State Refugee Office Moves to
Office of New Americans
The state refugee office - the Colorado Refugee Services Program (CRSP) - is moving from the Colorado Department of Human Services to the Office of New Americans (ONA) in the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment (CDLE) effective October 1, 2024. This move helps create a unified office within state government that is dedicated to supporting New Americans statewide.
ONA is a newer state agency, formed in 2021 and launched in 2022, and located within CDLE. After ONA was created, a committee of key stakeholders was convened to assess the right location for CRSP. Their analysis determined that joining these two offices was in the best interest of New Americans in Colorado. House Bill 23-1283 proposed this move, and was signed into law on June 1, 2023.
CDHS and CDLE have been working together for many months to create a smooth and successful transition. There will not be any service interruptions for refugees or other Office of Refugee Resettlement-eligible populations, and CRSP’s partners can continue to deliver high-quality programs. Note that CRSP’s primary funding will still be from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), so existing eligibility requirements for CRSP-funded programs will remain in place.
This transition should be seamless for external partners. CRSP staff contacts - both phone and email - will remain the same. Starting in October 2024, refugee services programmatic information will be available on the ONA website and the current CDHS webpage will redirect to the new ONA page. ONA’s website is: https://ona.colorado.gov/.
Housing CRSP within ONA presents several opportunities that ONA hopes to realize over the coming years. These opportunities include: the creation of one home for all New American programs and services in the state, leveraging the strength of CRSP and potentially the existing resettlement network to strengthen support for immigrants, and increased coordination and collaboration within state government and with community partners. This vision will take time, but it’s a vision that’s at the heart of the creation of ONA.
 Dee Daniels Scriven
Director
Office of New Americans
 Nicklaus Lesley
State Refugee Coordinator
Colorado Refugee Services Program
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