Colorado’s Popular Black License Plates Fund Programs for People with Disabilities
Colorado’s nostalgic black license plates, a favorite among residents, are now supporting a new state initiative aimed at helping individuals with disabilities find jobs and live independently.
The Colorado Disability Opportunity Office (C-Doo), established by the legislature in June, will distribute $5 million this fiscal year to organizations that assist people with disabilities. The office’s inaugural director, Danny Combs, is a passionate advocate for people with disabilities. He is also the father of a son with autism and the founder of a trade school in Englewood that teaches young people with autism valuable skills such as auto mechanics, welding, carpentry, and electrical work.
For every retro license plate sold, the office receives $25. These plates include the well-loved green mountain design on a white background, the reintroduced white “COLORADO” plates on solid blue and red backgrounds, and the most popular, the black background plates. These vintage plates, dating back to 1914, 1915, and 1945, were brought back into circulation in 2021.
According to the new office, about 20% of Coloradans have one or more disabilities. Services to support them are scattered across various state agencies, including the education department, the health and human services department, and the agency managing Medicaid. C-Doo’s mission is to streamline these services, reduce redundancy, and fill gaps where assistance is currently lacking, ultimately improving efficiency in supporting people with disabilities.
