Office of Gun Violence Prevention

Red flowers at sunset

The Office of Gun Violence Prevention is a new office in CDPHE that will coordinate and promote effective strategies to reduce gun violence in our state. CDPHE is establishing the office now and will update information here as soon as it becomes available.

Created by HB21- 1299, the office will:

  1. Conduct public awareness campaigns to educate about state and federal laws and existing resources relating to gun violence prevention.

  2. Administer a grant program (subject to available money) for organizations to conduct community-based gun violence intervention initiatives focused on interrupting cycles of gun violence, trauma, and retaliation that are evidence-informed and have demonstrated promise at reducing gun violence without contributing to mass incarceration.

  3. Create and maintain a resource bank as a repository for data, research, and statistical information regarding gun violence in Colorado. 

The Office of Gun Violence Prevention is now accepting applications for new grants that will fund projects to prevent gun violence across Colorado.

Report

The Office of Gun Violence Prevention must submit an annual report to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment every year on its activities.

  2022 Annual Report

Collaboration

The Office of Gun Violence Prevention will collaborate closely with multiple CDPHE programs, including the Office of Suicide Prevention, the Office of Health Equity, and the Center for Health and Environmental Data (CHED). The office will also collaborate with the departments of Education, Human Services (including the Office of Behavioral Health and the Behavioral Health Administration), Public Safety, and the Office of the Attorney General. There will also be coordination with the Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, and the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative at the University of Colorado.

Data 

Below you can access Colorado specific-data on firearm injuries and deaths.

  • Colorado Vital Statistics Program - Analyzes and disseminates the official vital statistics data for Colorado from the official records of vital events (live births, deaths, fetal deaths, induced terminations of pregnancy/abortions, marriages and divorces). These records are collected through the Office of the State Registrar of Vital Records. Colorado’s vital statistics include data for all vital events that occur in Colorado, as well as those occurring in other states among Colorado residents.

  • Colorado Health Information Dataset - The Colorado Health Information Dataset (CoHID) provides access to state and local-level data and resources compiled by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to help understand health and related issues affecting people in Colorado.  This includes Colorado’s official mortality/death statistics.

  • Colorado Violent Death Reporting System - CoVDRS collects information on violent deaths that have occurred in Colorado from a variety of data sources, including death certificates, coroner and medical examiner reports, and law enforcement investigations. The purpose of the data is to provide a more complete understanding of when, where, and how violent deaths occur. CoVDRS captures enhanced information on the following manners of death:

    • Suicide.

    • Homicide.

    • Unintentional firearm.

    • Legal Intervention.

    • Undetermined deaths that may be violent in nature.

  • CoVDRS is part of the larger National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), which is funded through the CDC. There are 52 states and territories funded to collect data for the NVDRS. More information is available at www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/NVDRS/index.html

  • Factsheet: Firearm Deaths in Colorado 2014-2019: Data from the Colorado Violent Death Reporting System

  • Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a federally funded random telephone survey of Colorado residents ages 18 and older. Information is gathered on a variety of health behaviors, conditions, and preventative health practices. The questions collect data related to the leading causes of:

    • Chronic disease.

    • Infectious disease.

    • Drug Use.

    • Disability.

    • Injury.

    • Mortality.

  • Public and private health authorities at the federal, state and local levels use BRFSS data to identify public health problems, design policies and interventions, set goals, and measure progress toward these goals. In 2020, Colorado began asking questions around firearm storage practices. 

  • Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS) and Colorado Healthy Schools Smart Source (Smart Source), are Colorado’s widely-administered surveys on the health and well-being of young people and school health policies and practices that support youth health. Data from HKCS and Smart Source are complementary and can be used together to provide a more complete picture of youth and school health. 

  • In 2019, Colorado began asking about access to firearms in the home. Results published: Brooks-Russell A, Ma M, Brummett S, et al. Perceived Access to Handguns Among Colorado High School Students. Pediatrics. 2021;147(4):e2020015834 

  • For additional information about the above resources, or for data requests, please contact cdphe.healthstatistics@state.co.us.

  • Child Fatality Prevention System (2021 Legislative Report)

  • Maternal Mortality Prevention (Report 2014-2016)