Helping The Behaviorally Challenging Child

Helping the Behaviorally Challenging Child (HBCC) is a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation committed to helping behaviorally challenging children, teens and young adults lead more productive and inclusive lives.

Helping the Behaviorally Challenging Child (HBCC) is the only organization in Orange County focused exclusively on a system of care around Collaborative Problem Solving® (CPS). The Collaborative Problem Solving® approach is owned and developed by Think:Kids (www.thinkkids.org), a program based in the Department of Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. This evidence-based approach helps with parenting, teaching, and treating children, teens, and young adults who have trouble meeting demands at home, school and work. We recognize that behavior is communication, and that challenging behavior often stems from trauma, mental health challenges and/or diversity.

Since 2007 HBCC in Orange County, California has been a leader in this innovative model that has proven its efficacy at all levels of caregiver support. Both locally and nationally since 2002 this approach has realized improved outcomes in treatment and ultimately has improved relationships between children and their parents, their teachers, families, caregivers and their employers.

Since it's founding in 2013, HBCC has served over 1,000 families. In the past year, we served families from 27 cities across the county. The majority of youth supported by our programs have been diagnosed with one or more disabilities. More than half have been subjected to punitive or exclusionary discipline. In a post-program survey, 100% of respondents indicated that they would recommend our programs to others. Our focus on building skills within the context of a supportive and trusting relationship means that changes are lasting. The best evidence of the lasting impact of our work is reflected in the words of the families we support. We recently received an email that read: "I hope the program you started years ago is still going strong and growing. I think of you still, your personal story, and how your program literally transformed our lives. Can you believe the little person that led us to seek you out just graduated from high school?" Another family shared "not only has your program helped my teenage daughter and our relationship, you also gave me the tools to get through to my now 23-year-old stepson. I cannot imagine where our family would be right now, had I not met you. You have impacted our lives and those around us for the better, forever!" In another testimonial, a mother shared "Participating in this class has taught my husband and I so many important lessons that are not only improving our parenting skills, but truly changing the quality of our family dynamics. I firmly believe that our participation in this class will help us to completely change the trajectory of our child's life and I couldn't be happier."

The positive anecdotal feedback we receive is corroborated by surveys completed by our program graduates. In the last year, 100% of program participants state that they would recommend the course to others.

More than half of the families we serve express that the cost of raising their challenging child is "significant" for their family. Our greatest need is securing contributions to sustain and expand our ability to provide our services at low or no-cost to families needing financial assistance. This includes our parent education and support services, as well as special education advocacy services. We currently have a goal of expanding our special education advocacy services to help our families secure appropriate supports and services for their child(ren) in the least restrictive environment, and that those supports and services are designed using a trauma-informed, neurodiversity affirming lens. Finally, in order to increase our organizational efficiency, reach, and impact, we are in need of funding to implement a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. This technology will streamline our internal processes, enhance communication with stakeholders, and enable us to better track and serve the needs of our clients. By investing in a CRM system, we aim to maximize the effectiveness of our programs and outreach efforts.

Southern California, with an emphasis on Orange County