Community Partner Spotlight: Oaklawn
Oaklawn provides mental health and addiction treatment for children, adolescents, and adults in Elkhart and St. Joseph counties. Our specialized services range from skills training and case management to outpatient therapy and inpatient care. Our mission is to join with others on the journey toward health and wholeness – and the journey is a keyword. We know it’s not a destination at which we can fully arrive, and that the nature of our work involves setbacks and relapses, but we’re committed to being there for clients, families, and our community.
Oaklawn highly values our relationship with the IU School of Social Work. It’s imperative for the future health of our communities to have well-grounded treatment providers, and part of that expertise comes through practice. This is where Oaklawn can be of tremendous value to students: Our range and breadth of services give so many opportunities from which to choose, and our structure ensures clinical supervision and support from people with vast experience. Students have the chance to see what avenues of social work best fit their interests, and we forge relationships that lead to future employment and/or partnerships.
Education doesn’t stop with your degree! At Oaklawn, professional expertise is one of five named core values. The mental health field is constantly improving, and we want our employees to be on the leading edge of best practices because it leads to the best outcomes for clients. That’s why we designate professional education funds for all of our clinical staff and offer an educational grant program for staff pursuing degrees in high-priority areas. In addition to providing many external training opportunities, Oaklawn brings in some of the best minds in the country to provide world-class continuing education right here in our community.
Oaklawn offers so many different career opportunities. With more than 900 employees on four campuses, staff has so much room to grow. Employees say one of the things they like best about Oaklawn is how they can move up, move around and find where they fit best. About 75 percent of our leadership positions are held by people promoted from within. Further, Oaklawn pushes the boundaries of status quo mental health care. We’re often piloting innovative programs and partnerships that have the potential to change community mental health, and our staff gets the first pick of those positions when they come up.
Oaklawn employs scores of social workers and, as a result, many social work values and perspectives are present. Here you will see Person-in-Environment conceptualizations, a focus on improving systems, a Strengths Perspective approach, and the guiding principle of an individual- and family-driven care. Oaklawn employs professionals of many different disciplines and our processes contribute to the respectful consideration of the voice of each discipline as we work together for the greater good of those we serve.
Visit Oaklawn for job openings.