Children's Hospital Colorado

Child Health Advocacy in Public Policy

Register now

Here at Children’s Hospital Colorado, child health advocacy is a core part of our hospital’s mission to care for kids. This is why our Government Affairs team works to keep kids out of the hospital by advocating for laws and policies that improve kids’ health. We work with local, state and federal leaders, community partners, families and community members to ensure kids grow up healthy and strong.

We have a responsibility to advocate on behalf of our patients and families, our community and all kids, not only because it’s an investment in our nation’s future, but because it’s the right thing to do.

As a nonpartisan organization, we hope to serve as a resource for voters and elected officials alike on the unique needs of children. Above all, we speak up clearly and powerfully for kids’ needs in public policy. And we rely on our network of Child Health Champions to speak up, too!

Healthier kids through public policy

Public policy decisions can dramatically shape the health of children, for better or worse. That’s why we speak up on their behalf – year after year.

Read about our 2024 advocacy priorities

Children’s health policy issues

Whether we’re advocating to promote youth mental health or protecting kids' access to healthcare, we campaign for public policy change that benefits the health of all kids. Key issues that the Government Affairs team works to promote include:

  • Child and adolescent mental health
  • Social determinants of child health
  • Early childhood
  • Respiratory health
  • Pediatric oral health
  • Injury prevention
  • Healthy eating and active living
  • Protecting and expanding children's access to care
  • Workforce

Download our mental health policy playbook (.pdf).

“Advocacy is a core part of our mission. That means speaking up for patients and families, kids in our community and kids across the country to ensure each of them has the opportunity to grow up healthy and strong.”
Zach Zaslow, Vice President, Advocacy and Community Health

Be a champion for kids' health

We make it easy to write emails, make phone calls, share social media posts and speak up for kids’ — so that lawmakers know that their constituents value child health.

Visit the action center

Follow us on Facebook

Connect with us on Twitter

Child health in the news

  • Children's Hospital Colorado
    Improving mental health for Colorado youth
    abril 19, 2023

    The number one emergency care concern in Colorado is youth mental health, and it's impacting kids all over the state. Listen as Mental Health-in-Chief Dr. Ron-Li Liaw and child psychiatrist Dr. Kim Kelsay discuss what they're seeing, how it's affecting kids in southwestern Colorado, and what we're doing about it.