Getting Started
TA Teams & Providers
Capacity Building Activities
Please contact the lead TA provider listed below for each activity. The lead will connect you with additional TA providers as needed:
- Educate your community about the importance of policies that influence tobacco use and reduce health disparities.
TA Lead: Policy and System Change Network, Colorado School of Public Health, Jenna Chand and Eric Brodell.
- Promote tobacco treatment and help people find culturally relevant cessation treatment options.
TA Lead: Behavioral Health and Wellness Program, Jim Pavlik.
- Engage with your community and build partnerships that advance health equity.
TA Lead: Colorado School of Public Health Community Engagement TA team (Chris Jones).
- Encourage, promote, and advocate for participation in the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS).
TA Lead: Your STEPP Project Officer, who can connect you to the University Team.
- Build and maintain internal team tobacco control expertise and deepen an understanding of the root causes of racial and health inequities.
TA Lead: New Health Equity & Social Justice TA provider to be announced, with Policy and System Change Network, Colorado School of Public Health: Eric Brodell.
- Comply with all grant administration duties, including progress reporting, participation in STEPP calls, and implementation of the evaluation plan.
TA Lead: Your STEPP Project officer, with CEPEG for QPR and evaluation TA.
The Behavioral Health and Wellness Program provides tailored Technical Assistance to Colorado grantees engaged in tobacco cessation capacity building and Goal 3 activities.
The team focuses on advancing equitable access to high-quality, evidence-based tobacco treatment while helping grantees strengthen partnerships with community organizations, health care providers and health systems.
Support is tailored to the needs of individual communities and includes training, consultation, resource development and evaluation support.
How we can help
- Use community assessment strategies to identify priority populations and organizations for outreach.
- Develop strategies for building strong, sustainable partnerships with health care organizations and other community partners.
- Plan presentations and community events that increase awareness about the harms of nicotine and tobacco use.
- Promote treatment resources such as the Colorado QuitLine.
- Increase staff knowledge and confidence in promoting or delivering nicotine and tobacco treatment.
- Provide trainings, presentations and written materials.
- Share current information and research related to nicotine, tobacco use and treatment.
Contacts
The Community Engaged Practice team at the Colorado School of Public Health’s Center for Public Health Practice provides training and technical assistance to STEPP grantees working to improve, reduce and prevent tobacco use for all people.
Meaningful public health work requires mutually beneficial engagement with the communities we serve throughout planning, implementation and evaluation. The team helps grantees strengthen their community engagement practices through tailored technical assistance, skill building, evaluation, program planning and strategies for scaling and sustaining engagement.
Because every community is different, support is tailored to help grantees build authentic relationships and move their work toward greater community participation, partnership and empowerment.
How we can help
- Provide responsive, tailored technical assistance for community engagement work.
- Strengthen communication with diverse audiences.
- Support coalition development and partnership building.
- Assist with program planning, facilitation and evaluation.
- Help grantees identify ways to deepen community participation throughout their work.
- Build connections, shared problem-solving and experiential learning among STEPP grantees.
Contacts
The Community Epidemiology & Program Evaluation Group, or CEPEG, is a team of researchers and evaluators available to assist grantees with all aspects of program evaluation.
CEPEG provides group and one-on-one Technical Assistance and training covering evaluation fundamentals, evaluation planning, surveys, data analysis, data visualization and other evaluation needs.
From determining what information to collect to communicating results back to your community, CEPEG can help grantees use data to understand and strengthen their work.
How we can help
- Find quantitative and epidemiological surveillance data, including Colorado BRFSS, TABS and Healthy Kids Colorado Survey data.
- Interpret quantitative data and use it to support community decision-making.
- Collaborate on approaches for using and displaying program data.
- Demonstrate program activities, outcomes and achievements through effective data presentation.
- Develop evaluation plans.
- Design and conduct surveys.
- Analyze and visualize data.
- Identify appropriate data sources and determine what questions those data can reasonably answer.
- Provide Technical Assistance for Quarterly Progress Reporting.
- Answer questions about the QPR system and reporting data.
- Connect grantees with resources explaining what to collect and how to report it.
Contacts
For legal Technical Assistance, first contact Jenna Chand or Eric Brodell with the Colorado School of Public Health Policy + System Change Network.
They can help assess your need and connect you with the appropriate Legal Technical Assistance provider.
How we can help
Legal Technical Assistance may be appropriate when grantees need specialized guidance related to the legal considerations surrounding tobacco-control policies, policy language or implementation.
Your Policy + System Change TA provider can help determine when legal TA should be brought into the process.
Contacts
The Media and Communications Technical Assistance providers serve as partners for tobacco-related public information and outreach efforts in coordination with CDPHE’s Tobacco Communications Specialist.
The teams can provide guidance related to media planning and placement, copywriting, design, marketing, campaign materials, local outreach and printed resources. Support is intended to help grantees communicate effectively with the populations and communities they serve.
How we can help
- Order tobacco- and nicotine-free signage for schools, private businesses and public spaces in accordance with the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act.
- Develop localized public relations communication plans following a Tobacco-Free Community Assessment.
- Access paid media assets for local placements, including radio, television, billboards and posters.
- Access marketing materials such as Colorado QuitLine brochures, medical-office posters and school materials.
- Review paid media plans, organic social content and visual assets to help ensure activities remain within grant scope.
- Develop or access new marketing materials and resources as grantee needs evolve.
- Coordinate printing and production of approved materials.
Contacts
The Policy + System Change Network provides technical assistance to local public health agencies working to increase agency and community readiness for commercial tobacco control strategies designed to eliminate tobacco use and tobacco-related disparities.
Each local public health agency is assigned a TA provider who can support policy and systems-change activities. The team provides tailored assistance based on local needs, objectives, government structures and community conditions.
Support includes work related to youth access, the tobacco retail environment, smoke-free community policies, organizational tobacco-free policies and other emerging local tobacco policy issues.
Areas of support
- Youth Access
- Point of Sale
- Smoke-Free Municipal Policy
How we can help
Understand local government and the policy process
Learn how your local government is structured, how decisions are made and how to plan effectively for policy action.
Research policy solutions
Explore policy approaches that address local tobacco-related challenges and identify strategies appropriate for your community.
Understand tobacco-control history and best practices
Apply lessons from previous tobacco-control policies, programs and public health efforts to current opportunities.
Monitor the tobacco retail environment
Support activities related to tobacco and nicotine sales, youth access and local retail conditions.
Build relationships and partnerships
Identify public health partners, community members, decision-makers and other stakeholders who can contribute to successful community-driven policy efforts.
Prepare for emerging policy issues
Develop internal processes that help your agency identify and respond to tobacco-related policy issues at the municipal or county level.
Develop policy language
Receive support reviewing, developing or strengthening tobacco-related policy language.
Participate in peer learning
Connect with other grantees through Learning Community Calls, workgroups and other shared-learning opportunities.
Contacts
The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment provides statewide Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing Technical Assistance to local public health agencies, housing providers and community partners.
Support focuses on helping communities respond to secondhand smoke complaints, collect and use data, build partnerships and prepare for equitable policy solutions that protect both resident health and housing stability.
How we can help
Complaint response systems
Create clear and consistent processes for responding to secondhand smoke complaints, including templates, workflows and staff onboarding tools.
Data collection and tracking
Use complaint records and standardized tools to identify trends, gaps and equity considerations.
Mapping and visualization
Use mapping strategies to identify geographic areas experiencing higher levels of secondhand smoke exposure and support data-informed decision-making.
Education and messaging
Communicate the harms of secondhand smoke, its disproportionate impact on multi-unit housing residents and the importance of effective policy protections.
Policy readiness and implementation
Prepare to advocate for and implement comprehensive smoke-free protections, including ordinance planning, equity considerations and alignment with state law.
Partner engagement
Prepare for conversations and collaboration with coalitions, Boards of Health, city officials, housing providers and other partners.
Contacts
Strong Start provides Technical Assistance related to tobacco prevention and cessation efforts focused on pregnancy, postpartum health and families.
Grantees can connect with the Strong Start team for guidance related to their Strong Start activities and implementation needs.
Contacts
MC Health and Action for Healthy Kids partner with STEPP grantees to strengthen, communicate and implement Tobacco-Free Schools policies across Colorado.
The team supports schools in preventing youth nicotine use while also providing effective intervention options, including alternatives to suspension and connections to quit resources.
Technical Assistance providers work alongside grantees by sharing evidence-based tools, co-creating strategies and helping schools align with Colorado law while building comprehensive and supportive environments that promote whole-child health and well-being.
How we can help
Policy Support
Use the Tobacco-Free Schools Policy Checklist and sample policy language to strengthen alignment with Colorado’s Tobacco-Free Schools law.
The team can help you:
- Clarify Tobacco-Free Schools law and related youth policies.
- Review existing policies and identify gaps.
- Prioritize potential policy improvements.
- Prepare for conversations with administrators, school boards and other partners.
- Move policy revisions forward.
Prevention Education
Access guidance and curated prevention-education resources.
The team can help you:
- Select age-appropriate and culturally responsive curricula and programs.
- Identify ways to integrate prevention into classrooms, advisory periods or extracurricular activities.
- Learn from strategies and approaches being used by other schools.
Alternatives to Suspension
Explore restorative, non-punitive approaches to tobacco and nicotine infractions, including the Second Chance Program and tiered discipline resources.
The team can help you:
- Understand alternatives to suspension and how they fit within Tobacco-Free Schools policies.
- Integrate Second Chance and other approaches into discipline practices.
- Provide tools and materials that build awareness among staff, students and families.
Intervention Support
Connect students, staff and families with current resources for reducing or quitting nicotine use.
The team can help you:
- Connect students with quit and cut-back resources.
- Integrate cessation resources into discipline and intervention approaches.
- Provide staff with tools to support their own quit journeys.
- Share resources with families and visitors at school and community events.
Contacts
Tobacco Retail Access Colorado provides support related to understanding tobacco retail access, retail environments and the data available to inform local tobacco prevention work.
TRAC can help grantees connect tobacco retail information with broader efforts to reduce youth access and tobacco-related disparities.
How we can help
- Understand available tobacco retail data.
- Identify patterns and trends in the local retail environment.
- Use data to support planning and community education.
- Connect retail-access information with broader youth tobacco-prevention efforts.
- Identify opportunities for additional data or GIS support.
Contacts
UpRISE helps organizations build the capacity needed for authentic youth engagement.
Authentic youth engagement means giving young people real, powerful and meaningful roles in creating change. It goes beyond asking youth for their opinions by respecting their ideas, building their knowledge and skills, and including them in decisions and actions that matter.
The team can also help grantees identify appropriate resources for educating youth about tobacco, vaping and the tobacco and vape industry.
How we can help
Build organizational readiness
- Assess whether your organization is prepared to support sustained and mutually beneficial youth engagement.
- Identify structures, practices and resources needed to meaningfully involve young people.
Develop youth partnerships
- Build bi-directional partnerships between local public health agencies and youth-serving organizations.
- Identify meaningful roles for young people in local tobacco prevention efforts.
Design meaningful youth experiences
- Create learning experiences that are dynamic, multi-modal and engaging.
- Structure learning to build young people’s knowledge and skills.
- Develop opportunities that reflect young people’s ages and developmental needs.
Prepare youth for community change
- Assess opportunities for youth participation in local policy work.
- Build youth capacity for public speaking.
- Prepare young people to meet with decision-makers.
- Help youth develop and communicate effective messages.
Gather and use youth feedback
- Collect feedback from young people in meaningful ways.
- Integrate youth perspectives into programs, strategies and community efforts.
Tools & opportunities
UpRISE Youth Movement
Free downloadable activities are available to support youth education about the tobacco and vape industry and the root causes of nicotine use. The site also includes seven videos designed to strengthen knowledge and skills around youth engagement.
One-on-one coaching
Quarterly Learning Community Calls
Contacts
Grant Administration
General Information
Essential Amendment 35 Information
Contact Information
Reporting and Compliance
CDPHE Staff Directory
Tobacco Focused Community Assessment
This page includes the tools and resources for the FY27 Tobacco-Focused Community Assessment. It will be updated periodically. Please bookmark this page for easy reference. TFCA-focused trainings and Learning Community Calls will continue to be announced in STEPP newsletters and will then be posted to the grantee calendar on TFCO.
TA Support Throughout the Assessment Process
Phase Details
Click here to view TFCA Phase 1 Guidance and resources.
Phase 1 runs from September through November and includes data collection and analysis, and initial community engagement. Join the September 2 STEPP Update Call for a high-level overview.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about Phase 1 will be accepted weekly through November 6, 2026. Submit questions via the FAQ Form to submit questions. Answers will be posted to this FAQ each Friday by 3:30 p.m. The first set of answers will be posted on Friday, September 4.
Step One of Phase 1 includes:
- Reviewing the TFCA Profile completed in FY24 (profiles linked in column “C”)
- Reviewing regional secondary data
- Analyzing data for key trends
- Collecting data on local conditions/factors that impact commercial tobacco/nicotine use (Attend September 9 Orientation or watch the TRAC Dashboard orientation presentation)
- Completing a policy review and gap analysis
- Identifying specific municipalities, settings, and priority populations to assess
Secondary Data Collection & Analysis
Use this link to access the new Commercial Tobacco Behavior Data Dashboard. This dashboard includes county, Health Statistics Region (HSR), and state-level secondary data. The new dashboard link has also been added to the Phase 1 Guidance on page 12.
If you have any questions related to your secondary data (e.g., accessing or using the tool, interpretation, missing data), please reach out to Dan Simon, the tobacco and pulmonary disease epidemiologist for STEPP. Dan can be reached by email at daniel.simon@state.co.us and is also available to provide technical assistance via Zoom or Google Meet.
Step Two of Phase 1 includes:
- Determining which community members to engage
- Determining which qualitative data collection method (e.g., key informant interviews, focus groups, community conversations) best fits each community member/group
- Initiating relationship-building and community engagement through qualitative data collection:
- Refer to the qualitative data collection table on page 25 for recommendations on how many community members to engage.
- Scheduling qualitative data collection methods
- Collecting and theming data from community members
Click here to view TFCA Phase 2 Guidance and resources.
Phase 2 will run from December through February and includes Community and Organizational Readiness, Strategy Selection, and Implementation planning. Phase 2 culminates in submitting your Community Profile(s) to your STEPP Project Officer by March 30, 2027, and submitting a final and signed IP by July 30, 2027.
Click here to view TFCA Phase 3 Guidance and resources.
Phase 3 centers on ongoing work by local public health agency grantees and Community-Led grantees throughout the FY27-29 grant cycle, using the results of the commercial tobacco-focused community assessment to build buy-in and trust.
Most of the work of Phase 3, telling the story of the burden of commercial tobacco, community engagement, and coalition building, will need to be reflected in your FY28 implementation plan.
