The Coordinated Children’s Services Initiative (CCSI) of New York City is a unique cross-systems forum that brings together parents, caregivers, youth, and service providers throughout the five boroughs of NYC on a monthly basis to create meaningful dialogue, share resources, and advocate for increased awareness and quality access to care for children and youth with mental and emotional health challenges.Using the system of care model*, CCSI members tackle some of the toughest barriers standing in the way of youth receiving comprehensive and streamlined services to support their health and well-being and work together to advocate for positive change.
What We Do
The Coordinated Children’s Services Initiative (CCSI) works with families, youth, government agencies, and community providers to:
Improve services in
child welfare
juvenile justice
family court
education
mental health
substance abuse
youth development
Identify solutions for families being served by more than one agency
Increase family and youth involvement in service planning and policy development
Our Values and Goals
CCSI believes in behavioral health care that:
is family-driven and youth-guided
recognizes that each family has unique strengths
provides the right services at the right time and in the right amount
addresses the needs of each child and family across all service systems
respects the language and culture of community members
*A system of care is defined as a comprehensive spectrum of mental health and other necessary services which are organized into a coordinated network to meet the multiple and changing needs of children and adolescents with serious emotional, social and behavioral challenges and their families. (Stroul and Friedman, 1986, 1996)