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You Are Here: Skip Navigation LinksHealthy Kids Colorado Survey
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Healthy Kids Colorado Survey

The Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS) is a self-administered questionnaire that covers many topics about the health related attitudes and behaviors and is regularly administered across the state of Colorado to students in grades 6-12. The HKCS consists primarily of questions from the nationally administered Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) with additional risk and protective factor questions from the Communities that Care Survey. The following domains are covered by the HKCS: physical activity and nutrition; unintentional injuries and violence; mental health; alcohol, tobacco and other drug use; school and family; and sexual health (high school only). The HKCS is administered at both the state level and local level to obtain Colorado specific and school or community specific data.
 
State-level data:
Every two years Colorado conducts the HKCS in randomly selected schools as part of CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). Data collected from this effort will be used to: increase public awareness about the health behavior issues that impact kids; inform state planning efforts and needs assessments; monitor how health attitudes and behaviors change over time; identify areas for prevention programming; and bring funding into the state and local communities. Through participation from the high schools and middle schools randomly selected to participate, the state obtained a weighted dataset in 2011 that can be considered representative of Colorado students. The statewide HKCS effort is funded through the Colorado Department of Education with support from the Departments of Human Services, Division of Behavioral Health and Public Health and Environment and is administered through OMNI Institute.
 
Local-level data:
The HKCS is also available for communities, districts and schools to administer at the local level to better understand the health related attitudes and behaviors of their students. Data collected through a local administration can be used to inform local prevention efforts and secure funding and resources. Results can be compared to state and national level data to form a more complete picture of the issues impacting youth. Additionally, these data allow local communities to monitor trends over time. The local HKCS is available for administration throughout the school year, and is coordinated through OMNI Institute with support from the Department of Human Services, Division of Behavioral Health. In 2011 alone, over 65,000 students in 165 schools across 37 school districts voluntarily participated in a local administration of the HKCS.
 
 
 

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