange for Fort Carson and $10 million on various transit projects, she said.

The $100 million for capital construction will be allocated by the legislature in January, and Sobanet predicted it would go to multiyear projects already under way, such as a new maximum-security prison, a mental hospital for inmates and college buildings.

Romanoff said he'd like to see some go to repairing crumbling local schools.

Exceeding expectations in '06

Colorado has collected $300 million more of Ref C money than it projected last spring, when the legislature set the budget, for a total of $1.116 billion.

Where the 2006 Ref C money is going, legislature's allocation:

• K-12 education: $261 million
• Health care: $261 million
• Colleges: $253 million
• Fire, police pensions: $29 million
• Transportation: $10 million
• Total: $815 million

Where the extra money is going, allocated automatically under state law:

• Transportation: $200 million
• Capital construction: $100 million
• Total: $300 million

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9 News

Center gives child therapists access to expensive toys

April 17, 2006

Reported by Mark Koebrich

Sophisticated and often very expensive, the toys are now available free of charge, on a loan basis, to therapists. The goal is to provide a boost for children who may not otherwise have access to advanced therapies.

"I think a lot of us realize, with all of our kids, playing is so important," said First Lady Frances Owens at an inaugural event.

Therapists agree that especially for children with developmental challenges, playing is a vital tool. But toys like these can be cost prohibitive.

"A lot of the adaptive toys are not easily attainable, you just can't go to Target and get many of them," says Lisa Archer, a special ed instructor.

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Rocky Mountain News

Play time for special children

April 18, 2006

By Ellen Jaskol

"Daniel Walshe, 11 months old, right, and other developmentally delayed children play with toys at Denver Options after Colorado first lady Frances Owens helped launch the Play & Learn Library at 9900 East Iliff Ave. in Denver. Special developmental toys will be available. This was made possible with a grant from the Citigroup Foundation and Denver Options' Jumpstart fund."

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Yourhub.com

Toy library offers high end developmental toys

April 21, 2006

Contributed by J.D. McCartney

"The Play & Learn Library offers therapists free access to some of the most sophisticated developmental toys and equipment available, a boost for children who may not normally have access to such advanced therapies. Typically, therapists have access to only a limited number of toys because the specially designed toys can be cost prohibitive. The library offers everything from basic development toys like therapy balls to more sophisticated adaptive equipment. Developmental toys, which appeal to the senses, encourage children with developmental disabilities or delays to improve their motor, language, and cognitive abilities."

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RockyMountainNews.com

Lawmakers decide which programs to get Ref C benefit

March 7, 2006

By Rachel Brand

The budget contains $20 million to help build psychiatric ward for mentally ill criminals. And it sets aside $23 million for special education, $25 million for college tuition and $8 million for biotech research.

The money would begin flowing April 1 if approved.

"It is years in coming," said Dr. Stephen Block, executive director of Denver Options, which serves the developmentally disabled. "There will be a groundswell of demand for our services."

When developmentally delayed children are diagnosed early, they can heal and potentially stay out of special education. New funding will take 613 children off waiting lists.

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CORE Magazine

Denver Options Helps People Live Full, Satisfying Lives

Mar/Apr 2006

By Barb Lundy

People with developmental disabilities volunteer their time, get involved in community activities and work in a wide variety of jobs. Denver Options, a nonprofit organization located in Denver, helps people with disabilities live full, satisfying lives. They understand that when people have the opportunity to explore their unique interests and dreams, they gain a sense of purpose and well-being.

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The Denver Business Journal

Nonprofit finds generous ways to reward staff members

November 11, 2005

by Jan Buchholz

Deputy director Kathy Athens credits her boss, Stephen Block, former executive director for the National Association of Social Workers, for creating an environment of excellence. Block stepped in with a new vision and game plan.

"He changed the culture," Athens said. "He's an expert in nonprofit management."

Denver Options provides cell phones, DSL broadband lines at home and PDA organizers for all field employees. With the recent skyrocketing gas prices, Denver Options approved an increase in fuel reimbursement to 45 cents per mile.

Denver Options pays 100 percent of medical and dental premiums for employees and also provides a $250-a-month work/family benefit to be used for child care, elder care or dependent health care costs.

"We want to make Denver Options the employer of choice," Athens said.