New Perspectives, 6/1997

Working under the slogan “The needs of the kids come first,” KidsPeace offers a broad range of psychiatric services for children, adolescents and their families aiming at ending the emotional pain of kids in crisis.

“KidsPeace National Centers for Kids in Crisis and the National Hospital for Kids in Crisis are divisions of KidsPeace, a private, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to end the emotional pain of kids in crisis. Our vision is to reach into every home in America with the prevention, education and treatment services for stopping child abuse; promoting the emotional well-being of children; and restoring childhood to children — ‘Halting, Helping and Healing.”

“A million U.S. households have already benefited from KidsPeace’s prevention and education outreach efforts. And KidsPeace’s campus-, community- and family-based treatment programs represent a continuum of care unmatched by any other organization in the nation. More than 2,000 children from across the country are treated each day with help from our 1, 500 caregivers in 25 locations in five states.”

“The KidsPeace story began in 1882 with the establishment of an interim care facility for children in crisis in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In the decades since, the organization has grown 100-fold to encompass an acute care inpatient psychiatric hospital (National Hospital for Kids in Crisis); residential campuses and specialized community dwellings; diagnostic units; shelters; elementary and secondary special and regular education schools; outpatient clinics; and a child development and therapeutic recreation center.” Services also include a Kid Help Line to “furnish information/crisis intervention services 24 hours a day via telephone to any individual,” the Crisis Assessment Response Team “equipped for on-site assessments,” the School Crisis Assessment Team to assist “guidance counselors, teachers, school administrators and student assistance teams in evaluating and referring at-risk students to the most appropriate treatment resource,” a National Referral Network, “a free referral service that helps professionals locate treatment for their clients from a database of 20,000 mental health care providers,” a National Affiliates Network which “locates qualified mental health care professionals to serve as resources for our National Referral Network... and work with the family while the child is in placement,” KidsPeace Prevention and Education Services, and the Lee Salk Center at KidsPeace. Named after the late Dr. Lee Salk, the well known psychologist and First National Director of Prevention Services, “the center focuses on helping parents.”