Colorado Inclusive Language and Access in Emergency Alerts
What is the Challenge?
Public Comment Opportunity
Join us on December 14th, 2023, to offer feedback on a draft report (published December 7th) for Colorado Inclusive Language and Access in Emergency Alerts. Click here to register now!
Upcoming Public Comment Opportunity: On , we will be publishing a draft report and asking for public comment. For more details, visit the public comment page.
In December of 2021, the Marshall Fire devastated parts of Boulder County, Colorado. The fire, which destroyed more than a thousand homes and displaced tens of thousands of residents, spread rapidly through many neighborhoods. Investigative reporting found that at the time of the Marshall Fire, only 24% of Boulder County’s population had opted into the emergency alert system (Channel 9 News, 2022).
This lack of warning and subsequent harm prompted the State of Colorado to consider how to improve alert and warning systems to ensure that necessary information reaches those at risk. Additionally, there is specific interest in understanding the capacity of these systems to reach non-English speaking populations as well as people with access and functional needs.
During the 2023 legislative session, Representative Elizabeth Velasco (District 57) introduced Colorado House Bill 23-1237. Then the Colorado House of Representatives discussed and amended the bill and introduced it to the Senate where they followed the same procedure. The revised bill was passed by a majority vote in both chambers. On May 12, 2023, Governor Jared S. Polis signed it into law. This bill appropriates funds to the Natural Hazards Center to complete a study assessing existing capacities of emergency alert and warning systems in Colorado and to identify areas of improvement for language and disability access.
Project Overview
Colorado Language and Disability Landscape
Colorado is an increasingly diverse state in terms of languages spoken at home (Figure 1). In fact, 16% of Coloradoans speak languages other than English at home, and more than 300,000 people in the state are considered Limited English Proficient (Table 1; Migration Policy Institute, 2021).
Figure 1. Percent of Limited English-Speaking (LES) Households by County in Colorado (Source: Census, 2020). Across Colorado counties, the number of LES households varies from less than 1% to more than 11%. (Click image to enlarge)
Table 1. Top Non-English Languages Spoken at Home in Colorado
Language | Number | Percent |
Total Household Population, Age 5 and Older | 5,504,232 | 100% |
Speak Language Other than English | 892,249 | 16.2% |
Top 5 Non-English Languages Spoken | ||
1. Spanish | 600,565 | 10.9% |
2. Chinese (including Mandarin, Cantonese) | 25,812 | 0.5% |
3. Vietnamese | 22,448 | 0.4% |
4. German | 21,627 | 0.4% |
5. Russian | 19,897 | 0.4% |
(Source: Erickson and von Schrader, 2023)
Colorado counties are also home to varying numbers of people with disabilities and other access and functional needs (Figure 2). Additionally, the rural nature of some communities means a large percentage of residents do not have internet connectivity (Figure 3). These characteristics and others influence how people receive and respond to warnings.
Figure 2. Percent of People with a Disability by County in Colorado (Source: Census, 2020). Across Colorado counties, the number of people with disabilities varies from 5% to 25%. (Click image to enlarge)
Figure 3. Percent of People Without Internet Access by County in Colorado (Source: Census, 2020). Across Colorado counties, between 3% and 33% of the population lacks internet access. (Click image to enlarge)
The Natural Hazards Center team will use demographic and survey data, academic literature, agency reports, and meetings with key partners to determine the current gaps and existing needs for inclusive emergency information systems. There are already strong efforts underway—across multiple organizations in the state—to build equitable emergency communications. Our team will catalogue and summarize the state of the field in Colorado and identify key areas for improvement.
Project Timeline and Key Tasks
The Natural Hazards Center research team is working closely with key partners to complete the following study tasks and deliverables:
Key Project Tasks | Anticipated Deliverables |
September 2023 | |
|
|
October 2023 | |
|
|
November 2023 | |
|
|
December 2023 | |
|
|
January 2024 | |
|
|
- Annotated Bibliography: The document review process is now complete, and the research team is summarizing best practices as they relate to inclusive alert and warnings.
- Survey: The survey closed on Nov 1, 2023, with 222 responses from emergency response professionals across Colorado (Figure 4). The research team is now cleaning and reviewing the results and beginning to draft the report.
Figure 4. Survey participant roles. - Upcoming Public Comment Opportunity: On December 7th, 2023, we will be publishing a draft report and asking for public comment. For more details, visit the public comment page.
Project Team
Project Research Lead: Carson MacPherson-Krutsky, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder (carson.m-k@colorado.edu)
Postdoctoral Research Associate: Mary Angelica Painter, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder (mary.painter@colorado.edu)
Graduate Research Assistant: Melissa Villarreal, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder (melissa.villarreal@colorado.edu)
Project Supervisor: Lori Peek, Director, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder
Bill Sponsor: Elizabeth Velasco, State Representative (District 57), State of Colorado