The University of California, Riverside School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience is partnering with The Craig School on a program that will provide comprehensive, no-cost mental health services delivered directly on campus through the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI).

The Craig School (TCS), a private nonprofit school in Irvine, California, serves students in grades 3-8 whose learning is impacted by ADHD and executive functioning challenges.

The program will bring licensed professionals, child and adolescent psychiatry fellows, and post-doctoral psychology fellows from UC Riverside to work with TCS staff to provide neuropsychological and diagnostic assessments, individual and group therapy, and additional school-based mental health services.

“We designed this program to help children and families access evidence-based clinical care  within their school communities, and to enhance medical and postdoctoral training by bringing residents and fellows directly into schools,” said Kimberley Lakes, PhD, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at UCR. 

“This partnership highlights how the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative is helping expand access to mental health care for students across California,” said Lisa Fortuna, MD, MPH, MDiv, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at the UCR School of Medicine. “By embedding services in schools like The Craig School, we can support students and families while training future child mental health clinicians in innovative, school and community-based models of care.”

Thanks to funding through CYBHI, the services will be offered at no cost to families, with no impact on insurance plans or deductibles. The program is the first in California to establish a sustainable reimbursement pathway for school-based mental health services.

"This partnership allows us to deepen the support we provide students in a way that is integrated, accessible, and aligned with our mission,” said Sabrina Schuck, PhD, executive director and scientific advisory board chair at The Craig School. "When mental health services are embedded within the school day, students can receive timely care without additional barriers for families. We are proud to partner with UC Riverside in advancing this model.”