Day treatment programs help your child deal with behaviors such as depression and anger that are interfering with your child’s success at school and in the family. Some of these behaviors include rage, poor impulse control, inappropriate expressions of emotions and property destruction. Day treatment programs are less intensive than residential care, but higher than outpatient counseling.

Children between the ages of 6 and 17 enter day treatment after collaboration between county mental health, a school district, and the parent/guardian. Your child may continue in the day treatment program for up to one year.

In day treatment programs, your child will attend school with classes taught by a certified school district teacher during the first part of the day and receive behavioral treatment from SDCC in the afternoon. Day treatment sites all have our staff and child development counselors in the classroom with your child and teacher throughout the day. We work jointly with the educators.

Day treatment programs reinforce your child’s good behavior. We believe that building on the positive helps your child adjust and adapt in a healthy manner. The programs offer training in parenting and family therapy to make it easier on the family and child when he or she returns to the regular school.

How does a child get referred into day treatment?
 A public school will notice a behavior or learning problem with your child. If the school determines that an Independent Educational Program (IEP) is necessary to address the problem and the school and the parent(s) determine that a day treatment program is appropriate, then the child is qualified to enter the program.

San Diego Center for Children provides services for children from numerous San Diego County school districts.