About Us

Center for Community Health team

For over 40+ years, our community health outreach efforts have grown. Cook Children’s Center for Community Health (center), formerly the Center for Children’s Health, was created to provide an infrastructure for conducting the triennial Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), community research and guide our community programs and collaborations. These combined activities focus on increasing access to preventive services for under-resourced populations.

programs description

Our focus

The center implements programs, initiatives and collaborations across an eight-county service area of Collin, Denton, Grayson, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise.

We also utilize the Spectrum of Prevention as a guiding framework from strengthening individual knowledge to policy advocacy.

Cook Children's Center for Community Health leads community outreach, research and collaborations to improve children's health across an eight-county region. Since 2009, we've conducted triennial Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) to identify key issues and guide interventions. Our Board of Trustees prioritized seven focus areas: Equitable access to care, asthma, caregiver support, healthy lifestyles, injury prevention, mental health and oral health. Through programs, partnerships, and advocacy, we strive to improve health outcomes and address the growing needs of under-resourced children.

Our commitment

The Center for Children’s Health became Cook Children’s Center for Community Health, affirming our comprehensive efforts to support children, teens, families, caregivers, and community partners.
Introduced the Community Outreach Design (COD) model to better serve our now eight-county service area of Collin, Denton, Grayson, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise. The model affirms three regionally focused collaboratives—Injury Prevention, Oral Health, and Thriving Communities—to streamline education, coalition-based work, and resource sharing.
These collaboratives support 12+ active Action Teams carrying out targeted strategies addressing our 6 priority focus areas (asthma, caregiver support, healthy lifestyles, injury prevention, mental health, and oral health) in prioritized communities and ZIP codes across our 8-county service area.
In collaboration with departments across Cook Children’s Healthcare System, we developed and initiated a strategy to address food security, known as our Nourishing Communities efforts.
We now partner with over 740 organizations and 1,300 individuals, who contribute more than 5,400 volunteer hours annually.
Each year, we distribute over 530,000 prevention tools and educational resources, valued at more than $1.1 million, through our trainings, education, outreach efforts, and community partners.

2019: Expanded injury prevention efforts to include gun safety and safe baby sleep education through new partnerships and outreach initiatives.
2020: Safe Kids Tarrant County was renamed Safe Kids North Texas–Fort Worth (now the Injury Prevention Collaborative) to reflect its broader geographic scope.
2021: Developed and implemented the Build-a-Bridge program, focused on strengthening connections for families navigating complex systems.
Also in 2021: The addition of Cook Children’s Medical Center–Prosper extended our priority service area to include Collin and Grayson counties, reflected in our 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment and implementation strategy plans.

2012, 2015, 2018: Completed triennial Community Health Needs Assessments, reaffirming priority focus areas and geography, while leading seven formal coalitions through community-informed strategic plans.
2013: Enhanced child abuse and neglect prevention efforts through education, training, and partnerships, with an emphasis on early detection of child abuse and safe sleep for infants.
2016: Developed and launched the Healthy Homes Asthma Program to help mitigate home environmental asthma triggers, prioritizing families with frequent ER visits due to asthma.
2017: Formed the Asthma 411 Consortium in collaboration with UNTHCS and JPS Health Network, to enable local school districts to adopt the Asthma 411 program designed to improve health and academic outcomes for children with asthma.
2018: Launched the ACEs Task Force (now part of the Thriving Communities Collaborative) to develop cross-agency strategies addressing the effects of early childhood trauma.

2009: In collaboration with our System Planning department, completed our first comprehensive community health needs assessment, known as CCHAPS (Community-wide Children’s Health Assessment and Planning Survey), identifying top child health concerns across six counties.
2010: Hosted the inaugural Regional Child Health Summit to share CCHAPS results and spark collaboration among partners. Launched a public-facing website with assessment data and expanded outreach efforts to include Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, and Wise counties.
2011: Established the Center for Children’s Health (C4CH) to centralize community research, community health outreach, and strategy across the six-county region.
Also in 2011: C4CH expanded its focus to include Asthma, Caregiver Support, Healthy Lifestyles, Injury Prevention, Mental Health, and Oral Health—each supporting access to care and resources. Five new county-level coalitions were launched in Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, and Wise to support strategic planning, education, and initiatives (now with these efforts and partnerships are included in the Thriving Communities Collaborative and associated action teams).

2000: Expanded our participation in community partner-led coalitions and committees targeting child neglect prevention, access to health insurance for children, and mental health planning.
2003: Developed and launched the innovative Save a Smile dental program, connecting under-resourced Tarrant County elementary students in immediate dental need with volunteer dentists and wraparound services.
2005: Cook Children’s Advocacy Department was renamed Community Health Outreach, adopting a population-level prevention model and prioritizing communities with the greatest need.
2008: Adopted the Spectrum of Prevention from the Prevention Institute, providing a layered, evidence-based framework to guide all of our outreach strategies.

1991: Cook Children’s Advocacy Department was established to foster community-focused partnerships throughout Tarrant County, addressing key areas such as access to care, injury prevention, mental health, and oral health. That same year, we co-founded the Immunization Collaboration of Tarrant County alongside the Junior League of Fort Worth and the Tarrant County Public Health Department. The Advocacy Department utilized internal and external data to help strategically drive efforts.
1992: Launched the Safe Kids Tarrant County coalition as part of the national Safe Kids Worldwide campaign.
1998: A Cook Children’s retreat led to the formation of the Mental Health Connection of Tarrant County, focusing on collaborative mental health planning and resources.
1999: Established the Children’s Oral Health Coalition to strengthen communication and collaboration among local dental providers and organizations serving children in Tarrant County.

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About Us

Our focus

Our commitment

2022–Present | A new approach for continued investment and collaboration

2019–2021 | Broader geographic reach and program focus

2012–2018 | Formalizing efforts and deepening community engagement

2009–2011 | Community health data and regional growth

2000–2008 | Strategic focus and expansion

1991–1999 | Building a firm foundation

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