Case study · Clinical workforce training
S.T.A.R.T.T.-A.I., a state-funded program led by Dr. Yanfeng Xu at the University of South Carolina College of Social Work, prepares mental health providers to serve children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Dr. Xu presented it at the CSWE 2026 Annual Conference.
Case 1 · Olivia and Andrea 4 sessions
Session feedback Example
Criteria written by the program team. Example from one session in Dr. Xu's CSWE 2026 presentation.
Children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems have very high rates of trauma, and many have little access to mental health care, especially in rural areas. South Carolina providers need practice in trauma-informed, family-centered care delivered remotely.
Added AI client practice to a live ARC workshop and a self-paced telemental health course. The team built its own child and caregiver clients in TMind, a four-session ARC sequence for each case, and its own scoring for every session.
Program design only; outcome data has not been published. Disclosure: TMind's founder is listed as a contributor to Dr. Xu's presentation.
The AI sessions are where providers apply what they learned, in a safe but realistic setting, before using it with real families. The university's program page lists practice on the TMind AI platform as part three.
Training providers on a specific framework? See how to build your own clients and scoring in TMind.
Book a Demo“We built our own clients (a child + a caregiver per case) in TMind. We developed our own evaluation criteria.”
The program team built two cases, each pairing an AI child with an AI caregiver.
Case 1 · Foster care
Olivia is 8 and has moved through multiple foster placements, with a history of neglect and trauma, PTSD, and developmental trauma disorder. Andrea, her new foster parent and a part-time nurse, feels overwhelmed by Olivia's anxiety, bedtime meltdowns, and stealing.
Case 2 · Juvenile justice
Nate is 15 and lives with his paternal aunt, Rebecca, after juvenile detention. He is dealing with depression, anger, isolation, and problematic sexual behaviors. Rebecca gives him a stable home but has little experience with cases like his.
Mental health providers who work, or plan to work, with children and youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and their families. Telemental health can widen access in rural South Carolina, but it brings its own problems: building rapport through a screen, handling a crisis remotely, and clients without a private, quiet space.
Instead of one generic rubric, the team wrote criteria for each of the four sessions, such as playfulness and integrative co-regulation. Each session also comes with guidance, like opening the first session with Olivia in a playful, light tone. Afterward, providers submit their transcript, notes, and TMind feedback to the project team.
S.T.A.R.T.T.-A.I. (Strengthening Trauma-Informed Access Through Resilient Telemental Health Training with Artificial Intelligence in South Carolina) is a training program at the University of South Carolina College of Social Work, led by Dr. Yanfeng Xu and funded by the South Carolina Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare through the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. It combines a live ARC workshop, a self-paced telemental health course, and practice with AI clients on TMind AI.
Yes. In S.T.A.R.T.T.-A.I., providers practice the Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC) framework across four sessions per case: engagement with the child, attachment and regulation work with the caregiver, and competency with the child.
Yes. The University of South Carolina team built two cases in TMind AI, each with an AI child and an AI caregiver: Olivia, an 8-year-old in foster care, with her foster parent Andrea, and Nate, a 15-year-old after juvenile detention, with his aunt Rebecca.
Yes. The University of South Carolina team wrote separate criteria for each of its four ARC sessions. In one session, providers were scored on empathy, curiosity, acceptance, playfulness, and integrative co-regulation.
Yes. S.T.A.R.T.T.-A.I. is for mental health providers who work, or plan to work, with children and families in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, as part of a state-funded effort to expand trauma-informed telemental health care in South Carolina.
TMind AI is a clinical training platform where social work, counseling, and mental health students and providers practice with AI simulated clients and get feedback on each session. Programs using it include Simmons University, Salisbury University, University of Washington, National University of Singapore, Delaware State University, University of South Carolina, Texas Christian University, and the University of Houston.
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