Various Health and Human Services Internships

Job Description

About the Company

The Health and Human Services (HHS) department offers a variety of internships across different divisions, providing valuable experience in public health, aging and disability services, children and families services, veterans services, and behavioral health. These internships may be paid or unpaid, depending on the specific opportunity.

Job Description

HHS offers internships in the following areas:

PUBLIC HEALTH

• Public Health Specialist Internship: Suitable for a broad range of degrees, focusing on health education and communication. Interns develop and improve health education curricula, participate in community events and preparedness activities, and gain experience in community health assessment and improvement planning. Job shadowing opportunities are available across all public health areas.
• Environmental Health Internship: Designed for bachelor-level students with a science background. Interns are exposed to various aspects of environmental health, including water quality, childhood lead poisoning prevention, laboratory work, environmental sample collection, and vector monitoring. Job shadowing opportunities are also available.
• Public Health Nursing Internship: Intended for nursing students pursuing a BSN/MSN or enrolled in a BSN completion program. These internships are tailored to program needs and meet the requirements of community health clinical rotations.
• Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Dietetic Internship – Community Rotation: Supervised by a Registered Dietitian (RD), this internship provides clinical experience in a community WIC setting. Interns engage in nutrition counseling, breastfeeding support, biometric assessment, and community education efforts. It fulfills the clinical requirements of bachelor’s or higher programs.

ADRC (Aging and Disability Resource Center)

• Aging and Disability Resource Center Dietetic Internship – Community Rotation: Supervised by an RD, this internship focuses on delivering nutrition/health education and services to older adults. Interns learn to screen for nutrition risk, provide nutrition counseling, document consumer interactions, and gain exposure to senior nutrition program operations.
• Aging and Disability Resource Center Social Work Internship: Seeking a bachelor’s degree-level social work student. Interns work with older adults and adults with disabilities, providing information and assistance, options counseling, and connecting them to resources and benefits. They gain exposure to elder abuse investigation, senior nutrition programs, health promotion, prevention programs, and Veteran Services.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

• Child Welfare Bachelor Level Internships: Designed for Social Work degrees. Focused on learning and participating in child welfare services to children and families within standards, ordinances, and policies set forth by Chapter 48. They may also work at community events, participate in treatment courts, and experience Access, Initial Assessment, Ongoing Services and Foster Care Services. Job shadowing in all areas of Child Welfare is available as a part of this internship.
• Child Welfare Master Level Internships: For Master of Social Work (MSW) students. Interns learn and participate in child welfare services, progressing from Initial Assessment to Ongoing Services. They experience Treatment Courts and Foster Care Services and may be assigned case responsibilities in the second half of the internship. Research of policies and best practice data, may be assigned. Job shadowing in all areas of Child Welfare is available as a part of this internship.
• Youth Justice Bachelor Level Internships: Suitable for social work, criminal justice, sociology, and psychology degrees. The focus is on learning and participating in youth justice services to adolescents and families. Job shadowing in the area of Youth Justice is part of this internship.

VETERANS

• Veterans Service Office Internship: Offered in collaboration with ADRC, Children & Families, and Behavioral Health Divisions. Suitable for Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Social Work candidates. Interns learn about Federal and State Veterans Benefits navigation, counseling individuals on eligibility for programs, and how to interact with Veterans and their beneficiaries to determine individual needs and how available programs might address those needs.

BHU (Behavioral Health Unit)

• Behavioral Health Internships: Designed for a broad range social service degrees. Focused on providing resources and support for those with a variety of mental health needs. These interns typically work with consumers by assisting mental health professionals with teaching coping skills, symptom management and risk assessments.
• Behavioral Health Case Management Internships: Intended for students pursuing a Master’s degree in Social Services (e.g. Social Work, Counseling). Interns provide mental health services in the community, including assessments, recovery planning, skill development, individual/group counseling, accessing community resources, and psychoeducation. (This is for both Comprehensive Community Services and Community Support Program).
• Behavioral Health Outpatient Clinic Internships: Designed for students pursuing a Master’s degree in Social Services (e.g. Social Work, Counseling). Interns provide mental health services in an outpatient setting, including assessments, recovery planning, skill development, individual/group counseling and psychoeducation.
• Behavioral Health Crisis Intervention Internships: Intended for students pursuing a bachelor’s degree, with a minimum of 500 hours, or a Master’s degree in Social Services (e.g. Social Work, Counseling). Interns provide mental health services in the community such as crisis assessments, linkage and follow up to community resources, and psychoeducation. Interns will work within WI Statute 51, as well as DHS 34.