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WEEK OF OCTOBER 26, 2023
VOLUME 96 | ISSUE 47
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Robust laws Question 2P asks voters about the Denver Preschool Program against Program remains the same if it passes, expires in 2026 if it doesn’t
human trafficking hardly used
BY GANNON ROTHMAN SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
BY JENNIFER BROWN THE COLORADO SUN
Abbey Homburger started working two jobs to help pay for preschool for her twin boys. But when she found out about the Denver Preschool Program, everything changed, she said. The Denver Preschool Program is a tax-supported program that helps families living in Denver afford preschool for their 3-and 4-year-olds. Tuition support is given based on the income that a family makes. Families can calculate how much tuition assistance they can receive on the program’s website. This November, ballot measure 2P asks Denver voters to decide if the program should remain in place without raising additional taxes. Before going to preschool, Homburger’s kids were going to work with her as young as 2 while she was working full-time at a learning center in Denver. “It was really hard to afford childcare for them. I didn’t get much of a work discount – they both have special needs so it was really important for me that they came to my school,” Homburger said.
Colorado prosecutors landed a single conviction for labor trafficking and fewer than 50 convictions for sex trafficking in 17 years despite multiple efforts to strengthen state laws. From 2006-2022, there have been 267 criminal cases involving trafficking, and within those cases there were 619 counts of labor trafficking and 10,813 counts of sex trafficking, according to a new report from the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking. But very few resulted in convictions. Many of the people initially charged with trafficking ended up being convicted of other crimes, including child abuse, drug charges or “keeping a place of prostitution,” found the new report from the Colorado nonprofit. All of the trafficking charges were filed in just 23 of Colorado’s 64 counties, which points toward the need for more widespread training among law enforcement and district attorneys’ offices to identify and prosecute trafficking, the report said. Its authors called on Colorado to strengthen local task forces that work to prevent trafficking and hold traffickers accountable in court.
SEE VOTERS, P2
Abbey Homburger’s twin boys walking to school. Now in kindergarten, Homburger was able to COURTESY PHOTO send them to preschool thanks to the Denver Preschool Program.
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