The Child Guidance Service is part of a wide range of public health services whose aim is to promote personal health and to protect the state's natural environment. Clinics in the Child Guidance Service system offer preventive, diagnostic and treatment services for developmental, behavioral health, speech, language, and hearing problems.
Emphasis is on prevention, early detection, and short-term treatment.
Child Guidance Clinics are accessible to all residents of Oklahoma, providing multidisciplinary outpatient services for children and their families. Community groups, civic organizations, schools, and health-related agencies also have access to the clinics' consultative and educational services. Thousands of clients annually receive services from the statewide network of Child Guidance Clinics. In the early 1950's, outpatient mental health services for Oklahoma children were virtually non-existent. Although some help was available for severely disordered children, little provision had been made to diagnose and treat mildly to moderately disturbed children under the age of eighteen.