Colorado’s Five-Year Family First Prevention Services Plan (Colorado’s Plan) promotes use of evidence-based programs and services in child welfare to help keep children safe and more families together. The Colorado Lab leads the Family First Evidence-Building Hub on behalf of the Colorado Department of Human Services. We recently released the State Fiscal Year 2024 Family First […]
Youth
Fostering Opportunities Final Report & Expansion
The Fostering Opportunities Final Report on the Colorado Lab-led randomized controlled trial of Fostering Opportunities shows the groundbreaking program helped students in foster care to be successful in school and earn timely high school credentials. The program was piloted in Jefferson County (Jeffco) Public Schools. Initial findings released last fall led to Fostering Opportunities becoming […]
Family First Evidence-Building Hub: Annual Evidence-Building Strategy Report
The newly-released Family First Annual Evidence-Building Strategy Report provides ongoing guidance to the Colorado Department of Human Services and Family First implementation partners to ensure strategic investments in evidence-building for programs/services positioned to meet the needs of children, youth, and families. The report includes: In coordinating rigorous evaluation efforts through the Family First Evidence-Building Hub, […]
Family First Evidence-Building Hub: Annual Report & Spotlight on External Research Partner, Colorado Implementation Science Unit
Colorado’s 5-Year Family First Prevention Services Plan advances evidence-based programs and services to support child welfare-involved families with the goal of keeping children safe and more families together. The Colorado Lab leads the Family First Evidence-Building Hub on behalf of the Colorado Department of Human Services. We work with cross-system prevention partners to co-create a […]
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Schools
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 […]
Fostering Opportunities Now a Proven Practice
Share on twitter Twitter Share on linkedin LinkedIn Governor Polis signs the Foster Youth Success Act. Left to right: Elysia Clemens, Deputy Director/COO, Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab; Minna Castillo Cohen, Director, Office of Children, Youth and Families, Colorado Department of Human Services; Representative Dafna Michaelson Jenet, Chair, House Public Health Care and Human Services […]
Estimating Homelessness Among Young People
The lack of reliable data on the prevalence of young people experiencing homelessness makes it difficult to provide responsive services or develop prevention strategies. To bridge this critical knowledge gap, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funded the Center for Policy Research and the Colorado Lab to generate a more complete estimate […]
Runaway Foster Youth: Child Protection Ombudsman Task Force
The Timothy Montoya Task Force to Prevent Children from Running Away from Out-of-Home Placement was established by House Bill 22-1375 for the purpose of analyzing the root causes of why children run away from out-of-home placement. The Colorado Lab conducted focus groups with children in out-of-home placement and young adults under 22 who aged out […]
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 […]
2022 Legislative Session: Informing Key Legislation
Colorado Lab studies informed an array of legislation in this year’s session, including bills that were passed to strengthen care and learning for preschoolers and increase pathways to high school graduation. Our efforts included working with partners to conduct research studies, providing expert testimony, and evaluating the effectiveness of models. HB22-1295 – Department of Early […]