Dr. Amanda “Bird” Gilmartin and Erin Baker-Ojeda both support children and families involved in the child welfare system —just in different ways. Dr. Gilmartin, who previously participated on the Executive Committee of AAP’s Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (COCAN), serves as the Medical Director of the Kids in Care Settings (KICS) Clinic, which exclusively provides healthcare to children and youth in foster or kinship care. Meanwhile, Erin helps keep families together by meeting the urgent needs of babies and toddlers in the court system as the Safe Babies Community Coordinator in Arapahoe County.
Safe Babies — a program of ZERO TO THREE that’s implemented by Illuminate Colorado — is anchored in the court system. It’s also an entry point for cross-system collaboration and system building that better serves young children and their families across the prevention and treatment spectrum.
“When a family is court-involved through Safe Babies, it can be difficult to ensure all decision-makers are receiving health information about the child – biological parents, caregivers, judges, etc.—and we experience many roadblocks around parental consent, as well as communication and coordination with the healthcare system,” said Erin. “Arapahoe County Safe Babies was exploring how we can collaborate with the healthcare system in a more effective way. We were familiar with the KICS Clinic and its essential role in elevating the needs of children in the child welfare community.”
Read the full story from the AAP Colorado newsletter here.
