The child Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) is designed as an alternative to inpatient hospitalization. This short-term day treatment program is for children who require intensive support and structure, but not 24-hour supervision. Patients may be enrolled directly into a PHP program or may be stepped down from a hospital setting to facilitate the quickest return to the home setting.

Our program is designed to work for children and individual, cognitive, emotional and developmental needs are considered. Parents and family members are actively involved in the patient’s treatment. Children that enter this program are having significant problems functioning in their family, school and/or community setting. Clinical intervention becomes necessary when other attempts to resolve these problems have been unsuccessful.

All participants in the child PHP will be offered educational services. The Fargo Public School district provides staff—including a licensed teacher—to help patients complete work required by their home school. Education services are also available for eight weeks during the summer where students may participate in remedial, age/grade appropriate or enrichment type activities in the classroom.

Partial Hospitalization Programs run from 8:10 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. Monday through Friday for children with mental illness.

Treatment Goals

The treatment goals for child Partial Hospitalization include:

• Stabilize illness/behavior
• Learn skills and increase understanding necessary to resume basic occupational, educational or interpersonal functioning
• Prepare individuals for a return to healthy school/social/family relationships
• Teach use of available family, community and social support resources to avoid relapse
• Transition successfully to clinic follow up or other levels of care as appropriate

Prairie St. John’s provides a number of services for children, adolescents and adults facing mental health issues, substance use disorder or co-occurring disorders. For a confidential, no-cost assessment call 701-476-7200 anytime, day or night.