Jade Woodard, Author at Illuminate Colorado

Shaping Colorado’s Early Childhood Landscape

by Jade Woodard | Aug 19, 2021 | General

Colorado is at a turning point. Due to the passage of House Bill 1304 Early Childhood System, the state is embarking on a journey to redesign how the state structures early childhood programming by creating a new state Department of Early Childhood, effective July 1, 2022. Over the course of the next year, the Early Childhood Leadership Commission will be developing and approving a transition plan–with input from families and professionals across the state. There is no bigger opportunity for Coloradans to inform systems alignment for family well-being for families with young children–which is why I’m humbled and honored to be named to the Early Childhood Transition Advisory Group.

As a member of the Early Childhood Transition Advisory Group, I’ll be bringing both Illuminate Colorado’s research-informed family strengthening perspective to the process as well as my experience as a mom of three. Our systems will work better for Colorado families when they are built by Colorado families.

Healthy brain development is a building process that begins before we are born. The interaction of genes and experiences shapes the developing brain and relationships are the active ingredient in this serve and return process. Cognitive, emotional and social capacities are intertwined, and learning, behavior and physical and mental health are interrelated over the course of our lives. Supporting positive experiences and loving relationships create a strong foundation that helps ensure that a child builds the skills necessary for a lifetime of well-being.

With a holistic, strengths-based perspective, we can strengthen families by building on what’s working while transforming what isn’t. As I engage in the process, the following will be top of mind:

What the research has shown about the five Protective Factors that have the power to prevent and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect.

The ideas and perspectives voiced through the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families.

Bold, broad, and universal approaches to supporting family formation and expansion–including home visiting and programs that facilitate social connections for new parents.

Our unique opportunities for proactive community-based support for families impacted by substance use.

Considerations for expanding accessibility and affordability of child care and early childhood education for all families with young children.

Join me in shaping Colorado’s early childhood landscape.

ADD YOUR VOICE to the process by participating in one of the many Early Childhood Transition Planning’s engagement opportunities.

SIGN UP for regular updates on the Department of Early Childhood Transition Planning and Universal Preschool Recommendations process.

The 2020 Strengthening Colorado Families and Communities Conference is Going Virtual

by Jade Woodard | Jun 15, 2020 | SCFC Conference

Given public health guidance on large gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Illuminate Colorado, in partnership with the Colorado Department of Human Services, is excited to announce that the 2020 Strengthening Colorado Families and Communities Conference will be held virtually September 28-30, 2020. There will be more information to come on the new format soon!

This conference is an important opportunity to highlight ways to build protective factors that prevent child maltreatment and bring together learners from diverse backgrounds and professions from across Colorado, including professionals with varied levels of content knowledge.

The Conference Planning Committee is currently seeking submissions to address the following areas: Innovation Space, Working Together to Maximize Resources, Getting to Anti-Racist Practice, Supporting Workforce Care, and Best Practices. Submissions will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

For more information, and to submit a proposal in one of these areas, please complete this form.

Please continue to save these dates and subscribe to be the first to learn when registration opens in the next couple of weeks!

A Letter from Illuminate Colorado

by Jade Woodard | Jun 3, 2020 | Featured, General

Our nation’s families and communities of color are suffering due to racial inequities and injustices. The murder of George Floyd is tragically not unique and the events over the last week have been fueled by centuries of racism, white privilege and oppression. We are committed to listening to communities of color and commit to self reflection, growth and action. Black lives matter.

Over the last few months many parents have experienced a level of stress that is unprecedented. For many parents of color, this high level of stress and state of constant worry is not something new. Parents of color have long felt worried about the safety and well-being of their children as they walk out the door each day.

As an organization dedicated to strengthening families, organizations and communities to prevent child maltreatment, we recognize that pervasive and systemic racism, both overt and passive, causes stress and trauma that can physically change a child’s brain. Many families experience this racism and trauma when trying to access systems of support or resources such as child care, health care, housing and education. We know it is critical to address stress, trauma and the root causes of racism and white supremacy in order to create the conditions for children and families to thrive. We also know we play a role in systems that have continued to produce disparate outcomes for families of color. Moving forward, we will work to identify and eradicate the influence of implicit bias and explicit discrimination in policy development, service delivery and training, internally and with our partners. We will also advocate within the systems with which we interact and ensure we listen to, lift up and honor the stories and experiences of families and communities of color.

As an employer, we are committed to being anti-racist and to addressing systemic racism and inequities that may exist within our organization. We do not have all the answers and we will look inward to have critical conversations and develop skills to build equity within our organization.

We encourage, and need, everyone to help create stronger communities. Our children are watching, listening and learning from us. We commit to promoting resources through our social media channels every week to support parents in having conversations with children addressing race and inequities, here are a couple of resources to use right now:

- - Resources for Parents Uplifting Youth Through Healthy Communication about Race –Created by the American Psychological Association
  - EmbraceRace – EmbraceRace was founded in early 2016 by two parents (one Black, the other multiracial Black/White) who set out to create the community and gather the resources they needed (need!) to meet the challenges they face raising children in a world where race matters.

We need to model behaviors that we hope to see more of in the world today. Please take care of yourself, your loved ones and your communities.

We are committed. For children and families of color to thrive, we must eradicate oppression and racism.

Announcing Connect to Protect Kids: An innovative strategy to protect children and youth from sexual abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and interpersonal violence

Utilizing a collaborative approach with shared governance and decision-making, Connect to Protect Kids will develop and disseminate a best-in-class prevention education toolkit to protect children from sexual abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and other types of online, peer, and interpersonal violence. Illuminate Colorado is proud to be a founding partner in this process to develop the next generation of prevention…

Youth Thrive: Building Long-term Well-being from Youth into Adulthood

One of the most effective strategies for cultivating long-term wellbeing for youth is through educating both youth and the agencies who serve them on how to build positive youth development. Youth Thrive, a program developed by the Center for the Study of Social Policy and offered by Illuminate, employs this strategy with amazing results…

Prevention in Action: Quarterly Newsletter October 2023

Illuminate Colorado has been busy working with families, organizations, and communities to ensure all children grow up to be healthy and thriving. Join us as we hear from Coloradans who have been positively impacted by some of the work Illuminate is doing across the state, including YouthThrive, the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families, and Family Connects Colorado…

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The Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families Launches Website

by Jade Woodard | Apr 8, 2020 | CPTF

The Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families has launched a website at www.COPartershipForThrivingFamilies.org to create space to work collaboratively across the State of Colorado to create the conditions for strong families and communities where children are healthy, valued and thriving.

Illuminate Colorado is proud to continue to serve as backbone support for the Partnership. Our organization will continue to post updates on the work of the Partnership from time to time on our news blog, but we encourage professionals to subscribe to receive updates from the Partnership blog to continue to learn about future activities.

For example, we wouldn’t want you to miss out on the next Conversation on Keeping Families Strong during COVID-19, Tuesday, April 21st, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm.

Register in advance for this meeting and receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. [MEETING HAS ALREADY TAKEN PLACE]

Announcing Connect to Protect Kids: An innovative strategy to protect children and youth from sexual abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and interpersonal violence

Youth Thrive: Building Long-term Well-being from Youth into Adulthood

Prevention in Action: Quarterly Newsletter October 2023

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Follow Up on Conversation to Keep Families Strong during COVID-19

by Jade Woodard | Mar 27, 2020 | CPTF

Thanks to the almost 300 people who joined together for a conversation this week on Keeping Families Strong during COVID-19. As a result of everyone who contributed by sharing ideas and resources, we have compiled a resource list linked below.

Future Opportunities to Engage in Strengthening Families and Communities

Virtual Listening Session as part of Gov. Polis’s prenatal to three policy priority development
Friday, April 3
3:30 pm – 5:50 pm

The Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families (CPTF) invites you to a Virtual Listening Session as part of Governor Polis’s prenatal to three policy priority development on April 3 from 3:30 pm-5:00 pm. This listening session is open to all–including CPTF members, colleagues, and most importantly communities. As you are able, please attend yourself, send a colleague, and/or promote the event to your community. To join the listening session, please contact Jillian Adams at jadams@illuminatecolorado.org.

Conversation on Keeping Families Strong during COVID-19
Tuesday, April 7th
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Register in advance for this meeting and receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Join to share adaptations, responses and needs to strengthen families during these unprecedented times.

Subscribe to receive information this meeting and future outreach activities of the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families.

Summary from Conversation on Keeping Families Strong during COVID-19 on Tuesday, March 24th, at 3:00 pm.

People from many organizations and professions who do family strengthening work shared adaptations, responses and needs to strengthen families during these unprecedented times. From the conversation four themes emerged:

Concrete supports are emerging as the most urgent thing folks are hearing families struggling with. This includes:

- - Child care
  - Food resources
  - Diapers, formula, wipes
  - Utilities payment support
  - Rental assistance
  - Hygiene items
  - Household cleaning supplies

We must meet families where they are and keep Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in mind when approaching families with children who are out of school.

- - Physiological needs and safety being secured first, and then can think about social-emotional educational activities
  - Acknowledgement that some families need concrete supports and resources, particularly those who may be in internet deserts, while some families are looking for resources and supports for homeschooling their kids for the first time and are wanting to keep them occupied in pro-social ways

Different communities in Colorado are facing different challenges.

- - Rural/frontier communities needing internet supports, esp. as many services switch to a tele-delivery model
  - Undocumented communities needing information about what supports do and do not require documentation
  - Folks serving parents who are separated from their children needing creative ways to support attachment and bonding virtually

Our workforce also needs connections too.

- - People just want to know what you know—even if it’s that you don’t know
  - To reduce isolation and increase workforce connection: Ask your staff–they probably have creative ideas!

In the meantime, please use and find what’s meaningful to you from this meeting summary, our notes, and our compiled resource list.

On behalf of Illuminate Colorado and the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families, we thank everyone for your commitment to this work! Let us know if you have any questions or if there is anything else we can do to support you in these uncertain times.

THE COLORADO PARTNERSHIP FOR THRIVING FAMILIES WORKS COLLABORATIVELY ACROSS THE STATE OF COLORADO TO CREATE THE CONDITIONS FOR STRONG FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES WHERE CHILDREN ARE HEALTHY, VALUED AND THRIVING. ILLUMINATE COLORADO IS THE BACKBONE SUPPORT ORGANIZATION FOR THE PARTNERSHIP.

LOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON ABOUT THIS EXCITING NEW COLLABORATIVE. IN THE MEANTIME, VISIT THE ILLUMINATE COLORADO BLOG/CPFT OR SUBSCRIBE FOR UPDATES ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP.