Prevention & Family Support

The Child Center of NY helps parents and other caregivers develop the tools to raise their children in a safe and nurturing environment. We provide support for many different kinds of families—from those currently involved with the child protection system to those who simply feel overwhelmed by the stresses of their daily lives. Whatever their situation, we empower caregivers to handle challenges in a positive and constructive way. All of our programs include parent education, family counseling, home visits by master’s-level social workers and other trained case planners, and an emphasis on keeping families together. We prevent children from entering foster care by helping caregivers create and maintain a safe and supportive home.

Home- & Office-Based Prevention Services

Clinical & Behavioral Health Consultation

Child Center Benefits Access

Home- & Office-Based Prevention Services

The Child Center of NY understands that the vast majority of parents want to do well by their children and will do so, given the right skills, education, counseling, and support — tools that we provide. Our Prevention and Family Support programs serve families with children at risk of abuse, neglect, or foster care placement, as well as those who simply need extra support. Using the evidence-based Solution-Based Casework model (SBC), our case planners work with families to identify challenges and goals and create a roadmap toward achieving them. Goals are stated in words that come directly from the family. This strengths-based approach helps families keep their children safely at home as they work to develop new patterns, based on their own individual strengths, so they can meet challenges safely and constructively — now and in the future.

Want to learn more about these client-centered services? Check out our 2 locations in Jamaica Queens, The Prevention Program at Basie Beacon MS 72 or JobNet.

Clinical & Behavioral Health Consultation

Through our innovative consultation models, The Child Center extends its reach by lending its expertise in mental health to other organizations and government offices. In this way, they can reach their own communities with the skilled, compassionate, and sustainable care that all people deserve.

At Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) Field Offices, The Child Center of NY’s Clinical Consultation teams assist in training child protective staff and assessing families regarding mental health, substance use, and domestic violence concerns. Through consultations and training, our Clinical Consultation teams touch the lives of more than 30,000 families a year, helping them develop the tools to raise their children in a safe and nurturing environment. Our recommendations and referrals help instill confidence in caregivers’ ability to cope with life’s challenges, which in turn promotes positive and constructive parenting and lets their children know they are supported, safe, and deeply loved.

In addition, our Behavioral Health Consultation teams partner with other community-based organizations to offer therapy and other mental health services. The way this works is that The Child Center opens a New York State-licensed mental health satellite in a collaborating agency’s location. The Child Center provides clinical supervision, regulatory training, therapy model training, and electronic health record access and training, as well as billing and operational follow-up.

At The Child Center, we know that trust in the community is one of the most important components of service. Through our behavioral health consultation model, we can lend our expertise to other organizations that have built trust in their communities and increase our reach to serve even more children, adults, families, and communities.

Interested in learning more? Check out our ACS Clinical Consultation Unit in Queens, The Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island, or our Behavioral Health Consultation Partners in East Harlem, Far Rockaway, The Bronx, or Brooklyn.

Child Center Benefits Access

Our Benefits Access program provides free counseling on entitlements, health insurance, financial guidance, social services, and legal services. On-site health insurance and SNAP (“food stamp”) enrollment are available. These services are open to the community for people of all ages, with or without children.

Hours: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and some evenings; please call individual sites for details; virtual appointments are available.
Services provided: Assistance in accessing entitlements, health insurance, and social services. Free on-site legal services; financial counseling, medical and SNAP (“food stamp”) enrollment, assistance in tax preparation. Referral to social services such as afterschool programs, child care, summer camp, unemployment/employment programs, GED/ESL.
Special services: On-site health insurance and SNAP (formerly “food stamp”) enrollment, Medicaid, and other types of health insurance from NYSOH (New York State of Health), with direct linkage to the Human Resource Administration, enabling families to obtain their medical and/or food stamp benefits within a 30-day period.
Languages spoken: English, Spanish. In addition, we can provide services to clients in any language through the use of an interpretation service.
Locations: Jamaica and Flushing