Education ​/ Teaching Intern

Student Internship Opportunities

There are various departments and programs within the Agency with opportunities for student internships. Clinical internships (i.e., social work, mental health counseling, substance use disorder counseling, etc.) will typically either want/need to pursue an internship within one of our residential cottage programs, the Van Clef Outpatient Substance Treatment Program or the Therapeutic After-School Program (TAP).

The departments and programs with the ability to host internships within the Agency currently include:

• Residential Program
• Van Clef Outpatient Substance Treatment Program
• Therapeutic After-School Program (TAP)
• Information Technology (IT) Department
• Recreation Department
• Quality Improvement Department
• Business/Accounting
• Medical Clinic

Ideally, the fieldwork experience develops the best of each intern's professional capacity and catalyzes a lifelong investment in the values, goals, and skills of working in child welfare and other professions. A student intern will work under the supervision of a staff member who meets the educational and work-related qualifications required by their College/University. We strive to match the services, structure, and culture of our programs and departments with the skills, interests, and time availability of interns.

Depending on the department and job position that a student intern is working with, there are opportunities for interns to be on our campus during regular business hours, weeknights, and weekends.

They will have their own working space with all supplies and equipment needed to complete specified job functions, including access to client files and electronic communications. A student intern will learn how to access and utilize documentation programs to complete tasks related to their duties. A student intern is expected to follow the guidelines of The William George Agency for Children's Services policy and procedures manual and is expected to participate in our new hire orientation training class facilitated by the Human Resources Department Training Coordinator.

Specific tasks will be defined by the student and assigned field instructor, with direction provided by the College/University's educational expectations and learning objectives.

Completed applications go to the Human Resources Department and an interview is scheduled. The interview process is essential to ensure that the student intern and the Agency and/or its representative mutually agree that the student intern's learning needs can be met through the resources available within the Agency. The Agency can refuse to accept a student intern for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to insufficient staffing resources, staffing changes, in congruent fit between the Agency and student intern and limited or no available intern slots.

The Agency has a number of employees who hold a Council on Social Work Education (CWSE) accredited baccalaureate or master social work degree. Clinical internships are typically granted based on the availability of Agency employee, and on the supervisor credentials required by the school (LCSW, LMSW, etc.) Each student intern should carefully review the program descriptions and indicate whether or not there is a specific population with whom they would like or would not like to work during the interview process.

In the event that there is no available employee with a social work degree or licensure, the student can also be assigned a task supervisor with a non-social work degree/licensure. The Agency will then provide the student intern with a Field instructor with a social work degree and/or licensure and will provide one hour of weekly supervision. Overall, the Task Supervisor and the Field Instructor have similar roles with the exception that the Task Supervisor is not required to provide one hour of weekly supervision.

The Task Supervisor/Field Instructor has the multiple tasks of being a "teacher in the field," a mentor, and a professional role model.

The Agency requires that interns complete background checks before the start of their internships. These background checks are intended to protect client rights and well-being and are most frequently required for residential settings, state department of mental health sites, and agencies that serve children, adolescents, and the elderly. Information obtained through background checks may include registered home addresses, driving statuses, aliases, criminal histories, drug statuses, drug possession arrests, and any personal protection orders held against the intern.

The background checks include the following:

• NYS Sex Offender Registry (SOR)
• NYS Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR)
• NYS Justice Center Staff Exclusion List (SEL)
• NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) fingerprinting
• NYS OMIG Medicaid Exclusion List
• Criminal History Record Checks (CHRC)

If a prospective intern previously received a background check, it will not transfer, and a new one is required.…