Child and Adolescent Mental Health Inpatient - NYC Health

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Child and Adolescent Mental Health 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 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.

Contact 988 for Support

988 has a staff of trained mental health professionals that can help callers find the most appropriate mental health and substance abuse services for their needs. Services include counseling, suicide prevention, crisis intervention, peer support, referrals to care, assistance in connecting to the referral, and follow-up services. 988 is free and confidential and operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week via phone, text, and internet chat. 988 is multilingual and multicultural.

Call or text 988 or go to 988, an online resource for individuals, families and agencies in need of help and information. Deaf or hearing impaired callers can dial 711 then 988 (TTY).

Inpatient Psychiatric Units

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 Department.

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 988.

More About Child/Adolescent Mental Health Crisis Services

Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services in NYC Main Page

Information & Referrals

Outpatient Services

Emergency & Crisis