Colorado’s Young Adults In 2022: CHALLENGES

Young adults in Colorado are challenged by a pressing lack of access to basic needs, often due to rising costs and insufficient support from local public services. Public benefits can be confusing in terms of eligibility, accessibility, are often surrounded by stigma and may not always encompass the cultural identity of a specific young adult’s needs. This is exacerbated for students who have to juggle an academic course load and tuition costs with mental health priorities and family needs. When a student holds multiple marginalized identities (e.g. geographic location, race, language, gender identity or mental health issues). These systems have become increasingly difficult to access, and our systems are responsible for making those benefits accessible.

Unfortunately, a lack of state funding in higher education hinders the ability of institutions to provide sufficient wrap-around support for students in areas like mental health care and childcare. This further disconnects students from systemic support. This impacts young adults’ access to health care, higher education, and mobility in the workforce. Many young Coloradans are not having their basic needs met, whether that’s housing, childcare, food security, or mental health care. 

Lacking Childcare Services and the Impact on the College Experience

Colorado is the 6th most expensive state for childcare in the entire country, with residents spending an approximately 22% of their income on childcare. Many young adult students in Colorado are parents, and these students indicated difficulty balancing a successful school course load with a meaningful life with their children. This difficulty is also financial – part-time employment as a student is often not enough to cover tuition costs and childcare expenses, and government assistance covers a limited number of hours/week. The creation of the Department of Early Childhood in 2022 and implementation of 10 hours a week of Universal Pre-K in Colorado is an important first step towards providing this public service to student parents, but we have more work to do. See our 2021 report on Women in the Workforce: The Impact of Childcare.

Costly Mental Health Services

Of the nearly 90% of respondents who indicated cost barriers to mental health services, many of them specifically cited out-of-pocket expenses, upfront costs of insurance, or unknown costs of mental health care to be a somewhat or large barrier. This issue also encompasses prescription drug affordability, because even with insurance, a number of life-saving medications can be prohibitively expensive. The same can be said of therapy services. Often, therapists that meet the cultural and experiential backgrounds of young adults are out of network, forcing them to pay more out of pocket if they want adequate care.

Lacking Culturally Compatible/Competent Therapists

Those who seek therapy often need a therapist who shares their unique struggles, experiences, and understands the specific context of their community. For Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ folks, finding a practitioner who shares their racial, ethnic, gender and/or sexual identity is often critical for successful therapy. For example, in a field where 85% of therapists are white, many young adults of color experience difficulty finding therapists of color. Going forward, we will continue to advocate for cultural competency so that young adults have greater access to mental health practitioners, in addition to continued diversity in the behavioral health workforce. 

Attainment Disparities in Higher Education

Students of color, Pell-eligible, first-generation, part-time, and low-income students often require greater support from their universities in order to attain a postsecondary degree. Yet, higher education institutions across the country has continued to be under funded. The result is that Colorado has some of the nation’s most significant disparities in higher education by race and ethnicity. See graph below from the Lumina Foundation.

Misinformation & Disinformation

Misinformation and disinformation remain a significant issue that impacts civic engagement and healthcare. Social media is among the top sources that inform life-impacting choices like voting decisions and whether or not to get vaccinated. However, while many young people rely on social media to keep them informed, only about a fifth “say they trust social media platforms” on crucial issues. Since many young adults use social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram to inform these decisions, we will continue our campaigns to combat misinformation on these platforms. Our GenVaxxed campaign, for example, has allowed us to connect with many young people and emphasize the importance of getting vaccinated against the virus. In the civic engagement area, YI is doing extensive Get Out The Vote (GOTV) work to ensure that young adults are getting minimally biased content regarding issues and candidate voting.