We've been navigating the special needs pathway for six years. We didn't know this program existed until yesterday.
It's called the Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs program, or CYSHCN (pronounced as 'shin'). It’s a state-funded program through the Department of Health — the office we called is one of 48 across New York, and it covers all five boroughs. It's free. And it exists specifically to help parents who feel lost — whether their child was just diagnosed, is waiting on an evaluation, or is stuck fighting a system that won't explain itself.
We called and spoke with Karla Paz, the program's intake coordinator, to find out exactly what it does and who should call.
Services are provided at no cost, and referrals are to no- or low-cost programs.
What CYSHCN Is
CYSHCN doesn't provide therapy directly. It doesn't hand out cash. What it does is act as a free navigation team — the people you call when you don't know which office, which form, or which specialist you need.
The main line is 347-396-4600 — the number I called directly to confirm this reporting. Services are provided at no cost, and referrals are to no- or low-cost programs.
What They Help With
We asked Karla to walk through real situations, one at a time.
A parent can't find a doctor who takes their child's insurance. CYSHCN doesn't handle this directly, but refers families to the Office of Health Insurance Services.
A child was just diagnosed with autism or ADHD, and the parent doesn't know what to do. "We can assist with resources, general information, and referrals for various services," Karla said. That includes evaluations, therapies — in school or at home — and OPWDD eligibility. (Acronyms got you confused? Check out our acronym glossary here.)
This is also, by Karla's own account, the most common call the office gets. When a parent suspects their child has autism, Karla asks what behaviors the child is presenting, then tries to refer the family to clinics or private practices that can evaluate them — factoring in insurance and location.
The wait can be long: Karla said the bigger hospitals currently have an 18-month waitlist for an autism diagnosis or evaluation. When a family is comfortable paying part of the cost, the office will try to pair them with a private practice that takes their insurance, to speed things up.
"We have a no-closed-door policy."
The workaround? Evaluations for OPWDD eligibility are expensive, and the DOE doesn't (usually) pay for them. Free and low-cost clinics that do offer them are backed up for months. But if a child is pursuing OPWDD eligibility, some clinics will do the required evaluation for free — Carla named one specifically: YAI.
Lighthouse called YAI to confirm the details. We spoke with Danny, a scheduling supervisor in YAI's Manhattan office, who corrected one thing right away.
"We don't do neuropsychs," Danny said. "We just do a regular psychological and psychosocial evaluation." If that evaluation turns up a reason to look further, YAI can follow up with an autism evaluation.
The evaluation itself is aimed squarely at one goal. "People get the psychological and psychosocial evaluations to apply for OPWDD services," Danny said. "That's the main thing we use these evaluations for" — ABA therapy, school-based support, and other OPWDD-linked services.
The free version isn't tied to Medicaid status directly — it's for families who have commercial insurance but can't afford to use it for this. Families apply through a "Get Started" form on YAI's website; if approved, the visit is covered by a grant specific to their borough. "Each borough has grants," Danny said — Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan each have their own, and YAI bills the grant directly. "That's something that we would handle," he said. "It wouldn't be something the family would have to handle."
The typical wait, Danny said, is about two weeks from approval to being seen — for both the initial evaluation and any follow-on autism evaluation. Evaluations are offered in English, Spanish, and Mandarin, at the office in the family's own borough.
Other use-cases where CYSHCN can help:
A family doesn't qualify for OPWDD and has no other support. CYSHCN can connect them to C-YES — a Medicaid waiver office — so the family can try to get at least some services covered that way.
A teenager is aging out of pediatric care. Most pediatricians see patients up to age 26, Karla said, but if that's not the case, CYSHCN can help with the transition to an adult medical specialist.
A family is looking for a summer camp or recreation program built for a child with behavioral needs. "Anything regarding services for the child, we try our best to help connect them to those resources," Karla said. "We have a no closed door policy."
A school isn't giving a child the accommodations in their IEP. CYSHCN will inform parents of their rights, and if the situation calls for mediation or another formal process, connect them with an advocacy organization.
A family is struggling with a bus route. Not CYSHCN's direct job, Karla said, but they'll point families to the right office, and the program also participates in outside webinars on how to approach schools about busing.
“The vast majority of our calls are about children who have autism or whose parents suspect that they may have autism.”
What to Expect When You Call
Response time: CYSHCN aims to contact parents within 48 business hours. That can slow down once the school year starts.
Languages: Staff speak English, Spanish, and French directly. Beyond that, the office uses LanguageLine, which covers more than 200 languages through an interpreter.
Money: As of this call, NYC's CYSHCN office does not have an open financial assistance or reimbursement program for out-of-pocket medical bills or equipment — something some other counties' local health departments do offer. In the meantime, Karla said the office will redirect families to outside organizations that do offer reimbursement, sometimes even for furniture affected by a child's condition, like beds or mattresses.
Volume: The office currently gets five to eight calls a day. That number climbs in September and October, once kids have been back in school long enough for teachers to start flagging concerns.
The most common calls: By far, the majority are about autism — parents who suspect it, parents who just got a diagnosis and don't know the next step. Speech and OT evaluations for developmental delays are also frequent.
About Karla
Karla Paz is CYSHCN's intake coordinator and has been with the program for two years. The program itself is more than 20 years old — it started mostly as a dental services program for Medicaid-eligible children with and without disabilities, and has grown substantially since. Funding is renewed roughly every five years through the state.
For more NYC special education coverage, visit the Lighthouse homepage.