Project LAUNCH
About Project LAUNCH
Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health) is a 5-year grant funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to promote the wellness of young children from birth through age 8 by addressing their physical and mental health needs.
The project’s goals include:
- Disseminating effective and innovative early childhood mental health practices and services;
- Building the capacities of adult caregivers of young children to promote healthy social and emotional development;
- Preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders; and
- Identifying and addressing behavioral concerns before they develop into serious emotional disturbances (SED).
Project LAUNCH Hawai‘i
The Hawai‘i State Department of Health (DOH) was awarded the Project LAUNCH grant by SAMHSA in 2023. Project LAUNCH Hawai‘i focuses on infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) to bridge supports and services across a spectrum: promotion, prevention, and intervention.
- Year 1 (2023 – 2024): Established the foundation and infrastructure for future LAUNCH activities.
- Year 2 (2024 – 2025): Further expanded on this foundation, building relationships with partners and learning about the needs and capacities of service providers in supporting infant and early childhood mental health.
Deliverables
Click on each icon/link to learn more about each deliverable.
How Project LAUNCH Fits in the Spectrum of Services
Data
Project LAUNCH Partners
- Department of Education
- Department of Health
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division
- Communicable Disease and Public Health Nursing Division
- Family Health Services Division
- Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Grant
- Children with Special Health Needs Branch (Project LAUNCH is here!)
- Department of Human Services
- Benefit, Employment, and Support Services Division
- Med-QUEST Division
- Social Services Division
- Executive Office on Early Learning
- Office of Wellness and Resilience
- State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
- Kaua‘i District Health Office (Department of Health)
- Kaua‘i Planning and Action Alliance
- Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic
- County of Maui Department of Human Concerns
- Kākou for Keiki
Resources
- ZERO TO THREE
- Protective Factors Framework (Center for the Study of Social Policy)
- Hawai‘i Protective Factors (Ho‘oikaika Partnership)
- Promising Minds (Hawai‘i Community Foundation)
- Hawai‘i Early Childhood State Plan (Executive Office on Early Learning)
- Infant and Early Childhood Behavioral Health Plan (Early Childhood Action Strategy)
- Ready Keiki
Statewide
- Your ‘Ohana (Department of Health Home Visiting Program)
- Help Your Keiki (Department of Health Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division)
- Here to Help (Department of Education)
- Keiki O Ka ‘Āina
- Partners in Development Foundation
- SPIN Hawai‘i
Screenings
- Ages and Stages Questionnaire
- Survey of Well-Being of Young Children
- Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status
- Hi‘ilei Program (Department of Health)
- Hawai‘i Child Wellness Incentive Program (Med-QUEST)
- DC:0-5 (ZERO TO THREE)
- DC:0-5 Crosswalk (Association for Infant Mental Health Hawai‘i)
- Keiki Central
- Maui Registry
- Preschool Sites and Child Care Centers (Ready Keiki)
- ‘Ono for Hawai‘i (Farm to Early Childhood Map)
- Child and Family Mental Health Tracker (Hawai‘i Health Matters)
- Children’s Mental Health Data (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Invest in Early Childhood Development: Reduce Deficits, Strengthen the Economy (The Heckman Equation)
- Our Keiki, Our ʻOhana, Our Future: 2024 Hawaiʻi Early Childhood Needs Assessment Indicator Dashboard (Executive Office on Early Learning)
- The Basics of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: A Briefing Paper (ZERO TO THREE)
For More Information
If you’d like to learn more about LAUNCH and get involved, please contact:
- Keiko Nitta, Early Childhood Coordinator, [email protected]
- Phyllis Raquinio, Project LAUNCH Coordinator, [email protected]
- Conan Wykes, Project LAUNCH Specialist, [email protected]