St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund has been a great partner of Provident for more than a decade, allowing us to provide exceptional services to children in our area at an affordable cost. We are proud and honored to share their thoughts on the work we do together.

What makes CSF and Provident good partners?

Part of the St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund’s (CSF) mission is strategically investing in integrated systems of care that deliver effective and quality mental health. Provident is a wonderful example of an organization that lines up with CSF’s mission and one of the reasons Provident has been a partner of CSF since it’s first allocation in 2010. Provident provides quality counseling and psychiatric services in both the community and schools. These services help CSF implement the quality mental health system of care that is so needed for the children and youth of St. Louis County. The CSF Board and staff are grateful for the consistent and professional work Provident provides throughout St. Louis County and proud to have a successful partnership for 11 years.

Why is the work we do together so valuable?

The work CSF and Provident do together is valuable because we are striving to meet the needs of children, youth, and families of St. Louis County so they can reach their full potential. In 2017, CSF conducted a Needs Assessment and found both mental health counseling and psychiatric services were at the top of unmet needs for children, youth, and families in St. Louis County. Four years later this need continues to be documented and has been made even more prevalent with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past 19 months, mental health counseling and psychiatric services have been recognized as a crisis need for children, youth, and their caregivers including parents, teachers, and other individuals who interact with them. Provident has found innovative ways to expand their psychiatric service capacity by hiring psychiatric advanced practice nurse practitioners.

Why has CSF chosen to be a multi-year donor to Provident?

CSF has a multi-year partnership with Provident for several reasons. First, CSF allocates funding through multi-year partnerships called Core funding cycles. Core funding cycles usually span two years. However, due to the pandemic, CSF made the decision to extend Core contracts, like the one we have with Provident, to allow for continued services to children, youth, and families. CSF will move to a three-year funding cycle for Core 2023-2026. The second reason CSF has had an 11-year partnership with Provident is because the organization consistently shows positive outcomes and results for the services and programs they provide, leading CSF to continue the partnership over multiple Core funding cycles. CSF mission is to invest in the children, youth, and families of St. Louis County, because Provident provides top-notch services and programs for those individuals it remains an organization worth investing it.