Children with Special Health Needs Branch

Family Workshops Through Community Hubs

Family Workshops

Project LAUNCH is working to promote children’s social and emotional development through providing family workshops for parents and families.

We know that here in Hawai‘i, families are more than just the parents involved in a child’s life. Families include grandparents, siblings, aunties, uncles, cousins, and even more extended relatives past, present, and future. Families also have different cultural backgrounds that they understand and follow when raising children. It’s important for us to respect these unique aspects of family and meet families where they’re at to support their strengths and their needs.

Project LAUNCH does this through establishing community hubs with organizations across Hawai‘i to provide these family workshops.

Community Hubs

Project LAUNCH focuses on the development of community hubs, which will serve as safe spaces for families to connect with programs and services within the community. It is envisioned that these community hubs will be the center where screenings and referrals can be conducted, family and parenting workshops on resilience and child development can be provided, and information about options for early childhood programs and health services can be shared. The co-location of services will lead to comprehensive wellness and the integration of primary care, mental health, and early childhood to better service the needs of children and families.

Project LAUNCH’s goal with community hubs is to not reinvent the wheel by creating new sites to conduct these activities. Many organizations already exist providing information and services to the community. Our approach is to support these organizations in providing workshops, screenings, and referrals for families at their sites.

Current Community Hubs

• Palama Settlement
• Kaua‘i District Health Office
• County of Maui Early Childhood Resource Center

Project LAUNCH is currently partnering with Blueprint for Change to evaluate their Family Resource Centers’ readiness to become community hubs. They oversee 7 community-based sites across Hawai‘i called Neighborhood Places.