Project Launch

Kansas

Funded Years : 2009

Project Director :
Cristi Cain
785-864-9639
ccain@ku.edu

Address :
100 SW Jackson Ste 570
Lawrence,KS 66612

Project Status : Active

Project Summary : Kansas Project LAUNCH enhances the Kansas Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (KECCS) and has developed a parallel system in Finney County—a diverse, rural community where 22 languages are spoken in the schools. The state and local effort draws on a public health approach to address the needs of at-risk populations and to promote healthy child development. Locally, Finney County's Community Health Coalition, comprising 34 providers, will implement evidence-based strategies to meet the varied needs of its diverse population. The evaluation plan monitors collaboration and policies that support service integration, and uses valid and reliable instruments, ongoing monitoring of short- and long-term outcomes, and process data to inform Project LAUNCH and evaluate its effectiveness.

Finney County has a population of 39,000, 45 percent of whom are Hispanic or Latino—though demographics continue to shift, as Vietnamese, German Mennonite, Mexican, Burmese, and Somali immigrants are attracted to work in the beef-packing industry. More than 60 percent of the county's students are Hispanic, and many students receive free or reduced-price lunch. Adolescent health and safety is on a negative trajectory, as evidenced by rates of risky behavior and teen pregnancy that are higher than the state average.

Project LAUNCH Goals

At the state level:

• Use KECCS to enhance collaboration among providers and to integrate child mental health services into existing delivery systems
• Improve the early childhood infrastructure through supportive policies, cross-agency professional development, and data-driven decision making

At the local level:

• Develop a comprehensive, coordinated early childhood system in Finney County modeled after the KECCS prevention approach
• Promote child growth and development across all developmental domains

Strategies

To achieve its goals at the state level, Kansas Project LAUNCH will increase collaboration, provide professional development that is evidence-based and culturally competent, integrate developmental screenings at the state and local level, develop fiscal policies that support integration of services, and conduct a rigorous evaluation.

To achieve its goals at the local level, Finney County will increase collaboration among Community Health Coalition members, increase the use of developmental screenings, increase the number of service settings that integrate health and behavioral health into other children's services, increase the number of families participating in evidence-based home visiting, and increase the number of families participating in evidence-based and culturally competent parent education programs.

Expected Outcomes

Over the five years of Project LAUNCH funding, more than 605 Kansas families (121 annually) will be served through Parents as Teachers, Incredible Years, Healthy Families, and mental health consultation services and programs. Locally, 10 medical providers will use developmental screenings. Through a public awareness campaign targeting the 39,000 residents of Finney County, understanding of child development will increase, and more families will receive the message that they can benefit from help.

Evidence-Based Programs :
Parents as Teachers
Incredible Years
Al's Pals
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
Healthy Families