CHILD was founded in 1977 by special education teacher, Trina Westerlund, who continues as our Executive Director and visionary leader today.  Her vision to create a safe space for children to learn remains strong; and more than three decades later, the need for CHILD has not diminished, but in fact grown.

In 1998, CHILD’s leadership was introduced to the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) model of care, developed by Dr. Ross Greene, and since then we have worked intensively to adapt this highly effective program to fit the unique needs and circumstances of our students and teachers.

CHILD currently serves 50 full-time students from 19 school districts who live in King, Pierce, Island, Snohomish, Kitsap and Thurston counties and commute daily to our site on Mercer Island.

Recent years have brought a surge in the number of children with social, emotional, neurological and mental health issues.  The children served by CHILD are those in need of more academic and social support services than the wide array provided within existing public school special education programs in our region.  In response to the dramatically increasing need for therapeutic educational placements, CHILD offers a highly specialized world-class intervention program for children ages 3–17 years.

Challenges faced by clients at CHILD include, but are not limited to: immature neurological development; language and communication disorders; autism; trauma or crisis; ADD/ADHD; Sensory Processing Disorders; mood regulation and impulsivity concerns; identified or suspected learning disabilities; and school avoidance. Many children are coping with combinations of disabilities that must be patiently discerned and addressed.

In addition to our full-day school, CHILD offers occupational therapy,  speech and language therapy, mental health (emotional/behavioral) therapy, life skills training, and academic support to hundreds more children on an outpatient basis. The key objective is to remove barriers to learning and support students in learning, developing and applying new skills and information that allow them to be successful in more traditional school settings.

CHILD is approved by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to provide contracted therapeutic services to students from public school districts whose resources cannot adequately serve the complex needs of struggling children.

CHILD is accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools and the Washington Federation of Independent Schools.