Coastal Horizons: Child First

Child First is an evidenced-based, voluntary in-home service for families with children under six years old. Focus is placed on the child’s health and development, their important relationships, and the challenges experienced by their parents/caregivers. Child First teams consist of:

•A Clinician who uses Child-Parent Psychotherapy to strengthen the parent-child relationship and/or address childhood trauma.

•A Family Resource Partner who works to provide care coordination services to reduce toxic stress in the environment, focus on a return to healthy development and improvement in executive functioning for the child and caregiver.

Appropriate referrals would be any child 0-5 ½ years old who may have challenges related to their development (emotional, social, or physical), a child who may have been exposed to a trauma, parents with mental health, substance use, domestic violence, chronic poverty or other risk factors that would create chronic stress for the family. Families that participate in Child First services typically stay engaged in treatment from 6 months to 1 year depending on treatment needs. Child must receive Medicaid.

Anyone can make a referral to Child First by completing a Child First referral form located on the Coastal Horizons Center, Inc. website and faxing it to 910-202-5772 or by connecting with a Child First supervisor by calling the office at (910) 202-3155.