REACH Services for Children & Teens

Compassionate crisis response for your child

Few things are harder than seeing your child in pain and not knowing what to do. When a crisis event occurs—whether it’s at home, at school, or in the community—it can cause intense emotional reactions, especially for children with special needs.

The Regional Education Assessment Crisis Services Habilitation (REACH) program is specifically designed to give children and teens with an Intellectual or Developmental Disability (ID/DD) the resources and supportive interventions they need in a crisis situation so they can heal and move forward.

What the REACH Mobile Crisis Team is

REACH is a regional 24/7 community-based mobile crisis team designed to provide immediate intervention and prevent the need for a higher level of care (like hospitalization). Our ultimate goal is to support the least restrictive care necessary, keeping your child stable, safe, and at home.

When a crisis occurs, our Master’s level clinicians respond directly to provide:

Immediate Mobile Crisis Response: 24/7/365 assessment and stabilization services right where the child is experiencing the crisis.

Crisis Education Prevention Plan (CEPP): The development and implementation of a personalized CEPP to help you manage your child’s future challenges.

Support System Training: Education and training for parents, caregivers, and teachers to help you better understand the ways children with ID/DD process traumatic events and the specific strategies you can use to help them.

Higher-Level Prevention: Targeted supports and resources to prevent hospitalization, juvenile justice involvement, or danger to themselves or others.

Who the REACH program serves

REACH is available throughout the Region Five service area (including Western Tidewater, Chesapeake, Williamsburg, Eastern Shore, Hampton-Newport News, Middle Peninsula-Northern Neck, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach).

This program serves children and teens (under the age of 18) who:

• Have been identified as having an intellectual or developmental disability.
• Are experiencing a mental health emergency, challenging behavioral needs, or a change in typical behavior that places the child or your family in danger.
• Have limited coping skills and are overwhelmed by traumatic events (such as violence, a sudden life change, or a community tragedy).

You’re not alone. Recovery support is here.

If you are trying to rebuild stability after your child’s behavioral or mental health crisis, your family does not have to do it by yourselves. The REACH program can be a practical next step toward stronger routines, healthier coping, and more connection.

WTCSB is here to help you find the right level of support and move forward one step at a time.