Environmental Scan - Athens, Hocking, Meigs, and Vinton Counties March 2010

Integrating Professionals for Appalachian Children (IPAC) undertook the environmental scan process to map out the systems, programs, and services that exist to serve children from birth to eight years of age and their families.  Forty-seven professional participants represented multiple agencies and various disciplines including health, mental health, developmental services, intervention, and educational services.  And, 54 additional caretaker participants included parents, grandparents and others in parental guardian roles.  The environmental scan process was a success. Each county had highly diverse groups of professional providers and parents involved in their county-level scans, which provided for a wealth of information sharing and thoughtful discussions of program and service administration. The process helped to validate successful programs and to identify issues and gaps in service. Especially insightful was the parent voice, for their perceptions, experiences, successes and needs for the health and wellness of their children and families, which will be essential in helping to define the strategic plan of Project LAUNCH.