Project LAUNCH is a SAMHSA initiative which seeks to build capacity within Michigan Tribal communities to better serve the cultural, social, emotional, physical, and psychological needs of youth ages 0-8. Aiming to reduce leadership and policymaking silos, the project seeks to foster collaboration between health care, behavioral health, early childhood education, social services, and other programs servicing Native youth and their families.

Project Launch envisions a sustainable circle of cultural and community care that provides high-quality supports and services to Native youth and their families. The project has four main goals:

  1. Strengthen Tribal Communities through the promotion of resources grounded in cultural language and teachings.
  2. Increase community workforce capacity to address child and family mental health.
  3. Strengthen systems integration of community programs that support child and family mental health.
  4. Increase community efforts to engage in public education and awareness activities.

The project is working towards implementing the following objectives, or services:

  • Integration of a culturally informed assessment of children’s social/emotional development into all well-child checks within each of the four pilot communities’ Tribal health clinics.
  • Availability of Child Behavior Specialist at well-child visits to administer assessments, brief education, and consult with families on behavioral concerns.
  • Provide Reflective Supervision sessions for Tribal Youth (0-8) serving staff
  • Establish Memorandums of Understanding between Tribal Behavioral Health and Tribal Youth (0-8) programs to define how professional staff (LSW/MSW, etc.) will consult with Youth (0-8) staff, and may provide services via Youth (0-8) program venues (home visits, classroom, parent meetings, etc.)
  • Implement a Quality Improvement project in home visiting services to assess and improve the use of ASQ-SE2 social-emotional screening, response to screening results, and parent teaching/coaching activities
  • Host Family Classes to improve parenting skills; including Fatherhood is Sacred/Motherhood is Sacred Groups/Linking Generation Groups and/or Addressing Family Violence and Abuse led by trained community facilitator

Resources for Families