Founding Partners

In December, 2005, The Colorado Trust granted WONDERbabies (Ways of Nurturing Development through Enhancing Relationships) a Partnerships for Health award to focus on systems of care for babies and young children with special health care needs and their families. Please see the press release for more details about the Partnerships for Health Initiative by The Colorado Trust.

WONDERpartners include state departments, parent advocacy groups, research programs, local community organizations, Latino networking organizations, mental health agencies and hospitals, with representation from around the State. See below for information about our current Partners and links to Partner websites. Partners engaged in a six month strategic planning process where they completed an environmental scan of the population to be serviced and created goals, objectives and indicators of success. Through this strategic planning process, Partners developed the WONDERbabies mission and vision statements, our guiding principles, and the direction for our implementation plan.

If you are a Partner, please log in on the left to view: meeting minutes, upcoming dates, archived materials, event highlights, and important documents.

For more information on becoming a Partner, please contact us.


Current WONDERpartners include:


The Center for Family and Infant Interaction promotes the best outcomes and relationships between families and their infants, particularly those infants who have developmental challenges and/or special health care needs at birth. The Center addresses this goal through education, consultation, research, and support of professional/parent collaboration. The Center houses the Family Infant Relationship Support Training (FIRST) Program, The Rocky Mountain Fragile Infant Feeding Institute (FIFI) and the Colorado Newborn Individualized Development Care and Assessment Program Training Center (NIDCAP). These educational programs are designed to enhance the outcomes for infants born prematurely; infants born with special needs; infants born at term but who are not behaviorally well organized; and infants born to high risk families.


JFK Partners is a multifaceted Interdepartmental Program of the Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. The mission of JFK Partners is to promote the independence, inclusion, contribution, health, and well-being of people with developmental disabilities and special health care needs and their families through consumer, community, and university partnerships. At the core of our mission is a commitment to family and person-centered, community-based, culturally competent programs and services. This mission is accomplished through the pursuit of excellence in education and training, consultation, technical assistance, direct service, research, program development, policy analysis, and advocacy.



Smart Start Colorado is a statewide alliance of early childhood partnerships building a comprehensive system for young children, age’s birth to eight, and their families. In the timeline of a life, the first eight years are crucial. Our movement aims to help families make the most of the early years so that children are ready for school and ready for life. We connect early care and education, health, mental health and family support/parent education services to create an integrated network at the state and local levels.

 

The Irving Harris Program in Child Development and Infant Mental Health is an infant mental health program that provides program consultation, training, advocacy, research and clinical training in infant mental health. The program sponsors the Robert J. Harmon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Infant Mental Health, which offers training for postdoctoral graduates and experienced infancy and early childhood professionals seeking "mid-career" training. It is an advanced 1-year clinical fellowship in infant mental health, consultation, and treatment, with a particular focus on the problems of infancy, toddlerhood and parenthood.




The Colorado Trust is a grant making foundation dedicated to advancing the health and well-being of the people of Colorado. In 1985, the nonprofit PSL Healthcare Corporation - Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center - was sold to a for-profit organization and the proceeds of the hospital sale were used to create The Trust as an independent foundation. The Trust focuses its grant making on health in the broadest sense; in addition to physical and mental health care, it also addresses family, community and social needs to help people lead healthy, productive lives.



The Health Care Program for Children with Special Needs (HCP) is a statewide program of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. HCP is a unique resource for families, health care providers, and communities. Our goal is to help improve the health, development, and well-being of Colorado’s children with special health needs and their families. HCP seeks to ensure statewide access to comprehensive and coordinated community based programs and services using a medical home approach. We work with families, providers, agencies and community leaders to connect kids with the care they need, and to help coordinate that care over time. HCP’s programs and activities include screenings, evaluations and clinics, service referrals for families and providers, care coordination, training, consultation, and capacity building with community partners.




Imagine! creates and offers innovative supports to local citizens with cognitive, developmental, physical and health related needs so they may live fulfilling lives of independence and quality in their homes and communities. A private, not-for-profit established in 1963, Imagine! provides support services to people with cognitive disabilities and their families. Such cognitive disabilities include mental retardation, autism, Down syndrome, epilepsy and cerebral palsy. We also work with children from birth to three years of age who are at risk of having cognitive disabilities or who have developmental delays.



The Colorado Perinatal Care Council is a volunteer, non-profit, advisory group whose members represent a variety of professions, hospitals and organizations with an expertise or interest in perinatal care. Its major focus is the coordination and improvement of perinatal care services in Colorado. This group provides a true collaboration of many of the top perinatal care specialists in the state.



Early Intervention Colorado is Colorado’s overall system of early intervention supports and services for families who have infants or toddlers, birth to age three, who have special developmental needs. Early Intervention Colorado is a voluntary program and is available at no cost to families.

The Part C/NICU Liaison Project, a program within Early Intervention Colorado, works with families of infants eligible for early intervention services who are at one of the ten Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Units in the Denver Metro Area. The project works with families from all areas of Colorado as well as families from other states who have babies hospitalized in Denver. The NICU Liaison Project works in collaboration with the local early intervention program and an infant’s primary medical team to support families during their infant’s inpatient stay to identify needed supports, access early intervention services and community resources, and ensure a smooth transition from hospital to home. 




The Center for Family and Infant Interaction promotes the best outcomes and relationships between families and their infants, particularly those infants who have developmental challenges and/or special health care needs at birth. The Center addresses this goal through education, consultation, research, and support of professional/parent collaboration. The Center houses the Family Infant Relationship Support Training (FIRST) Program, The Rocky Mountain Fragile Infant Feeding Institute (FIFI) and the Colorado Newborn Individualized Development Care and Assessment Program Training Center (NIDCAP). These educational programs are designed to enhance the outcomes for infants born prematurely; infants born with special needs; infants born at term but who are not behaviorally well organized; and infants born to high risk families.


Project BLOOM is an early childhood mental health system of care initiative. Project Bloom works with a statewide coalition of partners to weave family-centered, community-based mental health supports and services into an early childhood system that addresses prevention and treatment needs. Strategies used to impact the system of care and delivery of services includes infrastructure development and systems change, training and professional development, individualized planning processes including wraparound, and service delivery.




Harambe is a community that actively demonstrates their commitment to healthy social, emotional, behavioral and physical development of all Colorado’s infants, young children and their families. Harambe creates and sustains relationships that are collaborative, strength-based, culturally sensitive and responsive to the need of children, families and other caregivers. These relationships create a foundation for an early childhood system of care that is accessible, flexible, comprehensive and accountable.




Grupo VIDA is a family support network for Latino families who have a child or other family member with a disability. Our mission is to empower individuals with disabilities and their families with information and training that will support them to be their own best advocate and to collaborate with communities to facilitate natural connections for individuals with disabilities and their families. Hablamos Espanol!!!

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