Every year, International Women’s Day (IWD) and Women’s History Month (WHM) serve as powerful reminders of the progress made toward gender equality—and the work still ahead. In 2025, the themes #AccelerateAction for Gender Equality (IWD) and Moving Forward Together: Women Educating and Inspiring Generations (WHM) work together in a way that gets to the heart of our twofold obligation: honoring the crucial role women play in shaping the future

National Recovery Month is celebrated annually in September to recognize the progress that has been made and is possible in mental health and substance use recovery. This yearly observance has special meaning for me. It is a national reminder that the one thing that undergirds all recovery programs is hope: People can and do recover and find healing.

By Tanya KrienVice President, Early Childhood Education A Head Start classroom at The Child Center of NY’s Early Childhood Corona Center,...

As a multiservice organization that provides mental health treatment and support to young New Yorkers, before March 2020 we were busy, serving more than 40,000 New Yorkers annually through our behavioral health, early childhood education, youth development, and other programs across the city.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted young people’s mental health—and adults’, too, if we’re being honest—so the World Health Organization’s World Mental Health Day theme of making mental health and well-being for all a global priority could not have come at a better time.

American adolescence is changing. Three decades ago, the biggest public health threats to teenagers came from binge drinking, drunk driving, teenage pregnancy, and smoking. All have fallen sharply in the United States. In their place are soaring rates of mental illness.

On Thursday, March 10, members of the Child Center team joined 1,500 fellow human services workers and their allies in City Hall Park for the #JustPay Rally. Launched last fall, #JustPay is a citywide advocacy campaign among human services nonprofits like The Child Center to call on our elected officials to end government-sanctioned poverty wages for our workforce.

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, celebrating the histories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

Last month, my colleague Yudelka Ramirez, a family peer advocate with The Child Center of NY’s 0-5 Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative, and I attended a Mental Health Allies Reception, hosted by Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlaine McCray at Gracie Mansion.

By Michele Neuhaus, LCAT, LMHC, CCLSProgram Director, 0-5 Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative As New York City families prepare for...

Incremental change is no longer an option for those who seek to improve the lives of marginalized populations — and if we’re to be honest with ourselves, it never was. After a year of profound loss and social upheaval, the inequalities and deep, historic injustices we’ve been content to just live with have never stood out so dramatically.

As NYC schools shift between in-person and hybrid learning models during the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing is for sure: Remote learning will be around in some fashion for at least a few more months.

As an organization and community dedicated to service and to the potential of every child, it is The Child Center’s job to be there for families through trauma, sickness, and loss. This is our commitment every day, but it has taken on a profound meaning as we process a series of challenging and painful events.

Last Wednesday, pediatric residents of the prestigious Cohen Children’s Medical Center, Northwell Health came to The Child Center’s Corona Head Start location to provide primary medical services, including physical examinations; medical histories; height and weight measurements; vision, hearing, and nutritional screenings; and parental guidance to low-income families.

Earlier this month, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced a plan to raise pay for early childhood teachers. The tentative deal ensures that certified teachers who work in community-based organizations (CBOs) will earn the same starting salary as their Department of Education colleagues who teach in public schools. The increases will happen incrementally, with full parity being achieved by 2021.

By Tanya Krien, Vice President, Early Childhood Education, Administration and Operations Our Corona Head Start students are working hard...

Sesame Street enjoys a well-earned reputation as a trailblazer not only in children’s television, but also in our society at large. From its portrayal and integration of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, (and) People of Color) characters in the 1970s to its more recent additions of characters with autism or incarcerated parents, it has a history of changing hearts and minds — as well as public policy.

September is Attendance Awareness Month, and there’s no better place to spotlight the importance of attendance — and attendance efforts — than August Martin High School in South Jamaica, Queens.

September 9 is Grandparents Day, one of those holidays that’s seen as cluttering up the calendar and a ploy by the greeting card industry. It shouldn’t be. In my line of work, I see a lot of families in which, for a variety of reasons, parents are unable to care for their young children, and it’s the grandparents who step in to fill the role of primary caretaker. According to census figures, 2.7 million grandparents nationwide are raising grandchildren, up 7 percent from 200

At The Child Center of NY, our primary concern is always for the whole family — and how it affects the children’s overall well-being. So when I hear about high-profile cases of domestic violence, my first thought is always how the situation affects the children: those directly involved (e.g., the abuser’s children) as well as those with no direct involvement but whose sense of the world is being formed by what they hear of it — especially from the people they love and trust.