The Lifeline Center for Child Development is a day treatment program and special education school for children and adolescents. It is licensed by the New York State Office of Mental Health. Our unique program offers academic instruction within a nurturing, well-organized, professional and therapeutic environment. A broad range of support services are integrated into the daily schedule. This helps each child achieve maximum potential and eventually be able to attend regular or less restrictive programs.

Lifeline provides education, mental health and related services. Services are provided depending on the need of the student.

In our school program, the NYC Department of Education provides educational and related services and Lifeline provides clinical and medical services provided by social workers, psychologists, nursing and child psychologist staff.

Each child’s daily program includes small and highly structured classrooms, which allow for individualized attention and instruction. Our multi-disciplinary clinical staff members provide

• individual and group therapies
• speech therapy
• psychological assessments
• psychiatric intervention
• medication management

We also have a licensed Yoga instructor who is certified to work with children in special education.

Referrals to Lifeline come through Committees on Special Education [CSE], the Central Based Support Team [CBST] and School Based Support Teams [SBST].

The School program serves children and adolescents from 5-18 in grades K-12, in a twelve-month program.

Services are provided based on identified needs in the child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP), and in coordination with the child’s comprehensive treatment plan.

No! Lifeline receives government support and does not charge for services. If you have Medicaid or Medicaid Managed Care, we bill those insurance companies for the clinical services that we provide with your consent.

Currently, Lifeline accepts Medicaid and some Medicaid Managed Care plans.

The best advice is to meet with your current school’s guidance counselor, principal, assistant principal, psychologist, or social work staff. Talk to them about your concerns and discuss the possibility of an evaluation. Your current school will make a decision about the evaluation.

Once the Department of Education determines that Lifeline may be an appropriate educational setting for your child, a referral will be sent to the School program. Lifeline Center will review the referral documents. If it appears that placement at Lifeline may be appropriate for your child, a clinician will contact you. They will make an appointment for you to bring your child for an intake screening. You and your child will meet with various members of the clinical and educational staff, and your child will have the opportunity to join in with a class at his/her grade level. At the conclusion of the screening process, a determination is made regarding your child’s admission and you will be notified shortly thereafter.

Yes! Lifeline is required to operate under the same program that your current school is required to do. We offer a strong academic program to all enrolled students.

Yes! Our educational component is challenging, and due to the small classroom size, we are able to tailor your child’s educational plan to their abilities and challenges.

We are a therapeutic program. That means we have all types of staff who are skilled and experienced in the types of challenges your child may present. Our staff members are experts in the field of mental health and education. They are certified, licensed, and skilled at various techniques and approaches that are very helpful to the many families that we work with.

We have many unique services. For example, we have a Yoga specialist who is certified to work with special education students. She helps students calm down and not need time out or other interventions when they are troubled about something during their school day. We also provide professional training opportunities to physicians, psychologists, social workers, and speech therapists in affiliation with major hospitals and universities in the metropolitan area. We are a training site for Child Psychiatry Fellows.

Absolutely not! In fact, we pride ourselves on having a beautiful campus with a great outdoor area. But we are what is called a “therapeutic milieu” which means that in addition to education staff, all of the other types of supportive staff are here during the day. Your child has an opportunity to see and interact with their therapist, and other staff, as needed.

Yes. We do not want to disrupt the relationship that you have established with your medical provider. We operate as a team and work within a setting where all of the team communicates regularly. We will request that you sign a release so that your psychiatrist can communicate with your social worker and other assigned clinical staff at the school.

Transportation is provided by NYC DOE through their pupil transportation department. There is no cost for transportation.

The school day is the same (or very similar) as your home or community school. Students start their day at 8:00 am and end at 2:20 pm.

Yes! We have an exciting summer session filled with cultural opportunities, thanks to the generosity of Con Edison. We have a pool and other recreational activities, and of course, we continue with our academic and educational program. The summer session usually runs from the end of June through the second week of August.

At the present time, we do not have an after-school program at Lifeline. However, we are in the process of creating one. We do have access to other after-school programs and will discuss this option if you are interested in after-school care for your child.

The focus of our program is your child’s emotional growth and development and the attainment of academic skills. For those adolescents graduating who wish to pursue a vocational path, appropriate referrals are made to skills training programs which lead to gainful employment.

Yes they have! In fact, more than 90% of the students who we are privileged to work with are able to return to their home or community school. Many students graduate and move on to additional educational or vocational opportunities.

The children are from all areas of New York City, and they reflect the diversity that New Yorkers are proud of. All of our students have the need to be in a therapeutic setting. They receive a more individualized education and related services so they can succeed in school and in life.

97% of our students come from Queens, and most of those from northeast Queens. We have a diverse and rich population of young people all learning about, and with, each other!

About 75% of our students identify as male and 25% as female.

Most students spend between 2 and 4 years is our program.

Yes! We are an academic program. Our on-site New York City Department of Education K-12 special education school offers the same diploma as all other NYC high schools. Graduates can earn Regents or Local Diplomas.

Children go to the same settings that any other child may go. Some of our students and graduates move on to college, some to vocational training programs. Most children (over 90%) move on to less restrictive settings such as their local or community schools. Though they may still receive some special education services, their progress while at Lifeline results in their being in more mainstream settings.