In 1996, The Second Step collaborated with Children's Charter, Inc., an agency that specializes in the treatment of families that have experienced trauma, to develop and implement a Therapeutic Afterschool Childhood Intervention Service. This innovative collaboration has resulted in the creation of a therapeutic group program that takes place at TSS each afternoon, facilitated by staff with specialized skills in early childhood education and therapeutic work.

The children of TSS must deal with the risks associated with being a witness to violence and a victim of abuse as well as a range of secondary risks associated with their family situations. Experiencing homelessness and shelter residence, the loss of familiar attachments and routines, and adjusting to a single-parent family in which the mother's ability to parent may be compromised by earlier traumatic experiences increases a child's vulnerability. The mission of our therapeutic afterschool program is to foster resiliency in its participants. Its goals are to increase children's adaptive coping strategies, improve mother-child relationships, foster academic growth, and increase children's self-esteem.

The environment of this program was especially designed to meet the needs of its participants for safety, appropriate stimulation, and opportunities for social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. The curriculum addresses the identified needs of child witnesses to violence and is also tailored to the current group's own interests and specific issues. The program provides opportunities for constructive conflict resolution and fosters rewarding social experiences free of violence and aggression. The executive director carefully reviews program decisions and maintains regular and close contact with the mothers of participants.