Astor Services Announces Home-Based Crisis Intervention HBCI Program

HUDSON VALLEY & CATSKILLS — Astor Services, a leading provider of quality mental and behavioral health and education services for children, young adults, and their families, announced today that its Home-Based Crisis Intervention Program (HBCI) is now available in New York’s Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Columbia, and Greene counties. HBCI is a unique clinical service funded by the New York Office of Mental Health (OMH), focused on preventing unnecessary psychiatric hospitalizations for youth ages 5 to 20. Astor Services has been providing HBCI services for more than 30 years, initially in Dutchess County and then in Ulster County and, with the addition of these five counties served, has become the largest provider of HBCI services in New York State. 

“HBCI services are an intensive form of treatment that allows children who are at risk of psychiatric hospitalization to receive high-quality mental health care at home instead,” said Astor Services CEO Yvette Bairan. “Through the services of HBCI, Astor aims to reduce the trauma of a child being separated from their family and provide the structure and resources for treatment to be successful where they live. These services are completely free thanks to funding from the New York Office of Mental Health (NY OMH) and local county partners. Families do not even have to have insurance to be able to enroll in HBCI, which aligns with Astor’s mission of expanding access to care.” 

HBCI services are primarily provided in-person in the client’s home, school, and community to address challenges where they are occurring. During four to six weeks of treatment, services include intensive individual counseling, family therapy, parental coaching, and care coordination. Additionally, 24/7 crisis support is offered to address safety concerns, including suicidal and self-harming behaviors, as well as impulse control and physical aggression challenges. Astor’s HBCI teams have a track record of delivering excellent results, typically preventing hospitalization for at least 90% of youth served with client satisfaction rates that exceed 90%. 

Recognizing this success, in mid-2024 NY OMH selected Astor Services through a competitive proposal process to expand HBCI from Dutchess and Ulster counties, to Westchester, Putnam, Columbia and Greene Counties. By September 2024, Astor onboarded HBCI staff for these counties and started accepting new client referrals. In October 2024, Rockland County also selected Astor Services as an HBCI provider through a competitive proposal process. Astor's expanded HBCI team is now the largest In New York, providing essential crisis mental health services for children and families for more than 2 million residents across seven counties.