The Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab (Colorado Lab) serves as the coordinating hub for Family First rigorous evaluation efforts on behalf of the Colorado Department of Human Services. In this role, we provide guidance and ensure strategic investments in evidence-building for promising programs, with the goal of informing selection and scaling of services that help […]
Families
Perinatal Substance Use and Improving Family Health
Update on the Colorado SB21-137 Data Linkage ProjectThe Colorado Lab is working with the Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention to better understand and address the growing issue of perinatal substance use. The vision for this project is to routinely track incident rates of perinatal substance use in Colorado and inform state investments, programs, and […]
Family First Annual Strategy Report
The aim of Family First in Colorado is to support child welfare-involved families receiving evidence-based services and support that help to keep children safe and more families together. Our new Evidence-building for Family First: Rigorous Evaluation Annual Report provides ongoing guidance to ensure strategic investments in evidence-building for services and programs positioned to meet the needs […]
Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel: Promoting Steps 1 and 2 of Building Evidence
The Colorado Lab is partnering with the Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel (ORPC) to build evidence for their model of interdisciplinary team representation. Interdisciplinary team representation pairs an attorney with a social worker or parent advocate to address root causes of child welfare involvement, promote long-term family strengthening, and protect the fundamental right to parent. […]
2021 Legislative Session: Building Evidence to Effectively Implement Policy Wins
SB21-194 – Maternal Health Provider A landmark bill that includes the requirement to assess use of research evidence in perinatal policymaking to reduce disparities in maternal care and reduce maternal mortality. The study seeks to understand what aids and what gets in the way of using research evidence in policy development and uptake related to […]
Jeffco’s Preventive Legal Services Pilot Program Launches
The Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel (ORPC) is accepting referrals for indigent parents in Jefferson County whose unmet legal needs may be affecting the safety of their children. The pilot program launches this month and aims to connect parents to preventive legal services and keep families together by addressing legal problems such as housing and […]
PDG B-5 Home Visiting for Home Child Care Providers Pilot Findings
The pilot was designed to address this challenge by connecting home-based child care providers with home visitors who deliver evidence-based curriculums. Historically, home visitors and home child care providers have not interacted even though both play key roles in child development and family strengthening. “The home visiting pilot doesn’t feel like a revolutionary new program […]
Listening to Families to Learn What Helps Them Thrive
Words reflecting social support and connections that can help families thrive as expressed by participants in five Colorado communities during Colorado Lab-facilitated listening sessions. A new Colorado Lab report features diverse and insightful learnings from community listening sessions that were held with parents/caregivers to better understand how social connections and support can help families thrive. Research […]
Center for Policy Research Selected as TF-CBT Evaluation Team
The Colorado Lab is guiding and coordinating the ongoing rigorous evaluation of evidence-based services that are part of Colorado’s Family First Prevention Services Plan, in partnership with the Colorado Department of Human Services. In our October newsletter, the Colorado Lab released a call for external research partners to support us in executing our evidence-building work […]
Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families
The Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families (Partnership) is made up of state and county human service, public health, health care, and early childhood systems that have the shared goal of significantly reducing child maltreatment and promoting family well-being in Colorado. Their work is critical with Colorado seeing a 12% increase in the number of children […]