Dayspring Community Services (a division of Preferred Family Healthcare) will enact a Project LAUNCH project in the following three counties in Oklahoma: Washington, Payne, and Tulsa. Dayspring’s Project LAUNCH will utilize the HALO Project model (https://haloprojectokc.com/) to administer trauma-specific therapeutic services to young children (ages 0 to 8) and parents/caregivers. Participating children will receive trauma-focused therapeutic interventions to mitigate the adverse impacts of early childhood trauma, and participating adults will receive therapy and/or training to better identify and respond to trauma-specific conditions presented by their children. The aim is to maintain foster care/family of origin placements while reducing maladaptive behaviors and increasing emotional regulation, attachment, and feelings of safety and connection.
The catchment area has a combined total population of 807,619. Race/ethnicity demographics are as follows: White (72.6%), Black (9.6%), American Indian/Alaska Native (7.4%), Asian (3.7%), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (0.2%), Two or More Races (6.6%), Hispanic/Latino (12.5%), Not Hispanic/Latino (62.3%). Approximately 24.41% of persons are under 18 years old, and 6.47% are under 5 years old. The population is 50.73% female. 8.38% of the population comprises foreign born persons, and 13.75% speak a language other than English in the home.
The percentage of individuals in poverty throughout the population of focus is substantially higher than the national average, and the median household income is lower than both state and national averages. Complicating matters further, the percentage of individuals without health insurance is higher than both state and national averages. Consequently, all three counties have a disability rate higher than the national average. These acute health and socioeconomic challenges make it difficult for adults within our population of focus to attend to their own wellness—let alone the wellness of their children. As a state, Oklahoma rates 42nd in overall child wellbeing, 33rd in economic wellbeing, 45th in education, 42nd in health, and 41st in family and community. These persistent, daily hardships create vicious cycles of intergenerational trauma. Case in point: Oklahoma ranks among the top ten worst states in America for Adverse Childhood Experiences, with 18.3% of children having two or more traumatic experiences.
This project will be informed by the following three primary interventions: (1) Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI); (2) Internal Family Systems (IFS); and (3) Making Sense of Your Worth. Additional evidence-based practices to be employed include the following: Child-Parent Psychotherapy, Circle of Security, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Family-Centered Treatment, and Youth Mental Health First Aid.
The following three goals will define and measure project success: (1) Build sustainable infrastructure for services and supports for children 0-8 and their caregivers; (2) Build capability of the workforce to meet the needs of children 0-8 and their caregivers; and (3) Strengthen the continuum of care for children 0-8 and their caregivers. It is expected that 70% of enrolled children 0-8 will experience improvement at 6- and 12-month follow-up, including increased developmental and language functioning, social-emotional skills, decreased problem behaviors, and improved parenting and caregiver-child interactions.
Dayspring’s Project LAUNCH project intends to serve a minimum total of 1,120 unduplicated individuals (448 children and 672 adults) throughout the five-year period of performance. In Year 1, the project estimates serving 64 children and 96 adults, for a total of 160 total individuals served. In Year 2-5, Dayspring anticipates serving 96 children and 144 adults annually, for a total of 240 individuals served during the last four years of the project.