Assuring Better Child Health & Development

This fall, we’re celebrating a major milestone together—20 Years of ABCD!

Join us for ABCD’S Birthday Celebration: Decades of Dedication, an evening of celebration, connection, and community.

📅Thursday, September 17
⏰6:00–8:30 p.m.
📍The Evans School Event Center

Over the past 20 years, ABCD has grown through the passion, dedication, and generosity of so many people. Our Birthday Celebration will be a chance to reflect on everything we’ve accomplished together while honoring the staff, partners, board members, donors, and friends who have been part of our journey along the way.

Thank you to our event sponsors!

Ambassador:
City Street Investors and Evans School

Builder:
Neusteter Colorado Company/Auer Family Fund

Cultivator:
Arapahoe County Early Childhood Council
Centennial Nonprofit Consulting, LLC
Denver Health
Highlands Integrative Pediatrics
Meaningful Collaboration

Grab your tickets today!
https://secure.qgiv.com/for/abcdod/event/abcdsbirthdaycelebrationdecadesofdedication/

¡Únase a nuestra conversación comunitaria sobre el desarrollo infantil temprano!

Los primeros 5 años importan. Acompáñenos en una conversación virtual gratuita para familias y cuidadores sobre el desarrollo infantil temprano: cuándo, dónde, cómo y por qué es importante.

Conversaremos sobre:

Cómo reconocer las fortalezas y los avances en el desarrollo de su hijo
Ideas sencillas para apoyar el aprendizaje y desarrollo en la vida cotidiana
Recursos y apoyos disponibles para familias y cuidadores

📅 30 de junio de 2026
⏰ 12:00 p. m. – 1:30 p. m.
💻 Sesión virtual

Esperamos contar con su participación en esta conversación sobre cómo apoyar el desarrollo saludable de nuestros niños durante sus años más importantes.

June 14th is National Children's Day! 🩷

This Sunday, we celebrate children and the joy, curiosity and potential they bring to our families and communities.

Supporting children’s healthy development from the beginning helps set the foundation for lifelong learning, wellbeing, and success. It also sends an important message: you are loved, valued, and supported every step of the way.

Have you noticed any developmental concerns in a child you know? Whether it’s a question about communication, sleep, feeding, behavior, social-emotional development, or adjusting to life with a new baby or toddler, support is available.

Through HealthySteps, families with children ages 0-3 can receive personalized support from child development experts embedded within pediatric care. HealthySteps Specialists partner with families to address concerns, celebrate milestones, and connect children and caregivers to the resources they need to thrive.

At ABCD, we support more than 30 HealthySteps pediatric practices across Colorado, helping families access developmental support and strengthening systems of care for young children.

Visit our website to find a HealthySteps provider near you!
https://www.coloradoabcd.org/our-work/healthysteps/about-healthysteps-colorado

Last week, ABCD welcomed our technical assistance partner, Carla Freeman from the Georgia Health Policy Center, for a series of visits across Colorado's Eastern Plains and Southwest regions. Team members gathered in Fort Morgan, Durango, and Walsenburg to connect with local partners, tour communities, engage in meaningful conversations, and learn directly from the people and organizations serving rural families.

As we approach the end of Year 1 of our Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Outreach Grant in July, these visits provided an important opportunity to reflect on our progress and deepen our understanding of the unique strengths, challenges, and behavioral health needs in rural communities.

Over the past year, ABCD's HealthySteps Rural Health Consortium, composed of partners from across the state, has worked together to build relationships, gather community input, and explore opportunities to expand access to early childhood behavioral health supports.

Through conversations with families, providers, and community leaders, we're learning what it takes to create sustainable, community-driven solutions that meet the needs of children and families where they live.

We're grateful to our consortium members and community partners for sharing their time, expertise, and experiences, and we look forward to continuing this work together in Year 2.

Alee Kuzniarowicz (NHP)
Sadie Fritzler (High Plains Research Network)
Sherri Amen (CommonSpirit Health)
Melissa Buchholz (HealthySteps State Director)
Carla Freeman (Georgia Health Policy Center)
Kara Van de Grift (HRSA Grant Project Director)

REMINDER: Virtual training for early childhood caregivers is in ONE WEEK!

Have you ever noticed a developmental concern in a child and aren’t sure how to engage with the family? Families play a critical role in developmental screening activities, but it can be scary for parents when a child care provider or teacher notices a developmental worry, delay, or concern.

This training is designed for any type of early childhood caregivers: FFNs, licensed child care providers (home- or center-based), teachers aides, directors, coaches, licensing specialists, and other professionals. We will explore practical strategies that you can use when engaging with families, from empathy, building trust, and improving family experience in developmental screening activities.

🗓️Tuesday, June 16
⏰6-7:30pm MT
📍Zoom

Register today!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/improving-family-experience-in-developmental-screening-activities-tickets-1984064785182

Did your child just finish their first year of preschool?

With summer around the corner, and more time together at home, now is a great time to check on your child’s development and celebrate all the new skills they’re learning.

Using the CDC’s Learn the Signs. Act Early. resources, pay attention to how your child is growing and whether they are reaching milestones for their age.

By age 3, many children…
💛 Notice other children and join them in play
💛 Ask questions like “who”, “what”, “where”, and “why”
💛 Put on some clothing by themselves

By age 4, many children…
💙 Comfort others who are hurt or sad
💙 Talk about something that happened during their day
💙 Serve themselves or pour water with supervision

See more developmental milestones for 3 and 4 year olds here: https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/index.html

You know your child best! If your child is not meeting one or more milestones for their age, has lost skills they once had, or if you have other concerns about their development, trust your instincts and act early.

Talk with your child's doctor, share your concerns, and ask about developmental screening.

Did you know? Families can also self-refer to Early Intervention (EI) for support and evaluation services.

Last month, partners from across the country gathered in Alamosa for an important conversation focused on strengthening Early Childhood Developmental Health Systems (ECHDS).

ABCD was honored to participate alongside partners from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment(CDPHE), Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), Valley-Wide Health Systems, Inc., ZERO TO THREE, and Dr. Leisha Anderson as part of this federal site visit.

Together we explored opportunities to strengthen collaboration, support families and advance responsive early childhood systems that promote healthy development for children and families across Colorado.

Thank you to all who joined us and continue to partner in this important work.

Transitions can be hard for children and for the people who care for them.

As routines shift into summer, you might notice more meltdowns, clinginess, or big emotions. This is common, especially for children with developmental delays or disabilities.

HealthySteps offers guidance to help caregivers and families understand what to expect and how to support children through changes.

What helps:
💛 Predictability – Simple, consistent routines help children feel safe
💚 Patience – Big feelings are your child’s way of communicating
💙 Connection – Your calm, supportive presence helps your child co-regulate and settle

These moments are part of development and with support, children can build trust, resilience, and strong relationships.

You’re not alone. Providers and community supports are here to help you and your family every step of the way.

Talk with your child’s pediatric provider, connect with your HealthySteps Specialist, or reach out to Early Intervention (EI) for extra support: https://dcfs.my.salesforce-sites.com/eicolorado?lang=en

💡 Did you know? Families can self-refer to Early Intervention, no provider referral needed.

With school finishing up and summer around the corner, now is a great time to check in on your child’s development.

Using the CDC’s Learn the Signs. Act Early. resources, pay attention to how your child is growing and whether they are reaching milestones for their age.

Children reach milestones in how they:
💚 Play
💛 Learn
🩷 Speak
🩵 Act
🧡 & Move

You know your child best! If your child is not meeting one or more milestones for their age, has lost skills they once had, or if you have other concerns about their development, trust your instincts and act early.

Talk with your child's doctor, share your concerns, and ask about developmental screening.

Did you know? Families can also self-refer to Early Intervention (EI) for support and evaluation services.

The CDC outlines developmental milestones by age on their website: https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/index.html

It’s Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week.

Investing in infant and young children’s mental health early sets children up for success down the road. If untreated, mental health concerns can have lasting effects on a child’s development, whether it’s physical, cognitive, sensory, emotional, social, and/or motor skills.

It can be difficult to know if challenging behavior in a child is just part of growing up or if it is a problem to be discussed with a health professional.

Some behaviors in children ages 0-3 to consider talking with a professional about are:
• Consistent difficulty sleeping or eating
• Constant crying and fussiness with little ability to be consoled
• Extreme upset when left with another adult
• Unable to adapt to new situations
• Easily startled or alarmed by routine events
• Unable to establish relationships with other
children or adults
• Excessive hitting, biting, and pushing of other children
• Shows little to no emotion

HealthySteps provides tailored support for early development, including mental health concerns for children ages 0-3. ABCD supports 33 practices across Colorado to help families meet the developmental needs of their children.

Visit our website to find a HealthySteps provider near you!
https://www.coloradoabcd.org/our-work/healthysteps/about-healthysteps-colorado