The Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) program provides information and referral to insurance, health services and community resources to families of children, youth and young adults with conditions for which they need extra health care and services.
Children We Serve
- Children, youth and young adults from birth to age 21 who have health conditions for which they need extra health care and assistance.
- Reside in the five boroughs of NYC.
- Who have been diagnosed or may have a serious or chronic health condition or disability physical, developmental/intellectual or emotional/behavioral condition.
Program Services
Referrals
CSHCN staff makes referrals to Department of Health’s Enrollers for assistance in applying for health insurance as well as connecting families to community resources for help in meeting child’s medical needs.
Information Services
CSHCN staff informs and educates families on health care options and services available to best meet the needs of the child.
Resources
CSHCN provides educational materials and web-based resources on health insurance and medical topics.
Community Resources
Parents of children and youth with special health care needs can contact some of the following community resources:
- HITE: This site contains a good list of local NYC resources. You can search for support groups by zip code as well as by which languages are spoken there.
- Family Village:
Parents of children with disabilities can utilize this web site to access resources for disability related topics. Great source for parents of special needs children.
- The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities: This site contains information on children and youth with disabilities. Parents can communicate in both English and Spanish. There are A-Z topics on web resources, as well as a section on state resources.
- Kidshealth: This site contains information about health, behavior, and development from before birth through the teen years.
- Healthy Transitions: This site is for youth with developmental disabilities ages 14-25 years, family caregivers, service coordinators, and health care providers.
More Community Resources available in the New York State Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Program.
► Children with Special Health Care Needs Health Education Forums (PDF)
► Learn about Health Insurance and Benefits for Your Child in Early Intervention (PDF)
Other languages:[Español]
For more information, call 311 and ask about services for Children with Special Health Care Needs.
