Intake & FAQ for New and Returning Patients

If you are having a mental health emergency, please call 911 and/or take your child to the nearest emergency room. The Children’s Program is not a clinic for patients with urgent care needs, or patients who have recently been discharged from in-patient mental health treatment centers. Appointment availability for first-time clients varies seasonally from clinician to clinician. During your intake phone conversation, we will always offer you the soonest available appointment times. We do not maintain a cancellation list for new clients. You are welcome to call the main intake line at (503)548-4844 or email info@childrensprogram.com with basic inquiries. However, please be aware:

• We prioritize reaching out to prospective and returning clients who have filled out our online intake form. If you call us without filling out the form first, we will need to have a longer phone conversation in order to collect all relevant information, and to determine if we have a provider who can meet your needs.

Intake staff spend the day on the phone; if you choose to call us, you will likely need to leave a message. When leaving a voicemail, please:

• Slowly spell your first and last name;
• Leave a contact phone number
• Provide windows of time over the next few days when you are most available to receive a call back.

Yes, you need to fill out the online intake form if any of the following apply to the child for whom you are seeking an appointment:

• This child has never received services at our clinic before (this includes siblings of children who are current patients);
• This child’s last appointment in our clinic was more than 4 months ago;
• You would like to schedule this child with a new provider within our clinic;
• This child’s last appointment with the requested provider was more than 4 months ago.

No, you do not need to fill out the intake form if the child for whom you are seeking an appointment:

• Has attended an appointment at the Children’s Program within the last 4 months (please call the front desk at (503) 452-8002 during business hours and press 2 to schedule).
• Has received a referral from a clinician within our practice for further services (your clinician will submit the referral to clinic staff, we will determine if your insurance requires preauthorization for this service and request it if necessary, and we will call you when your referral is ready for scheduling).

Yes. Even if you have a referral from a healthcare provider, we still want to speak with you in order to ensure that we can provide the best and most appropriate service for you.

Please note that health insurance companies do NOT cover any costs for testing related to strictly academic or learning concerns (e.g., dyslexia, dysgraphia, other learning disabilities). If you are seeking this type of evaluation for your child, please still fill out the online intake form, and we will provide you with cost estimates during your intake phone call.

All of our clinicians begin the treatment or evaluation process with a face-to-face parents-only initial consultation. This adults-only appointment is crucial because it allows you to candidly discuss issues related to your child’s mental health or behavior, and to meet the clinician before they are introduced to your child.

Please be aware that returning clients whose last appointment was more than 4 months ago must schedule another parents-only consultation to resume services at the clinic.

Yes. If your child has any visitation with a parent who is no longer a member of your household, the Children’s Program requires said parent to attend the initial consultation; both parents are required to attend the first appointment any time you see a new provider within our clinic. Please note that this policy applies even if one parent has full legal custody of the child. The online intake form provides you with the opportunity to disclose further information about your individual situation.

We are not the appropriate providers for families who are currently engaged in legal proceedings (e.g., divorce, custody arrangements, parenting plans, application for guardianship, open DHS case).

Please call your insurance carrier to ask about your plan’s mental health benefits and coverage. Although we collect your insurance information at the time of intake, we do not check your benefits until a few business days before your appointment.

You may cancel a scheduled therapy or consultation appointment at no charge with as little as 2 business days’ notice.  If you cancel with less than two business days’ notice, you will be assessed a fee of up to 100% of the appointment cost.  Cancellations left on voicemail or emailed after business hours will be considered received as of the next business day.

Our cancellation policy reflects an increasing trend of appointment cancellations on short notice. While we realize emergencies and other scheduling conflicts are sometimes unavoidable, our cancellation policy is designed to respect both your clinician’s time and the scheduling needs of other families.