CHILDREN'S HEALTH COUNCIL INC

Sand Hill School works with children with dyslexia or other language-based learning differences, attention and social challenges and prepares them to transition back to a traditional classroom. Programs emphasize students’ strengths and empower each child to build academic skills and resiliency while developing strong social competencies and a joy for learning. Low student to teacher ratio (6:1) and coordination with CHC therapists, clinicians and specialists create a unique and happy environment for children in grades 2-8. Underscoring CHC’s mission to ensure that cost is not a barrier, the Sand Hill School Scholarship Fund provides substantial support for families requiring tuition assistance.

Sand Hill School at CHC is fully accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges. In 2019, Sand Hill School received WASC Accreditation through June of 2022. The WASC documentation and accreditation process provides a blueprint and school improvement plan, ensuring continued high-quality education for SHS students.

One of the most successful programs of its kind, the Esther B. Clark Schools (EBC) at CHC provide transformative education where children and teens with emotional and behavioral issues from public schools can re-engage in learning in a caring, therapeutic day school setting. At EBC, children learn how their brains work and develop the positive behaviors necessary to transition back to a more traditional school setting. Serving students in grades 2-10 from over 60 school districts across five Bay Area counties. The EBC School Fund supports students at both the Palo Alto campus and South Bay location in San Jose.

Community Connections at CHC is a vast and informative resource providing essential and impactful community education in-person and online. The CHC Online Resource Library is one of the most visited areas on chconline.org. There is increasing demand for CHC’s free education, support groups, and more to help families impacted by mental health and learning challenges. These critical programs serve thousands of families every year by building awareness of the mental health and learning challenges our youth are facing and removing stigma through offering best-in-class education and information to various constituent groups and community members.

Community Connections encompasses three main areas of focus:

Community Engagement: Provides education, shares insight and expertise to build awareness and reduce stigma associated with mental health and learning challenges. This program includes the Voices of Compassion podcast series, online and in-person educational sessions, including panels and discussions led by CHC experts and notable speakers in the field. Community Engagement sessions are made available at no-cost to parents, educators, and professionals involved with kids with ADHD, learning differences, anxiety, depression, and/or autism. Community Engagement also offers free parent support groups facilitated by CHC clinicians and other collaborative groups such as the Mental Health Leadership Collaborative with over 60 community-based organizations and mental health and learning difference experts.

School Engagement: CHC partners with local schools and districts (both public and private) to share resources, add expertise, and help to meet the growing mental health needs of their students. This includes providing free parent education sessions, access to CHC resources including our collaborative groups for School Counselors and Learning Specialists and our parent support groups.

Corporate Engagement: CHC also partners with organizations and corporations so that we can increase service capacity and financial assistance to meet the growing mental health and learning needs of our community’s youth without our corporate partners. In return, CHC delivers customized content, promotion and recognition opportunities, access to our Resource Library and other benefits to their employees.

Since 2014, CHC Ravenswood has served K-12 students, parents/caregivers, teachers/educators, and nonprofit partners in East Palo Alto and east Menlo Park through consultations and coaching, workshops and training, case management, student psychoeducational evaluations, and collaborative efforts like the Ravenswood Wellness Partnership. Led by CHC, the Partnership plays an essential role by connecting varied service organizations around the East Palo Alto community ensuring that more services are effectively accessed by those in need. CHC Ravenswood relies 100% on philanthropy, and our support services are available at no cost to Ravenswood schools, families, and children.

In the Ravenswood community of East Palo Alto and east Menlo Park, the combination of high mental health needs and low resources has created an inequity with critical needs that remain unmet. This is exponentially true during the COVID-19 pandemic. CHC has been providing extra mental health support to families hit the hardest by COVID—providing psychoeducation and skill-building, and connecting families to local resources for immediate relief. If essential needs are not being met first and foremost, it becomes a barrier to addressing trauma and mental health concerns.

By 2028, the State of California anticipates a 41% shortfall of psychiatrists. The CHC Stanford Doctoral Internship Program invests in young professionals to stay in California by supporting the doctoral aspirations of mental wellness clinicians like psychiatrists and psychologists. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford and Children’s Health Council offer a one-year, APA-accredited doctoral internship in clinical psychology with a training focus on clinical child and pediatric psychology. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford and Children’s Health Council are adjacent institutions that are affiliated with Stanford University Medical Center and are the primary training sites for inpatient and outpatient child psychiatric care.

The goal of the doctoral psychology internship program is to train outstanding future child psychologists and prepare them for entry-level professional practice. Our program aims to prepare advanced doctoral-level students to become leaders in the field of clinical child and pediatric psychology, who will be engaged in clinical practice, interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as advocacy and/or scientific investigation.