Mesa County’s Community Child Maltreatment Prevention

In order to better support families in Mesa County, the Mesa County Public Health Department applied for and received a Child Maltreatment Prevention Framework for Action (Framework) Community Planning Grant in October 2017, putting the county on the leading edge of planning efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect. In addition to financial assistance, the grant included extensive support from Early Milestones Colorado, a nonprofit intermediary that advances success for young children across the state by accelerating innovation, use of best practices and systemic change.​

Child Maltreatment Prevention
Framework for Action

This framework is designed as a tool to guide strategic thinking at the state and local level, about resource investments to prevent child maltreatment and promote child well-being. As this tool is used collectively across the state, the resulting alignment of strategies will maximize the impact on shared outcomes.

Mesa County plans to prevent child maltreatment

Mesa County’s Community Child Maltreatment Prevention planning resulted in four primary goals and corresponding objectives:

Streamline access to basic services and needs including child health and safety, and social and emotional wellbeing in Mesa County

  • Research, identify and increase community access regarding basic needs and services in Mesa County by 15% over baseline or as measured by the number of current services offered

Increase the capacity of local agencies to maximize their participation in child maltreatment prevention within the parameters of their agency/program

  • Increase the number of local agencies actively engaging in child maltreatment work by 25% by reducing barriers to participation

Implement strategies to build expertise and availability to meet the needs of at-risk families of child maltreatment while reducing burden to those same families

  • Increase the number of evidence-based training and expertise available in Mesa County by 40%

Impact local, regional and state policy that reduces risk of child maltreatment

  •  Implement policy that allows interagency data sharing surrounding family referrals, program engagement and shared care plans