State and Local Linkages

Project LAUNCH provides states, tribes, communities, and the District of Columbia with a unique opportunity to marshal collective resources to address the well-being of young children in one target community and to examine the lessons from that community’s experience to influence future directions for promoting young child wellness in the entire state. Although grants to Project LAUNCH tribal projects do not include a specific state component, Project LAUNCH tribal projects also inspire systems changes at the state level to bring about long-term changes for children in the tribal community and their counterparts in non-tribal communities in the state.

State and Local Linkages in Project LAUNCH

Services that support young children and their families at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels are highly fragmented. In fact, early education programs, early childhood mental health, and general wellness services are typically provided by organizations with different funding streams, eligibility requirements, and service performance standards. Approaches to services differ widely even in small communities. As a result, simple communication and more complex coordination of care can be daunting. Project LAUNCH communities are building on previous partnerships and forming new ones that are leading to improved services for children and families by taking a number of concrete steps, such as the following:

• Adopting common child developmental screening and assessment instruments and standard formats for child health records across early education and health service providers
• Exploring ways to improve data sharing among organizations that serve the same children and families
• Training community early education providers on ways to promote social and emotional health through classroom practices

In Project LAUNCH states, state experts and councils can learn about promising local practices that have potential for replication in other communities or widespread adoption by establishing regular communication with the Project LAUNCH local community by:

• Identifying a state child wellness council member to participate on the local council
• Reviewing the community’s environmental scan and strategic plan to determine how the state can support the community’s implementation and system-building efforts
• Inviting the local child wellness coordinator to attend a state council meeting to hear about local innovations and successes as well as discussing barriers to coordination and ways the state can ameliorate these through policy or funding changes. State level experts are also welcome to attend local council meetings and activities to do the same