We help make Colorado a better place to live. We listen to the needs of human service workers and provide the tools, training and resources to better serve their clients and create lasting solutions. Your donation helps ensure that providers have the best resources possible to enhance client care.
"Your trainings are the focus of our staff development." Advocacy Denver
"Thank you for hosting the networking event last week. We really enjoyed meeting such a phenomenal group of people and feel like we made some good connections." Laura Ferguson, Behavioral Healthcare, Inc.
"We've been really impressed by the quality of the workshops that The Network provides; they are our go-to resource for training our staff." Brenton Hutson, Volunteers of America
"Yesterday's training was awesome! I received very positive reviews from all 23 of our staff in attendance." David Scalia, Rocky Mountain Human Services
"The Human Services Network of Colorado has always been a great resource for me since joining the non-profit world in 2007. The trainings offered continue to help me expand upon my professional development needs and interests. Sometimes I find and sign up for offerings that don't necessary relate to the work I do everyday but this is all the more reason why I think The Network should never go away!!! I have had only positive experiences with the organization's staff/volunteers, as well as the experts and professionals who help to facilitate and/or host the trainings. For these are the reasons in which I continue to come back and spread the word to my peers and colleagues to take advantage. Kudos to everyone who have ever had anything to do with the success and longevity of The Human Services Network of Colorado!" - Tanesha M. Bell, MI Casa Resource Center
"I have found the networking helpful on a couple of levels. First is the general information sharing and having contacts when we need information. Next is just the camaraderie enjoyed in sharing our frustrations regarding areas where there is a lack of resources. But most important is how the information sharing has helped my clients. I had one client actually get a job from the openings received from (listserv) emails." - Lynn Thayer,Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.
"I have been a case manager for nine years; the CBO I work with takes participants from all over the Denver metro area. I feel that I am fairly knowledgeable of the resources in my local area, but not for the entire metro region. The meetings have been very beneficial for me, as I have met many people in the helping field and the networking has opened my eyes to many more resources throughout the city. I believe this helps me to improve my case management skills and serve my clients better." - Angela Meislahn, Center for Work, Education and Employment
Anonymous comments from The Network's Annual Survey
"I think the Network is absolutely on the right track. Trainings continue to be diverse both in content and length... love that there are lunch and learns AND longer form trainings. They bring in nationally recognized experts and providers and are relevant to the ever changing landscape of human services. Additionally, non-training events like networking happy hours, online materials, and resource fairs offer a fantastic way to get the Network's name out there and encourage increased participation from members and nonmembers alike."
"The Network has accomplished a lot on bridging the gap between service providers through its informative and educational trainings. It has done a lot on improving and enhancing the skill of its members and participants by equipping them with needed information to help them to provide the very best service as front line helpers/ service providers. Best of all, it is helping to elevate excellence in service provision, and has become a good platform to connect and share expertise between Network members."
The Human Services Network improves participants' quality of care and increases opportunities for self-sufficiency by providing comprehensive skills training, best practices, networking opportunities and tools for innovation to human service professionals.
The original concept for The Network, founded by Enterprise Community Partners, was developed in 2003 by Denver area human service professionals who were participating in Housing and Employment Roundtables. The Network held its first conference in 2005. Over 100 attendees urged the creation of an organization dedicated to the specific needs of Colorado's human service workers.
Formal quarterly meetings were initiated in 2005. Enterprise initially staffed the organization, hiring a consultant to work with the group beginning in 2006. A fiscal agent (Stride) was recruited to handle financial and office matters for the young organization. During that same year, OMNI Institute conducted research identifying key areas that the Network strengthens. Supervisors and workers alike agreed that, just as The Network empowers human services workers to verbalize their professional needs, it likewise increases the level of professionalism within the field.
During the subsequent five years, The Network developed its infrastructure and steadily increased the number of trainings offered each year. In 2009, The Network was accorded 501(c)(3) status by the IRS. A comprehensive strategic plan was developed in 2010 and in 2011 the organization hired an executive director.
The Network more than doubled the number of trainings offered annually during the following five years. It instituted an annual advocacy conference in 2013 and between 2014 and 2016, worked with The Denver Foundation and several nonprofit partners on the Client-Centered Practice Learning Partnership, an initiative to advance client-centered practice among Colorado human services agencies. Over the last two years the Network has been a participant in the National Human Service Assembly's Reframing Initiative, "Building Well-Being", which is an effort to positively change the way we see and speak about human services.
In 2016, The Network became a truly independent agency, managing its own finances without the use of a fiscal agent for the first time since its inception.
At present, the Human Services Network of Colorado is successfully delivering its mission to an ever-increasing audience of human services professionals. Since 2011, the organization's budget has grown from $18,000 to $150,000, reflecting the increase in training workshops during that period. As the number of workshops has grown, so has the number of memberships. This growth is a strong indicator of the credibility, value, and respect accorded The Network by the entire Colorado human services sector.
Organization name
Human Services Network of Colorado
other names
The Network
2008
Tax id (EIN)
26-2624991
Category
Human Services
Organization Size
Small Organization
Address
1940 S Locust StMailing
PO Box 24788Denver County, CO, US