Assuring Better Child Health & Development (ABCD)

Conversations happening at the national level highlight the challenges families face such as the maternal healthcare crisis, insufficient paid family leave, and the rising costs of childcare. These national issues can seem overwhelming, but here in Colorado, our communities are stepping up to make it easier to be a young family.

Who’s caring for our young families? We are—all of us. Through Assuring Better Child Health & Development (ABCD), a nonprofit organization that envisions a future where every child has access to services that promote healthy development. Though essential resources like developmental screenings and caring pediatricians exist, many families still struggle to access them.

Why? There are various barriers. ABCD is working to identify and remove these barriers so that all children can achieve healthy growth and families can thrive.

Key challenges:

• Lack of Trust with Providers: Parents often feel uncomfortable sharing personal challenges, like maternal mental health or developmental delays, with healthcare providers. ABCD works to foster trust by creating safe, caring environments for families. 
• Language Barriers: With 16.7 of Coloradans speaking a language other than English, language differences can limit access to care. ABCD is building pathways for families to access services in their native languages. 
• Lack of Community Support: Many parents feel isolated, and alone in their parenting journey, especially if they live far from family. ABCD promotes local, culturally rooted support systems for families to learn about their child's development and access services. 

There are more challenges families face, but to fully understand them, we must listen to families. ABCD’s family voice creates pathways for healthcare and early childhood providers to listen and learn directly from families. By doing so, providers can better understand their experiences and improve the support they offer. When families feel heard, their ability to access the right care improves dramatically.

 ABCD’s Initiatives:

• Embedding professionals who conduct developmental screenings and connect families with resources through the HealthySteps program in primary care settings.
• Building community-based learning initiatives tailored for non-English-speaking families, designed by community leaders to reflect cultural differences.

• Training healthcare providers to understand the family experience, improving how families feel when they seek care.

Our solution - to be with families every step of the way. ABCD is working so that families never go more than a couple of months without having a trusted professional check in about their child’s development. We know that when a family feels validated, hopeful and empowered, their chances of getting the right support for their child  significantly increases.

By joining ABCD, you are helping build the support our families need to ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive.

ABCD is fiscally sponsored by Colorado Nonprofit Development Center.