Home Visiting in Colorado
Most parents need people they can call on once in a while when they need a sympathetic listener, advice or concrete supports.
Home visitors help parents bring out the best in themselves by tapping into the skills they already possess. Home visiting programs are proven to have positive impacts on children, families and communities.
A child’s first relationships and earliest experiences lay the foundation for health and well-being throughout their entire lives.
At scale, stronger childhoods lead to stronger families and more successful communities.
Healthy & Happy Relationships
Home visiting programs should be a critical component of every community’s plan to prevent child maltreatment. Places where everyone recognizes our shared obligation to help parents be the parents they want to be are societies where children and families thrive.
Improved school readiness and adjustment, reduced child abuse and neglect, an increase in family functioning and self-sufficiency, and broad health and fiscal benefits are just some of the positive effects home visiting programs has on communities.
Return on Investment
Research from Colorado Results First found that Colorado’s home visiting programs return between $1.50 and $6.10 in benefits for each dollar spent. Money invested in home visiting is money well spent.
Proven to Prevent Child Maltreatment
Home visiting programs use a two-generation approach to support pregnant people and new parents proven to break the cycle of poverty and child abuse.
Rigorous studies of various evidenced-based home visiting models have show a reduction in child abuse and neglect.
Colorado Home Visiting By the Numbers
There are seven home visiting programs reaching less than 19% of children under six living in poverty in Colorado. Illuminate Colorado is a proud member of the Colorado Home Visiting Coalition, collaborating to strengthen and advance effective home visiting services across Colorado.
Colorado ranks 14th in the United States in terms of most children served and most home visits.
Illuminate Colorado advocates for a continuum of home visiting services in every community in our state and access for all families.
Healthy Families America in Colorado
Illuminate Colorado is the state office for Healthy Families America (HFA), Prevent Child Abuse America’s signature home visiting program and one of the leading family support and evidence-based home visiting programs in the United States.
There are two community-based organizations currently using the HFA home visiting model in Colorado.
Early Childhood Partners Healthy Families Vail Valley
Serving Families in the Eagle River Valley
Family Visitor Program Healthy Families Aspen to Parachute
Serving Families in the Aspen to Parachute Region
Proven Impacts
Studies of HFA show parents experience dramatic gains in education, leading to increased family income and tax revenues for the community.
Healthier birth rates, lower complications, and reductions in child neglect and abuse are also correlated with participation in HFA, with rigorous studies showing a 70% reduction in pregnancy complications and 48% fewer cases of low-weight births.
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Reduction in Pregnancy Complications
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Fewer Cases of Low-Weight Births
Improved Outcomes For Children
A broad range of studies show that when parents participate in HFA, children are healthier, experience fewer adverse childhood events, and demonstrate long-term improvements in school performance.
Supporting Parents
Numerous studies show that compared to control families, HFA parents are more effective at creating healthy environments for their children and achieving their own education and career goals.
Strengthening Community
For every $1 invested in Healthy Families America, communities get a return of $1.46, and even greater benefits ($3.16) for families involved with child welfare.
Approved Under the Family First Prevention Services Act
HFA is a two-generation home visiting model proven to demonstrate powerful outcomes for children, parents and communities.
This home visiting model has the highest rating of “well-supported” by Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse, giving states and county human service agencies the ability to pay for HFA services with federal resources made available through the Family First Prevention Services Act.
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Healthy Families America Impact
Communities that provide access to Healthy Families America see children become healthier and perform better in school, parents become more self-sufficient and costs measurably decline.
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