People can and do make positive changes in their lives. Family First provides Colorado with the opportunity to offer more proactive services to support parents in addressing their challenges and seeking help. Prior to Family First, federal funding could only be used if a child or teen was growing up outside of their home and their family met certain income qualifications. Now, federal funding is available to keep families together and there are no income guidelines. Prevention services must be trauma-informed, evidence-based, approved, and subject to a well-designed and rigorous evaluation.
Find a Prevention Service
Use our interactive directory tool to find an evidence-based Family First service provider near you.
Resource Library
Find all forms, training, and resources related to prevention services here!
Colorado’s Prevention Plan
Colorado’s five-year prevention plan reflects a vision of a child welfare system that improves the safety, permanency and well-being of all children, youth and families through a continuum of community-based prevention services and supports.
Implementation Guide
The goal of this guide is to support county directors in the implementation of Family First by providing high-level information for directors and balancing detail when appropriate for major system changes.
Child Welfare Prevention Task Group
The Child Welfare Prevention Task Group focuses on supporting prevention services/programs to prevent further involvement/penetration into the child welfare system and prevent out-of-home placement.
- The group helps create and maintain a prevention continuum, draft prevention or other rules as appropriate. The task group may also review and provide feedback to the statewide child maltreatment prevention plan.
- The group meets on the second Friday of every other month. The public is welcome to attend.
Implementation FAQ
Answers to commonly-asked questions about Family First implementation
About our Services
See a listing of evidence-based services that have been approved on Colorado’s Family First Prevention Services Array to be eligible for federal reimbursement.
FFPSA
The Family First Prevention Services Act (Family First) is a federal law which allows local child welfare agencies to use federal funding to pay for services that keep kids safe, growing up in their families.
Family First provides Colorado the opportunity to:
- Reshape child welfare and provide more proactive services, so more children and teens can grow up with their family.
- Partner with community-based service providers to respond to the individual needs of children, teens and families.
- Provide treatment in a setting that is designed to provide a higher level of care.