Friday, November 22, 2024
11/22/2024
Erie County Project LAUNCH (ECPL) works to promote and enhance an environment in Erie County, PA, that is pro-mental health, collaborative, and aware of resources/services and referral systems, while providing clear pathways for children 0-8 and their parents/caregivers to be screened, assessed, and receive culturally sensitive, trauma-informed, evidence-based services in their community. Erie County (EC) has 269,011 residents including 28,979 children ages 0-8 and 42,976 parents. 82% of residents are White and 16.3% are BIPOC with Indo-European (3.2%) and Spanish (2%) as the top language groups besides English (93.4%). EC's socioeconomic status puts children at high risk – families are unwell physically and mentally, living in poverty, with high levels of food insecurity. Multiple food deserts (12) and three areas that are either Primary Care, Primary Care Low-income Health Professional Shortage Areas or Medically Underserved/ Medically Underserved Population Service areas. To achieve this vision, ECPL will (1) improve Erie County’s public awareness of early childhood wellbeing and establish clear pathways to navigate the systems and supports available for children 0-8, (2) increase early identification and coordination of care for social, emotional, cognitive, physical and behavioral concerns of children 0-8 and parents/caregivers through culturally and linguistically appropriate screening and assessment (3) equip and empower parents, caregivers, and professionals with training and resources focused on prevention and mental health promotion and (4) strengthen families and improve early child development and health outcomes through comprehensive prevention and intervention services across home, school, and community settings. ECPL seeks to reach 75% of EC parents/caregivers through multimedia campaigns and online resources to reduce stigma of mental healthcare, educate parents on child development and mental health, and increase screenings for conditions (i.e., drug/alcohol abuse and depression) that put their children at risk for future social, emotional, cognitive, physical or behavioral (SECPB) issues. ECPL will build 2,100 parent/caregiver’s knowledge through training and 5,000 families will be reached through resource distribution. ECPL strives to have at minimum 60 child-serving or adjacent organizations collaborating on a Young Child Wellness Council focused on unifying and streamlining screenings, assessments, referral pathways to ensure children 0-8 are identified early and provided appropriate services expeditiously. ECPL will provide 1,800 families of children 0-8 with a central call and resource center – LAUNCH CTRL - for all SECPB needs. LAUNCH CTRL is manned by Patient Access Coordinators who help families navigate and follow up to ensure completion of the screen-assessment-referral-interventions process, serve as a go-between for families and physicians, assist in families getting state health insurance, if needed. Through their work, the PAC efforts hope to increase the initiation of services by 5% each year and thus increase the number of individuals receiving evidence-based services by 10% each year. ECPL will increase the number of unduplicated EC children 0-8 screened or assessed and referred for SECPB issues by 15%, respectively; increase the number of parents/caregivers who are screened for depression and substance misuse by 13.5%; and the number of parents referred by 25%. These increases will occur by training 20 physical health providers/provider entities and 250 early childhood educators in daycare, pre-school and early elementary settings. Technical Consultations will be given to at least 125 providers and educators including a team of highly qualified Early Education Consultants who will push into the schools to offer support in SECPB areas. Through this work, ECPL hopes to reduce the suspension and expulsion rates at these schools and increase parental involvement by 10%.
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).
