Pennsylvania Project LAUNCH
(Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health)
A project of the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Department of Health, and the Office of Child Development and Early Learning with Allegheny County Department of Human Services, funded by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

More information and resource materials.

The Vision of PA Project LAUNCH
All children, birth to eight years, their families, and pregnant women will flourish through the benefits of a compre-hensive, seamless system of promis-ing and evidence-based approaches that promote physical, behavioral, and emotional well-being, thus enhancing school and life success.
Project LAUNCH’s 5 Prevention and Promotion Strategies

  •  Screening and assessment in a range of child-serving settings.
  •  Integration of behavioral health into primary care settings.
  •  Mental health consultation in early care and education settings.                                                       
  •  Enhanced home visiting through increased focus on social and emotional well-being.
  •  Family strengthening and parent skills training

Goals and Activities will:

  •  Coordinate promotion and prevention strategies
  •  Coordinate child-serving systems
  •  Enhance early childhood policies
  •  Increase cross-sector workforce development
  •  Increase utilization of promising and evidence-based approaches and early intervention

PA Project LAUNCH Goals :

  1. Ensure young children at risk for poor developmental outcomes (especially social-emotional) are screened and provided appropriate resources, including referrals.
  2. Enhance integration of physical health and behavioral health practices to im-prove access of care for children birth to 8 years, their families, and pregnant women.
  3. Strengthen existing ECMH consultation and extend services to children birth to 8 years, their families, and pregnant women, integrating into multiple early childhood settings.
  4. Promote integrated, evidence-based, high-quality home visiting services that ensure access to those who need it.
  5. Ensure families with young children are connected to needed information and services.
  6. Create a sustainable infrastructure to promote social-emotional and physical wellness for PA children birth to 8 years, their families, and pregnant women.

PA Project LAUNCH Communities in Allegheny County:

  •  Baldwin-Whitehall School District
  •  Pittsburgh City School District
  •  Woodland Hills School District

For more information on PA Project LAUNCH, contact Brandy Fox, PA Project LAUNCH Coordinator at 717-231-3730 or brafox@pakeys.org. Additional information on Project LAUNCH at the national level can be found at www.healthysafechildren.org.