ABCD Launches Family Experience Network to Elevate Family Voices Across Colorado

ABCD recently launched the Family Experience Network (FEN), a new statewide initiative that brings together 17 Family Leaders to strengthen early childhood systems and ensure that families help influence the future of care and support for young children in Colorado.

The network grew out of two years of deep listening with families and professionals across the state. These conversations explored what it is really like for families to find support, ask questions about their child’s development, and move through screenings, referrals, and next steps. Families shared what felt helpful, such as clear explanations and time to talk, as well as what felt confusing or rushed when trying to understand their options. They also described their hopes for systems that meet them with care, clarity, and understanding.

“Over the past two years, we've been meeting with families from across Colorado and with professionals like healthcare and early childhood educators to talk about their experiences,” explains Family and Community Engagement Manager Nikki Fitch. "Families helped us understand how they want to experience care. And as we wrapped up our discussions, they said clearly they wanted to continue being part of this work."

That desire for continued involvement became the seed for the Family Experience Network. Families wanted a space where they could continue leading conversations, offering ideas, and helping improve how programs support young children and those who care for them.

The Network includes both broad family participation and a committed group of Family Leaders who are co-designing specific projects over the coming year. These Family Leaders play a central role in the Family Experience Network, bringing their lived experiences, questions, and ideas to guide decisions, test strategies, and help inform how early childhood systems respond to families’ needs.

Their first major project is the Family Experience Survey, currently being developed with input from Family Leaders who are helping identify the questions that matter most so we can better understand what supports families and what gets in the way of staying connected to developmental resources. The survey will launch in January and aims to reach 150 to 200 families. Once the results are gathered, Family Leaders will co-lead community conversations to share the findings, gather additional insights from families and professionals, and help shape recommendations for programs and systems across Colorado.

Families’ perspectives are essential to this work, and when families and professionals learn from one another, the shared insights often point to the importance of empathy, clear communication, and relationships built on trust.

"In our past conversations with families, their ideas for change were grounded in relationships,” Fitch says. “They want people who help them understand things in their preferred language and who take time to connect.” She explains that the Family Leaders in the network are now helping carry that vision forward. “Their lived experiences are helping us understand what care can look and feel like, and how future families might move through these systems feeling more understood, supported, and cared for.”

As the Family Experience Network continues to grow, Family Leaders will remain at the heart of the work. Their leadership, insight, and lived experience are guiding what comes next, helping Colorado imagine systems where every family feels welcomed, informed, and valued every step of the way.

ABCD’s Family Experience Network is supported in part by the Special Olympics Systems Change for Inclusive Health Subgrant, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The contents of this project are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC or the Department of Health and Human Services.