Early Childhood Intervention and parents in recovery on our minds this week.

Thank you to the family-strengthening professionals from across Colorado who continue to join us for conversations on Keeping Families Strong during COVID-19.

During this week’s call, we were inspired to hear from Early Intervention Colorado about their quick expansion of telehealth services and virtual evaluations and from a Circle of Parents in Recovery group about their success in engaging previous and first-time participants in their virtual group.

​As Stay at Home orders begin lifting across the state, we look forward to hearing and learning from each other about creative ways to support families through new challenges that this may bring. 

Please find information on the next conversation as well as a meeting summary and notes from this week’s call below. 

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Upcoming Conversation on Keeping Families Strong during COVID-19 

​Join us to share and learn from others about adaptations, resources,
and ongoing needs for strengthening families during these unprecedented times.
​
Tuesday, May 19th
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Register HERE in advance to receive a confirmation email containing information about joining. 

CONVERSATION ON KEEPING FAMILIES STRONG DURING COVID-19 ​TUESDAY, MAY 5th - SUMMARY
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Across the state, organizations and professionals who work to strengthen families have implemented creative and inspiring strategies for keeping families strong and supported during this time. As the situation continues to evolve, so do the approaches and concerns of families and organizations that serve them. The following themes were identified from this week’s conversation on these topics: 

As Stay at Home orders begin to lift, an emerging concern is how families will meet their child care needs---especially for school-age children. As businesses start to reopen and caregivers begin returning to work while schools remain closed and summer programs begin their cancellations, countless families are left wondering how they will meet their child care needs. 
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This crisis has inspired creativity and flexibility that could have lasting implications for serving families. While for many family support programs and services, the general consensus is that in-person support is the better option, the adaptability of programs to a virtual platform necessitated by this crisis has the potential to continue on and remain as an alternative option for individuals and families it would benefit even after the crisis.

Those who work in family-strengthening roles are finding ways to support themselves and each other through these overwhelming times. From creating intentional space to check in with each other to hosting festive drive thru staff lunches, family-serving professionals are finding various ways to support their own well-being during this time.  

Please find a detailed record of the May 5th call in our notes.  To find quick answers to commonly asked questions and commonly requested resources, please visit our FAQ page. 

​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.