The mission of St. Louis County PHHS is to protect, promote, and improve the health and quality of life in St. Louis County. For the Children’s Mental Health program area specifically, the goal is to educate, assist, and empower families to identify and obtain appropriate services to meet the needs of their child with a severe emotional disturbance, so that the child is able to function well within the home, at school, and in the community.

In a Field I placement, the student will have the opportunity to experience direct social work practice with children and families.  This includes all aspects of the provision of Children’s Mental Health case management services, including the intake process; assessment of needs and strengths; case planning; crisis intervention; strength-based family intervention; service brokering; client advocacy; multidisciplinary team participation; administrative review; service evaluation; and case closure. 

In a Field II, placement the student will have a similar range of experiences as associated with a Field I placement, but at a more advanced pace, complexity, and level of responsibility.  The student would be expected to have primary case management responsibility for a number of cases earlier in their placement.  The opportunity for more in-depth learning and practice experience in a specific area of interest related to children’s mental health will be available to the student, if desired.  The student will be able to engage in additional projects in accordance with their interests and agency needs, which might include research, program evaluation, resource development, policy analysis, professional development, and/or community collaboration.