Healthy Kids Colorado Survey

The purpose of the HKCS is to understand youth health and what factors support youth in making healthy choices.

• The Healthy Kids Colorado Survey is Colorado's most comprehensive survey on the health and well-being of young people.
• The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Colorado School of Public Health (CSPH) administer the survey. 
• The survey is voluntary, anonymous and shared every two years in the fall.
• HKCS is an optional-participation survey given to 6-12 graders in Colorado.
• The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Colorado School of Public Health (CSPH) administer the survey. 
• The HKCS has a rigorous policy to protect the confidentiality and anonymity of student data. No individual data is shared.  
• Students take the online survey during one of their class periods.

Participation in the survey is optional. Families can opt out of it, and each student may skip any question(s) they want when completing it.

The HKCS includes these topics:

• Health-related topics such as physical activity and nutrition
• Mental health
• School safety and bullying
• Tobacco and other substance use
• Risk and protective factors 

The high school survey includes demographic questions about sexual orientation and gender identity. The high school survey also includes sexual health and sexual violence questions. Jeffco Public Schools uses these survey questions.

• Provide state and regional estimates of a wide range of youth health behaviors. 
• Track behavior trends at the state, regional and local levels over time. 
• Increase public awareness about health and behavior issues that impact youth and educate leaders to shape effective public policies. 
• Provide support for healthier learning environments through school health education policies and programs. 
• Identify and prioritize health disparities at the school, district and community level.

• School data can be used to support grant applications, needs assessments and program planning that focuses on prevention. The district supports schools participating in the survey in creating/supporting programs that correspond to the needs shown in the data.
• It gives students a voice in school health.

View this snapshot to see how Jeffco is utilizing the data.

Yes. It is confidential for both students and schools. 

• Students do not put identifying information on the survey. 
• Teachers follow protocols to protect confidentiality while the survey is being completed. 
• Individual data are never released; only summaries of combined data are. 
• Participating schools are not identified in any public release of information. 
• Districts and schools may share reports with existing coalitions or committees (i.e., school accountability teams) at their discretion.

The survey is taken online and takes a single class period to complete, or typically about 40 minutes.

Information about these behaviors helps Colorado provide the resources and education necessary to prevent unhealthy behaviors and promote healthy behaviors. Students who complete the survey are instructed beforehand that their answers are completely anonymous and that they may skip any questions they feel uncomfortable answering.

No. Research evidence suggests that health surveys influence youth behavior or experimentation in unhealthy behaviors. This remains the same even after repeated administration of the questionnaire.

It is reassuring to know that many health-related behaviors – including sexual behaviors, tobacco use and some forms of violence – have declined since 1991, at the same time that youth survey activities have increased nationwide.

How do we know the results of the HKCS are accurate? Years of survey research suggest that young people, much like adults, respond honestly on anonymous surveys. Focus groups conducted in 2021 concluded that all youth participants would answer HKCS questions honestly, and the overwhelming majority believed their peers would also answer honestly. Thorough data cleaning is performed to remove suspicious responses, and results of the HKCS are validated by comparing results over the years and comparing them to other data collections.

Families may opt out of the survey, and each student reserves the right not to take the survey even if their family has not opted out. Families receive an opt-out form two weeks before the survey date and can preview the survey questions.

Participation in the survey is optional. Your child’s participation is valuable to have high participation rates to obtain valid health information representing the whole student population in Colorado. Your child may skip any question(s) they want on the survey.

You may contact your school principal and request to see the results. The results will be shared with each school and district in the spring semester following administration. All aggregate HKCS Results from 2013-2023 can be viewed on the data dashboard.

All additional questions can be emailed to healthyschools@jeffco.k12.co.us or CSPHSurveyTeam@CUAnschutz.edu.