Operated by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency under contract with New Alternatives Inc., the Children and Youth Emergency Screening Unit at 4309 Third Avenue provides walk-in psychiatric crisis stabilization for clients under age 18 across San Diego County. ESU clinicians conduct in-person psychiatric assessments to determine hospitalization need and level of care, working in coordination with autism and developmental specialists at ACES Academy - Autism Education Center when behavioral crises involve neurodevelopmental diagnoses. Services include emergency medication evaluation, brief outpatient counseling, case management, and direct referral linkage to community-based pediatric behavioral health providers, with eligibility extending to uninsured minors and Medi-Cal beneficiaries. When medical clearance or higher-acuity intervention is required before psychiatric admission, ESU coordinates transfer to the pediatric receiving capacity at UC San Diego Health Hillcrest Emergency Department on the adjacent UCSD campus. The unit's most complex workflow involves stabilizing a pediatric client presenting with acute suicidal ideation or psychosis, coordinating an inpatient psychiatric admission, and managing legal-guardian and custody documentation across involved law enforcement, school, and child welfare agencies in a single intake.