Obesity
Obesity is a growing problem that now affects one in five children in the United States. Local policies, living conditions, and environments influence daily choices that affect the health of our youth.
Obesity is a growing problem that now affects one in five children in the United States. Local policies, living conditions, and environments influence daily choices that affect the health of our youth.
Trauma can occur to children and youth as a result of violence, abuse, neglect, loss, and other emotionally harmful experiences. Traumatic and toxic stressors such as physical abuse, exposure to domestic or community violence, and inappropriate parental behavior due to mental and/or substance use tend to cluster in families.
Nationwide, communities, states, territories, and tribes are pioneering new ways to promote young child wellness through Project LAUNCH, a federal initiative funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Project LAUNCH sites increase and improve evidence-based programs for children (0–8) and families and strengthen collaboration among child-serving organizations so that all children enter school ready to succeed.
Download an infographic that provides an overview of Project LAUNCH, a map of grantees, and evaluation findings.
California Project LAUNCH describes experiences with
implementing an early childhood mental health home visiting model, with a focus on lessons learned, preliminary results, and recommendations that support the expansion and sustainability of this approach.
Kansas Project LAUNCH summarizes mental health consultation and describes the benefits of the service and how it was implemented in one county in Kansas.
Washington, D.C. Project LAUNCH summaries the implementation, evaluation, lessons learned, and recommendations of the Healthy Futures mental health consultation program in 25 community-based child development centers.
Vermont Project LAUNCH provides quarterly policy briefs from Building Bright Futures. Topics include bullying prevention, adverse effects of child neglect, and health and educational disparities in young children.
NYC Project LAUNCH describes work to support parents and families using the Circle of Security Parenting Program.
NYC Project LAUNCH highlights and summarizes work to support enhanced home visiting and provides recommendations for future efforts.
NYC Project LAUNCH describes educational and communication materials created and used to promote and support the well-being of young children.