Court Assessment Program
The WJCS Court Assessment Program provides psychiatric and psychological assessments of children and their families at the request of family courts in White Plains, Mount Vernon, and New Rochelle. The evaluation results are used to help judges, lawyers, law guardians, and families make informed decisions regarding child custody, visitation rights, residential placement, and mental health treatment. The program has an academic component providing training for psychology students enrolled in the Forensic Psychology Masters’ Program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Psychiatric Fellows enrolled in the Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Contact Kathleen E. McKay, Ph.D, Coordinator (914) 949-7699; [email protected].
Cross Systems Unit
The Cross Systems Unit (CSU) provides social, emotional, and behavioral assistance to children ages 10 to 18 who are at risk of family court involvement and/or out-of-home placements. CSU, a collaboration between WJCS and the Westchester Department of Probation, the Department of Social Services, and the Department of Community Mental Health, offers mental health help to ensure the safety and well-being of youth and families throughout Westchester County. CSU is a contract service through the Westchester County Department of Social Services.
Contact Carol Chu-Peralta, Ph.D., (914) 949-7699 x2448; [email protected].
Linkages and Youth Success – Juvenile Justice Program
Linkages, based in the New Rochelle Family Courthouse, is a coordinated mental health/juvenile justice model program that works in collaboration with the Department of Probation and serves youth and families in New Rochelle, Mount Vernon and Pelham. As part of the WJCS Trager Lemp Center: Treating Trauma and Promoting Resilience, Linkages utilizes evidence-based treatment and services to help survivors heal from the trauma of abuse, violence, and other adverse life experiences. Center programs and activities are also designed to prevent violence and aggression by adults and children. By creating positive alternatives for youth involved in the probation system, Linkages aims to reduce institutional placement, improve support to families, and provide early assessment and treatment of mental health and substance abuse problems.
Contact Suzanne Doll, LMSW, Director, Linkage and Youth Success, (914) 995-4687; [email protected].