Admission Criteria

• Client must be severely, emotionally disturbed (preferably with an axis I diagnosis) to the extent which it is creating barriers for the client or those around the client in their daily functioning.
• Client must be failing in more than one social setting (i.e. home, community, school)
• Client must be amenable on some level to treatment intervention (i.e. attending voluntarily)
• Family amenable to child being in day treatment and participating in family meetings (either in the program or with a professional in the community)
• Client must have cognitive ability to participate in group skills and have ability to respond to behavioral limits and structure

Discharge Criteria

• Thorough assessment has been completed and recommendations are made as appropriate
• Client is meeting target goals on their treatment plan and demonstrating progress by decreasing frequency, intensity, and severity of behaviors, and/or increasing level of functioning.
• Client is actively participating in their treatment by:
  • Consistency in attendance
  • Successful functioning in the classroom (behaviorally and socially)
  • Having developed healthy and adaptive coping skills to manage stressors
  • Having clear, specific plans and on-going needs have been determined