Impact
We’re Making Colorado a National Leader in Early Identification and Intervention.
Wise Investment
For every dollar invested in early identification and intervention, long-term societal costs are reduced by $4 to $9*. Over the course of a lifetime, children who receive early identification and support for developmental needs experience:
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40 percent reduction in teen pregnancy
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20 percent reduction in teen arrests
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20 percent increase in high-school graduation rates
*Source: National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs
Colorado Gains
Since our founding in 2006, ABCD has helped Colorado become a national leader in the early identification and intervention movement. For example:
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The number of primary care practices that are screening and referring children has increased by 1,200 percent since 2006 (740 to 9,514 practices).
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In 2016, Colorado reported a rate of 41.8 percent for developmental screenings in the first three years of life for children enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Colorado’s rate is now above the median among those states reporting.
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Primary care practices that partnered with ABCD also improved by 20 percent the rate of referred children who followed through to evaluations for developmental needs. This compares to a 9 percent improvement in non-partner agencies in the same community over the same one-year period.
Areas in blue show the communities where we have served.
