The University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Child Access to Mental Health and Psychiatry (CHAMP) Project “is a consultation and educational service for pediatric primary care providers in Mississippi.” That means ANY pediatrician, family medicine doctor or nurse practitioner in Mississippi who sees children ages birth to 21 can call the CHAMP line and get an immediate FREE phone consultation with a child psychiatrist, a child psychologist, a social worker or a resource specialist. Families as Allies partners with CHAMP to provide family support and work on system-level approaches to sustain the service.
As families, we know how important it is for our children to be seen and treated by people they and we already know and trust, including their primary medical care providers. CHAMP’s approach helps families and children. It also helps ease the shortage of mental health providers in Mississippi and likely saves money.
The CHAMP Project recently expanded its work into schools and is adding a full-time professional counselor to help with this expansion. CHAMP for Schools supports children’s mental health through evidence-based support, education, and consultation with Mississippi teachers and school personnel (nurses, school counselors) for classroom management and general mental health support. The counselor also supports CHAMP’s overall aim to increase access to mental health support for children 0-21 years through a telepsychiatry consultation program for Mississippi primary care providers.
CHAMP for Schools focuses on four primary activities:
1. providing consultations to school personnel regarding classroom management of behavioral issues;
2. helping staff understand how to coordinate mental health interventions with IDEA and the TIER process;
3. providing case-based training to teachers, school counselors, and school staff via Project ECHO distance learning, and
4. providing training in evidence-based strategies for behavioral management in the classroom using Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE) training.
See the full job announcement for more details and instructions on how to apply. This position is an excellent opportunity for an LPC/LCSW interested in family-driven education support and advocacy.
