A joint effort by CHI and the state's Child Fatality Prevention System team to highlight stories from the field
A key function of local public health is the promotion of health and safety for all members of a community, including infants and children. 1,2 One way this is accomplished is through the Child Fatality Prevention System (CFPS), a legislatively mandated, statewide network comprised of local child fatality prevention teams, also referred to as partners, from multiple agencies across Colorado.
Local public health professionals throughout Colorado, with support from various organizations and government entities, use the CFPS review process to drive action, leverage partnerships, and implement meaningful prevention initiatives. The CFPS review process is a collaborative way to review child deaths and develop recommendations to prevent future deaths in Colorado.3 Child fatality prevention leaders work toward the collective goal of promoting child safety at home, school, on the roads, and everywhere in between.
This brief highlights the impact of the CFPS review process in preventing child fatalities across Colorado’s urban and rural communities. It features success stories from communities that have used CFPS programming to save children’s lives. By interviewing local CFPS leaders throughout Colorado, the Colorado Health Institute identified ways that local teams, such as those working directly in health departments, use the CFPS review process to lead prevention strategies, five of which are highlighted in this brief. These include using CFPS data to drive local action, supporting changes to the built environment, creating targeted campaigns and distributing resources, conducting community engagement, and leveraging partnership and capacity building opportunities.
The highlighted strategies within this brief also note barriers and challenges to implementing meaningful prevention programming, such as funding and capacity constraints, highlighting additional key opportunities where specialized partners, funders, and local CFPS teams can work more collaboratively to advance future prevention efforts.
To learn more about the Child Fatality Prevention System and explore the data dashboard, visit the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's website.
For more information about the Child Fatality Prevention System, contact Shiv Sunger, Child Fatality Prevention System Manager at shiv.sunger@state.co.us.
1. Public Health Communications Guide. Harvard School of Public Health. (2024). https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/communications-guide/what-is-public-health
2. Core Public Health Services. Colorado Local Public Health and Environmental Resources. (2024). https://cdphe-lpha.colorado.gov/resources/resources-by-core-service
3. Department of Public Health and Environment. Child Fatality Prevention System. (2024). https://cdphe.colorado.gov/prevention-and-wellness/maternal-and-child-health/child-fatality-prevention-system
Protecting Colorado Youth includes eight success stories from partners across the state, including programs that address sleep safety and safe driving.
CHI and CDPHE would like to thank the following agencies for sharing their insights, expertise, and stories with us: