Denver Mayor and City Council Meeting: Summer Youth Programs and Child Friendly City Initiative - May 6, 2025

This weekly session of the Mayor and Denver City Council featured briefings on two family-friendly goals: connecting 5,000 children to high-quality out-of-school time programs and connecting 2,500 young adults to summer jobs, alongside an update on the UNICEF Child Friendly City Initiative (CFCI). Council members provided feedback on program accessibility, youth employment challenges, and opportunities for deeper youth engagement.

Discussion Items

• Summer Out-of-School Time Programs: Jess Ridgeway of the Office of Children's Affairs presented the goal to connect 5,000 additional kids to quality programs, with a focus on middle school students. The city has launched a website (DenverGov.org/youth) as a one-stop shop for program and job listings. Funding comes from reallocating existing dollars and an RFP to community organizations; no new city investment was mentioned. Council member McCallby expressed concern about inaccurate listings on the dashboard (e.g., a dentist's office listed as a program) and requested better vetting. She also noted she and Council member Romero Campbell were assigned to the family-friendly goals but had not yet been included in meetings; Ridgeway agreed to reach out to include them.
• Youth Works Summer Jobs Program: The goal is to place 2,500 youth ages 14–21 in summer jobs. Youth who work 100 hours receive a $500 retention bonus. Employers hiring youth (up to 10) can receive $1,000 per youth as an incentive. Council member Sword highlighted that Denver's minimum wage ($19/hour) discourages employers from hiring inexperienced teens, though an exception allows a $2/hour discount for first-time seasonal high-school workers plus the $1,000 employer incentive. He noted many employers are unaware of the incentive. Council member Hinds noted the $1,000 per employee equates to roughly $10/hour for 100 hours, calling it significant help. Council member Cashman suggested the city provide coaching to employers on positive youth development and peer cohort models to improve retention; Ridgeway confirmed they are already training Denver Parks and Rec and Denver Libraries staff.
• UNICEF Child Friendly City Initiative (CFCI): Council member Cashman credited constituent Sarah Morgan for the idea. Ridgeway explained that CFCI is a global framework for embedding youth voices in governance. Denver already has the People's Budget and the Mayor's Youth Commission, but CFCI will help create a local action plan by fall 2025 through community engagement and surveys. Council members are invited to co-host community conversations to gather feedback. Cashman emphasized the need to elevate youth participation beyond the initiative.

Key Outcomes

• The city will send out a newsletter to council members to distribute to their constituents to promote summer job and program sign-ups (800 jobs still open as of the meeting).
• Council members McCallby and Romero Campbell will be included in regular family-friendly goal update meetings.
• The Office of Children's Affairs will reach out to council members to partner on CFCI community engagement events over the summer.
• No formal votes were taken; all actions were informational or directive.