Thursday, May 2, 2024
5/2/2024
Mercy Care is a Federally Qualified Health Center serving nearly 16,000 homeless and economically or socially disenfranchised individuals and families annually in Georgia’s Fulton and DeKalb counties, including the City of Atlanta. We provide extensive integrated primary care, behavioral health, vision and dental services. Project LAUNCH will enable us to provide critical BH screening, referral and treatment for children for young children at our two clinics that serve pediatric patients: Mercy Care Chamblee (MCC) and Mercy Care at City of Refuge (COR). MCC serves a primarily Hispanic immigrant population; 67% of patients here speak a language other than English at home and 86% of children ages 0-8 served at this clinic live within 100% of the federal poverty level. In the COR catchment area, 84% of residents are Black or African American and 40% are entrenched in generational poverty. Our goals are to: (1) Promote the wellness of young children from birth to 8 years of age by addressing the social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and behavioral aspects of their development and mental health of their adult caregivers; (2) Promote the knowledge, skills, and mental health of adult caregivers of young children to empower them to create safe, nurturing environments, promote resilience, prevent social/emotional disorders, and identify and treat behavioral concerns early; (3) Disseminate effective and innovative early childhood mental health practices and services that are recovery-oriented, trauma-informed, and equity-based. We will screen approximately 4,400 children and their parents/caregivers annually, refer 100% of those with positive screenings for mental health or developmental concerns to mental health or related services, and provide 400 behavioral health service encounters to children ages 0-8 annually. We will conduct at least 18 group parent trainings per year and 12 community organization trainings per year. We will also develop a Young Child Wellness Council and social marketing campaign to increase public awareness about the importance of mental health for children from birth through age 8. The total number of individuals served over five years will be 22,000.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
