Being a parent is hard. None of us can do it all on our own. We all need support to raise safe, healthy and happy kids.
Fortunately, there are high-quality parent support programs in our community – like SafeCare Colorado – that offer caring and compassionate support for families to help parents keep children safe, healthy and thriving even during challenging times. SafeCare Colorado is a flexible, no-cost and voluntary parent-support program focused on giving parents and caregivers tools to support their children’s health, safety and healthy development.
SafeCare Colorado partners with families to help them build on the parenting skills they already have and learn new ways to keep young children safe, healthy and thriving. It is a flexible program that is designed to work with the busy schedules of parents and caregivers. The program is free for families and is proven to help parents and children build strong relationships, overcome parenting challenges, and stay safe and healthy.
Families that participate in SafeCare Colorado are connected with a SafeCare provider, who works side-by-side with parents and caregivers once a week, either in their home, a community space or through virtual visits. Meetings are designed to accommodate families’ needs, so SafeCare providers work with families to find a location and meeting schedule that work best for them. Sessions are targeted to the age of the child and the SafeCare provider customizes the program based on the interests and needs of each family.
SafeCare Colorado has three topics focused on different parenting skills: 1) understanding ways to increase positive behaviors and prevent difficult behaviors, 2) identifying and removing common household hazards and 3) responding to common childhood illnesses and injuries. Based on their interests, families can choose which SafeCare topic to start with – Parent-Child Relationship, Child Health or Home Safety. It’s best to complete all three topics, but families have the option to complete one topic and then decide if they want to continue with the other two.
Families get the most benefit when they complete the whole SafeCare Colorado program, which usually takes 18 to 20 sessions or four to six months. Each session lasts about an hour.
SafeCare Colorado is for parents and caregivers of children age 5 and younger who could use parenting support. SafeCare serves families with one or more children. Families can participate in SafeCare as long as their youngest child is 5 or younger. SafeCare Colorado can be helpful to first-time parents, single parents, or parents and caregivers who have limited family support.
To participate in SafeCare Colorado, parents and caregivers need to meet certain eligibility requirements. These include but are not limited to being a single parent or a parent under age 20; having more than one child aged 5 or younger; receiving public assistance like TANF or WIC; or having less than a high school education.
There is no obligation to participate in SafeCare Colorado; it’s a completely voluntary program. The first step is for parents and caregivers to meet with the SafeCare provider in their community, have a conversation and decide if SafeCare is a good fit for their family.
SafeCare Colorado focuses on helping parents and caregivers learn new skills in three important areas of parenting: parent-child interaction, home safety and child health.
- Parent-child relationship. SafeCare providers teach parents and caregivers proven ways to increase positive behavior and prevent difficult behavior. Parents and caregivers will learn tools to build an even stronger relationship with their child, help their child make good decisions, and create routines that make family time easier and less stressful.
- Home safety. SafeCare providers help parents and caregivers learn about and remove common hazards in the home to make their home safer for young children. Families that participate in SafeCare Colorado will receive free child-proofing items to help keep young children safe such as baby gates, electrical outlet covers and door latches.
- Child health. Parents and caregivers learn ways to prevent injury and illness, as well as what to do if a child gets sick or injured. These skills will help parents and caregivers know how to care for their children at home and when it’s time to see a doctor or get emergency help.
If you would like to learn more about the support that SafeCare Colorado can provide to the families you work with, email safecare@lpcgov.org or call 828-8825.
Ann Oliver is the SafeCare coordinator at the La Plata County Public Health Department. Reach her at aoliver@lpcgov.org.
