Colorado

Colorado uses a multi-pronged approach to support communities as they advocate for systemic change through Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP). By developing the Colorado Child Maltreatment Prevention Framework for Action, Colorado has created a tool to guide strategic thinking, at the state and local level, about resource investments to prevent child maltreatment and promote child well-being. This tool is used by communities across the state, resulting in the alignment of strategies to maximize the impact on shared outcomes. 

In addition to community planning, CBCAP supports additional cross-system child maltreatment prevention strategies, including:

• Healthy Steps, a program that provides early childhood development support to families in pediatric primary care offices, will serve populations that may be at higher risk of abuse or neglect.
• A social norming/social connections awareness campaign, Colorado Connected, developed in collaboration with the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families. This project builds on the needs highlighted in the Essentials for Childhood initiative.
• Circle of Parents is a peer-support and mutual self-help program that provides safe, confidential, and non-judgmental spaces for parents to share and learn from other parents and build upon their own strengths and leadership skills. Need for this program was highlighted by participants in our Colorado Fatherhood Program.
• Family Connects, a universal home visiting program, ensures that there is an entry point to essential support services for all families in a community – not just those at risk. The Colorado Home Visiting Investment Task Force recommended the inclusion of Family Connects in Colorado's home visiting continuum.
• Early childhood mental health consultants offer the Seedlings training to help parents develop resilience skills to address trauma history. Stimulus funds will support the evaluation of the work to inform future direction and development.