Colorado Works cash assistance for single parents and families (2026)

Why Colorado’s $620 grant did not rise on July 1, 2026

HB22-1259 raised BCA by 10% for 2022-23. From July 1, 2024, it required each year’s grant to grow by at least 2%, or by the three-year average Social Security cost-of-living adjustment if that is higher ⁠⁴. The current chart took effect July 1, 2025 ⁠⁸. In 2026 the General Assembly passed SB26-181, signed June 2, 2026, which suspends that cost-of-living adjustment for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 state fiscal years ⁠³. As of Oct. 20, 2026, the Secretary of State lists no newer version of the rule ⁠⁸.

Colorado’s chart is set by the number of children and caretakers, not by total household size. The amounts are what a family with zero countable income receives ⁠¹.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Each additional child adds $90 to the grant and $67 to the need standard. A pregnant client also gets a $10 monthly pregnancy allowance through the month the pregnancy ends ⁠¹.

Payments arrive on a Colorado EBT card or by direct deposit, and the rules bar the county from telling you how to spend the money ⁠²⁠¹.

The $421 need standard and Colorado’s earnings disregards

Colorado uses two different numbers. The need standard decides whether you qualify, and the grant standard sets what you are paid ⁠¹. Colorado’s rules list no asset or resource test among the eligibility criteria, so savings and a car do not block eligibility ⁠¹. CDHS says families with income under $75,000 a year can apply, but that is the broad ceiling for county-funded “other assistance.” The monthly BCA grant depends on the need standard ⁠²⁠¹.

• At application, gross earnings minus a $90 disregard, plus unearned income, must not exceed the need standard. For a parent with two children that is $421, so earnings up to about $511 a month can pass when there is no other income ⁠¹.
• First six months. Once you qualify, 100% of earnings are disregarded for the first six-month certification period. A parent with two children who earns $400 still gets the full $620 ⁠¹.
• After that, 67% of earnings are disregarded. On the same $400, $132 counts, and the grant drops to $488. Any new job you start while on the program gets the 100% disregard again for its first certification period ⁠¹.
• Eligibility ends when countable income reaches the need standard. For a parent with two children, the reporting threshold for earnings is the need standard divided by 0.33, about $1,276 a month ⁠¹.

You must report income above that threshold, a new income source, a change in who lives with you, or a move by the 10th of the following month ⁠¹.

Child support: counted at application, passed through after approval

You must assign your child support rights to the state and cooperate with Child Support Services. You can claim good cause, for example when contact with the other parent could harm you or the children ⁠¹. At application, current child support counts against the need standard. After approval it is excluded when the grant is calculated. At each six-month redetermination, support that has arrived in all six prior months is averaged, and an average of $500 or less is ignored. Above $500, it counts toward the eligibility test but still does not reduce the grant ⁠¹. Since 2017, Colorado has passed 100% of the support collected for a Colorado Works family through to that family. It was the first state to do so ⁠².

Workforce Development, the Individualized Plan and the $1 first sanction

Every work-eligible adult must take part in the county’s Workforce Development program. That includes a parent living with a child who receives assistance, but not adults on SSI ⁠¹. Within 30 days of your application, the county screens your skills and work history. Within 30 days after the screening, you sign a state Condition Agreement and an Individualized Plan built with your worker. The county must not hold up benefits for any of these steps ⁠¹. The rules do not set a weekly hour minimum. Countable activities include paid or subsidized work, degree, GED, ESL and certificate programs, volunteering, job search, and job readiness, which covers mental health and substance use treatment and recovery from domestic violence ⁠¹.

If you miss an appointment, the county asks for good cause and gives you 11 days to report it. Good cause covers a child care breakdown, lost transportation, a housing crisis, a medical emergency, court dates and similar problems, and it does not have to be verified ⁠¹. Sanctions apply to the whole household’s grant and escalate if you do not re-engage ⁠¹:

1. First sanction

   The grant is cut by $1 for one month.

2. Second and third sanctions

   The grant is cut by 25% for one month each.

3. Fourth sanction

   The case closes for one month, and you must file a new application.

The 60-month clock and the county extension decision after SB26-181

Each month of BCA counts toward the 60-month lifetime limit for every adult in the assistance unit, including sanction months and months received in another state ⁠¹⁠⁷. Colorado has no shorter state limit. Months spent as an adult in Indian Country where at least half of adults were not employed do not count, and diversion payments do not count ⁠¹⁠⁷. Federal rules let a state extend up to 20% of its caseload past 60 months ⁠⁷.

Under the rules, a county decides an extension request within 30 days, and each extension lasts up to six months. Grounds include disability, domestic violence, family instability, court involvement, and a lack of child care, housing, transportation or jobs ⁠¹. SB26-181 changed the statute behind this process. Counties are now allowed, not required, to grant extensions. Child-only cases and hardship were removed from the statutory good-cause list, while a single parent with a child under one year old still qualifies ⁠³. Ask for your extension before your 60th month and in writing, and appeal a denial ⁠¹.

Diversion payments and the July 2026 pause on supportive payments

A diversion payment is a needs-based, one-time cash or vendor payment that meets a specific crisis, such as rent or a car repair, for up to four months. It is paid instead of monthly BCA ⁠¹. Counties set the amount. In return you accept a period of ineligibility, and that period may not be longer than the number of months of maximum grants the payment equals. Diversion does not count toward the 60 months and does not require assigning child support ⁠¹.

Supportive payments are a separate benefit for an assessed need: gas, bus passes, housing costs, child care costs, car repairs, clothing, and school or training costs. Denver Human Services tells clients that these payments were paused starting July 1, 2026, until further notice. Monthly BCA continues unchanged, and SNAP, Medicaid and LEAP are not affected ⁠⁵. The CDHS Colorado Works page captured Aug. 22, 2026 does not mention the pause ⁠². Ask your county whether diversion and supportive payments are being issued there.

Applying through Colorado PEAK and your county department

1. Choose a channel

   Apply on Colorado PEAK, in the MyCOBenefits app, or on a paper application (English, Spanish or large print) filed with your county human services department. Counties must accept every application without a pre-screening and on any business day ⁠²⁠¹. In Denver, call 720-944-4347 to get a paper application ⁠⁵.

2. Gather proof

   You need identity, Social Security numbers, citizenship or qualified immigration status, earnings and child support records. If you cannot produce citizenship, identity or Social Security proof right away, you get 30 days ⁠¹.

3. Complete one interview

   The county gives you at least four days’ written notice. If you miss the interview without asking to reschedule, the application is denied ⁠¹.

4. Watch for the decision

   The county must decide within 45 calendar days. You can ask for more time to gather documents ⁠¹. An approval starts a six-month certification period ⁠¹.

5. Start Workforce Development

   Attend your screening and sign the Condition Agreement and Individualized Plan ⁠¹.

6. Open child support if needed

   The county refers your case. Parents not on Colorado Works can apply for free at Colorado Child Support Services, online or by mailing the printable form to the county office ⁠⁶.

7. Contest a decision

   Within 90 days of the notice, you can ask for an informal county conference or go straight to a state fair hearing at the Office of Administrative Courts. If you request the hearing before the date in an 11-day reduction notice, payments continue at the old amount until the decision or until your certification period ends ⁠¹.

To see how Colorado Works compares with other states’ TANF grants, use the 50-state cash assistance comparison.