Illuminate’s Policy Work
For Colorado to remain one of the healthiest economies in the country, we need to work together to build brighter childhoods.
Our future workforce, innovators, leaders, and community members can only reach their full potential through thoughtful development and investment in services and policies that strengthen families and protect children.
It’s essential for elected officials and policy makers to understand how to prevent child maltreatment and listen to parents in every community.
Illuminating Policy Prevents Child Maltreatment
Illuminate Colorado strengthens families, organizations and communities to prevent child maltreatment. Protective factors are conditions or attributes in individuals, families, communities or the larger society that help people deal more effectively with stressful events and mitigate or eliminate risk in families and communities.
Parental Resilience
Social Connections
Concrete Supports in times of Need
Knowledge of Parenting & Child Development
Social & Emotional Competence of Children
Colorado Legislative Progress Toward Prevention
Every legislative session, Illuminate crafts a policy agenda highlighting policy priorities that build one or more protective factors known to prevent child maltreatment to ensure Colorado’s policies build brighter childhoods.
Primary Prevention
These strategies build protective factors in all families to prevent child maltreatment before it occurs–including addressing systemic barriers to building protective factors across the population.
Secondary Prevention
These strategies build protective factors in families in high stress situations to prevent child maltreatment before it occurs–including addressing systemic barriers to strengthening families in high stress situations.
Tertiary Prevention
These strategies build protective factors in families to prevent recurrence of child maltreatment–including addressing systemic barriers to healing & recovery.
Primary Prevention Policy Priorities
Prioritize primary prevention in federal and state budgets by investing in proven services and professional education that support families and keep kids safe
- Promote access to high-quality preschool
- Promote access to nurturing and safe child care
- Promote access to evidence-based home visiting programs
- Promote access to family resource centers
- Promote access to safe, engaging after school programs and activities
- Promote access to medical care and behavioral health service, including family planning
- Promote access to evidence-based programs to prevent child sexual abuse
Strengthen Economic Supports to Families
- Expand access to Quality, Affordable and Stable Housing
- Expand access to Quality, Affordable, Convenient, and Culturally-Appropriate Food (including through WIC, SNAP, and federal child nutrition programs)
- Expand access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- Expand access to the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)
- Expand access to Tax Credits
Implement Family Friendly Work Policies
- Expand Paid Family and Medical Leave Policies
- Increase the Minimum Wage
Secondary Prevention Policy Priorities
Ensure and expand tailored, non-stigmatizing, and culturally responsive support for families where needed
- Expand support for families impacted by behavioral health, including both parental and pediatric
- Expand support for families impacted by intellectual and developmental disabilities, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
- Expand support for families impacted by intimate partner violence
Tertiary Prevention Policy Priorities
Ensure Communities Identify and Support Children and Families When Abuse and Neglect has Occurred
- Ensure equitable access to services to support healing and recovery
View Previous Years’ Policy Priorities:
Wondering how a policy prevents child maltreatment?
Contact us to learn more about each policy priority and how we can help you strengthen families in your community.
Questions?
Contact Lex Loutzenhiser, Policy Manager
