The Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) today announced that it will receive more than $4.5 million from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) to support Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children's Health).

Project LAUNCH is a program aimed at promoting physical, emotional, social and behavioral health of young children in Providence and is one of only six programs to receive a grant. The program will continue the efforts of the Successful Start initiative, initially focusing efforts on strengthening services for young children and their families in Providence. A longer-term goal is to extend these practices across the state.

"This further reinforces the collaborative efforts of the early childhood community to find creative ways to meet the needs of children and families in Rhode Island," said Director of Health David R. Gifford, MD. MPH. "This grant will enhance the RI Successful Start's efforts to build the social-behavioral capacities of young children in Rhode Island."

The five-year grant will support early childhood mental health consultation in medical homes, connect resources for parents with medical homes and expand mental health consultation to childcare centers in Providence. Bradley Hospital, the nation's first psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents, will partner with HEALTH and the Successful Start Steering Committee to implement and evaluate the program.

Director of the Bradley Hospital Early Childhood Clinical Research Center Susan Dickstein, PhD, said, "We look forward to extending our work to implement evidence-based preventive interventions to help create an early-childhood service culture focused on optimal development of the 'whole child'. It's exciting that our efforts for expansion of behavioral health services for young children will become a priority. We hope Project LAUNCH will become a model that can be replicated across the country."

health.ri