Colorado Local Needs Assessment

One of the biggest changes included in The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) which amended the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (Perkins IV) Act of 2006 and went into effect on July 1, 2019 was the addition of the comprehensive local needs assessment.  Local recipients of Perkins funding must now complete a Local Needs Assessment on a biennial basis and all spending and activities included in each local application must align to the results of the needs assessment process.  In Colorado, the needs assessment is done on a regional basis.  There are several requirements for the Local Comprehensive Needs Assessment, including: 

• Connection to and alignment of CTE programs with business, industry, and workforce needs in Colorado.  
• Evaluation of student performance by subgroup on Perkins core indicators. 
• Description of the CTE programs offered (size, scope, quality, and alignment). 

• Evaluation of the progress toward implementing CTE programs and programs of study. 
• Description of progress toward implementing equal access to CTE for all students. 

The Colorado CTE team supports the Local & Regional Needs Assessment process through the provision of various resources, supporting facilitation of regional meetings, and collaboration on the specific needs of each of Colorado’s economic development regions.