Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
Contents
Inpatient Services
These are mental health services provided in a hospital setting 24 hours a day for children who need hospitalization because of the severity of their mental illness and dangerousness to themselves or others. Before the child is hospitalized, every effort is made to provide crisis or out-patient services that meet their needs while they continue to live at home. There are 3 levels of categories of care: acute, intermediate, and long-term. Acute care stays are usually short, lasting from a few days to a few weeks and occurs in general hospitals (Article 28) and freestanding psychiatric hospitals (Article 31). Intermediate care stays are longer than acute, and are provided by children’s psychiatric hospitals operated by the New York State Office of Mental Health in Children's Psychiatric Centers. Long-term care occurs in Residential Treatment Facilities.
Inpatient Psychiatric Units
Inpatient services are units in hospitals that offer treatment and support services in an intensively supervised, locked, structured setting. Based on the clinical need of the child, inpatient care is available for acute (short-term) or intermediate (few weeks) treatment.
Services include:
- Psychiatric and psychosocial assessments
- Medication management
- Individual, group, and family therapies
- Educational and recreational therapies
Who gets these services?
- Children that need to be treated and stabilized in a hospital because of danger to themselves or others.
How to access:
Referrals to acute inpatient psychiatric units are generally made by the physician in the emergency room.
Referrals to intermediate state Children’s Psychiatric Centers are centralized. The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) manages the facilities for youth who require intermediate-level inpatient treatment. For referrals to intermediate level inpatient care call: Central Intake at 718-264-4546.
For more information, contact LIFENET:
1-800-LIFENET (1-800-543-3638)
1-877-AYUDESE (en Espanol)
1-877-990-8585 (Asian-speaking populations)
Residential Treatment Facilities
Residential treatment facilities (RTF) are inpatient residential psychiatric facilities that serve children and adolescents who need longer-term treatment. They provide comprehensive mental health and educational services for children ages 5-21 with an IQ over 50. RTFs are residential psychiatric programs that include a school on the grounds. The objective of the program is to help a child improve his or her daily functioning, develop coping skills, support the family and to ensure appropriate community linkages and supports to ensure successful transition to the community.
Services include:
- Case coordination
- Crisis intervention
- Medication management
- Individual and group therapies
- Creative arts therapy
- Therapeutic recreation
- Skill-building
- Vocational training
- On-campus schooling
Who can get services?
- Children between the ages of 5-21
- Must have serious emotional disturbance and need for a comprehensive longer-term inpatient treatment program outside of the home and community.
How to access:
Referrals to these facilities are made only after other appropriate community-based programs have been considered and ruled out. Eligibility for an RTF is determined by the Pre-Admission Certification Committee (PACC). Providers or family members can complete an application packet, consisting of a thorough explanation of the need for this level of care for the youth. To receive the application packet, please contact the PACC coordinator at 330 Fifth Ave, 9th floor,
New York, NY 10001; Tel: 212-330-6398.
For more information, contact LIFENET:
1-800-LIFENET (1-800-543-3638)
1-877-AYUDESE (en Espanol)
1-877-990-8585 (Asian-speaking populations)
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