Creating a school-based mental health program to meet the needs of children in underserved communities and schools: The Derner Hempstead Child Clinic

There is an increasing tendency in the field to develop partnerships between schools and mental health (MH) clinics to address the MH needs of children in schools. Such initiatives are particularly important in providing services to children who attend underfunded and understaffed schools in underserved communities. These initiatives face several challenges that can interfere with the delivery of services. The present paper presents the challenges the Derner Hempstead Child Clinic clinic has faced in providing MH services to the children and families in the town of Hempstead, and in striving to become a source of support to the community.