Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health) is a Federal grant program administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to promote the wellness of young children ages birth to 8 years of age. Through an Intra-Agency Agreement with SAMHSA, oversight of the project is provided by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation within the Administration for Children and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services

The information collected is of importance to the public health and behavioral health fields in advancing knowledge about comprehensive community-wide approaches to improving child health and development. Information will be provided   and lessons learned about how coordinated service strategies and system-building activities can be designed to improve the physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of health and well-being for children and families.

Reference:

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/resource/cross-site-evaluation-of-project-launch-evaluation-design

U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services/Administration for children and families - Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation

I had the privilege of being a child wellness coordinator when this project was implemented in El Paso Texas and was able to see very good results. My job was to work with families and teach them parenting classes that would promote the social emotional health in children 0-8. I remember how regarding it was when week after week I would literally see the improvement in these children and the parent empowerment. One little girl in particular named “Maria” was always isolated at school because she was fearful of her peers. After visiting the family, I learned they had just migrated from Mexico and her parents had been teaching her not to talk to anybody. Needless to say, Maria was not doing well in school and she was being bullied by her peers as the “weird” one. After the 8 week parenting classes and assessing her through the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (A&SQ) I was able to see the transformation. Her grades improved, she was friendly with her peers, who in return stopped the bullying, and the teacher found out she was one of her honor students. I documented Marias progress with great joy and just like her, many other children’s lives were changed through Project L.A.U.N.C.H.