INOVA Children's Hospital

Inova Children's Hospital is an award-winning 186-bed, full-service children’s hospital devoted to the healthcare of infants, children and adolescents in the Northern Virginia area. The hospital provides an opportunity for undergraduates or recent graduates to work in various departments throughout he hospital. They generally have the capacity to take two interns, one in the summer and one in fall. However, this is subject to change depending on the applicant pool and/or staffing changes. 

The intern has two rotations – one 6 weeks and one 7 weeks. During this time interns will attend in-services and complete numerous readings and other assignments such as weekly journals, staff interview, medical vocabulary, rotation goals, case study, diagnosis presentation, and a final project. The student starts each rotation in a shadowing role and independence increases each week. As independence develops, interns will begin to introduce services to patients and families, provide developmentally appropriate play and therapeutic activities, and provide procedural preparation and support. 

The population the intern works with will vary depending on the student’s two rotations. Usual rotation options are – General Pediatrics, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Intermediate Care Unit/General Peds, Outpatient Radiology, Outpatient Surgery, ED, Hem/Onc. This can always change depending on staffing changes.

Inova views the internship experience as a two way street; as they work to develop new child life specialist in their students, they also grow and develop as child life specialists and supervisors. They value feedback and communication between the staff and students. 

Location: 3300 Gallows Road, Falls Church, VA 22042

To Apply: Visit their website. 

Little Leaves Behavioral Services

Little Leaves is an organization dedicated to helping people with social, communication, and behavioral challenges grow and succeed so that they can participate as fully as possible in their families and communities. Using evidenced-based practices based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), their professionals partner with each family to develop and implement an individualized therapeutic plan. They also help families coordinate the logistics of therapy so that families can focus their time on what really matters – caring for their children. 

The program currently works with children in their homes, daycares, and schools throughout the metro Washington DC area (Northern Virginia, Maryland, and DC).

Little Leaves is provides a unique, paid opportunity to become a certified ABA therapist who will work directly with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. ABA therapist are paid $15/hour and Little Leaves will work around the student's schedule.

Responsibilities include:

• Working one-on-one with the child to implement the therapy and updating the treatment plan as the child progresses 
• Instructing parents on how to implement strategies with their child
• Supporting children struggling on a particular skill or behavioral problem
• Support child's success in school by building skills necessary to interact with peer and learn in a classroom setting

To Apply: e-mail resumes to jobs@littleleaves.org 

For more information please call: (202)420-8359

Location: 9545 Georgia Ave Silver Spring, MD 20910

Potomac Pathways

Potomac Pathways is a non-institutional atmosphere that incorporate meditation and outdoor adventure activities to treat adolescents and young adults with substance dependence. Client participate in individual and group therapy as well as school and court hearing advocacy.

Some of the typical intern responsibilities include:

• Facilitate group as well as group activities
• Ace as a peer mentor
• Assist writing clinical notes
• Starting dialectical behavior therapy for individuals with personality disorders
• Participate in individual and family therapy sessions
• Attend clinical staff meeting to discuss current clinical issues of the clients
• Work on progress notes

Accept a limited number of interns due to the small size of the program. Interested students should send a resume to  info@potomacpathways.org then follow-up with a phone call (301) 987-7284. 

Potomac Pathways in not easily accessible by metro, but can be reached through public transportation. Please check out the website for additional information about the program and its location www.potomacpathways.org

Youth Development Intern

City of Rockville's Youth Development Program

These programs aim to foster emotional growth for middle school students through facilitating learning in skill building of healthy communication and problem-solving, developing leadership and instilling work readiness skills. 

Program participants:

• Engage in group discussions and activities that explore and reinforce social emotional growth. In addition, topics that relate to peer pressure such as, substance abuse and bullying are explored
• Receive exposure to professional work environments and practices as part of the career exploration aspect of the program
• Participate in Student Service Learning (SSL) activities and projects
• Are involved in recreation activities to include field trips

Interns will:

• Be responsible for administering 2 after-school programs
• Use curriculum-based and small group activities to engage and facilitate learning and skill building
• Be trained in curriculum-based interventions for at-risk adolescents by a certified trainer
• Record attendance and perform administrative tasks related to tracking participant outcomes
• Have the option of overseeing the City of Rockville mentoring program for elementary school students, for exposure to a greater variety of youth development practices

Time commitment for internships:

• Commit to the internship for the 2015-2016 school year
• Work approximately 10-15 hours per week, to be divided as follows:
• 4 hours on Tuesday afternoons devoted to the Achievers after-school program
• 4 hours on Wednesday afternoons devoted to the Boys Group after-school program
• 2-3 hours administrative time each week independent of program time
• Optional: 4 hours on Thursday afternoons devoted to monitoring interactions between mentors and elementary school menses, and acting as a substitute mentor when necessary
• Interns will meet weekly with Community Service Program Coordinator for general supervision to discuss curriculums, outcome tracking and other program goals and concerns

Interns must have a valid driver's license and feel comfortable transporting students in a City of Rockville vehicle. A stipend is award for this internship, and school credit may be available. 

To apply please submit a resume to Sarah Dickinson at sdickinson@rockvillemd.gov

Children's Program at Community Connections

The Children's Program at Community Connections is child-centered, family-focused, and community based. Community Support Specialists meet the child/youth and family in their community locales, learn the values and perspectives of the family and joining with them in affirming skills, abilities, talents and hopes. Problems are recognized in context and addressed through collaborative partnerships with the families and their support networks. Children are seen as often as necessary to achieve their stated goals and objectives.

Community Connections usually do not take more than 1 student per year. Community Connections asks that applicants be seriously committed to the job, and asks that interns be responsible and follow through with the determined time commitment. Interns work with child and families with mental health issues who are from disadvantaged neighborhoods. Intern responsibilities include gathering and organizing data and supplies, as well as organizing and helping with support groups. These activities give interns a lot of exposure to what Community Connections does.

Community Connections works very close to the margin and with people who live close to the margin. They are interested in working with students who are a very good match for us and passionate about and comfortable with mental health issues, children with serious emotional disturbances, and interacting with marginalized populations.

To apply: Application process is being reviewed, but Lori Beyer is in charge of the internship programs. Community Connections is interested in working with carefully selected students. Only serious applicants should apply.

• Main office contact number: 202-546-1512

Location: 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E., Suite 201 Washington DC 20003-2152 (right next to the Eastern Market Metro stop)

Gender and Sexuality Development Program - National Medical Center

The Gender and Sexual Development Program (GSDP) provides outpatient psychosocial consultations and group therapy for adolescents and their families, and a support group for families in the Washington, DC area. The program counsels children and families on these issues:

• behaviors considered at variance with generally-accepted gender roles
• sexual identity issues
• gender identity issues
• psychosocial aspects of Disorders of Sex Development (DSD), also known as intersex conditions (congenital genital variations)

The GSDP takes exceptional undergraduate interns who wish to make a one year commitment. It takes a lot to train an intern, so longer internships are preferred. Only one intern is taken per year. Interns will be working with gender variant/transgender kids. Intern responsibilities vary depending on the students skills. Roles could include working with research families, coordinating aspects of the research team, or participating on publications.

To apply: Contact Dr. John Strang at jstrang@cnmc.org

Location: 15245 Shady Grove Road Rockville, MD. The metro is about 2 miles away, so it is not really within walking distance. 

The Child Development Center at American University

The Child Development Center (CDC) provides high-quality education and care for children 2.5-6 years of age. The CDC provides primary family caregivers within the AU community opportunities to pursue a university education or career, support for the families, as well as an educational experience for university students interested in early childhood education. The CDC tries to collaborate with the psychology department often. They love and appreciate having interns, and interns also benefit from the experience while earning credits for it.

Typically, between 2 and 4 students are accepted per year. Sometimes, there are an additional 1 or 2 for the summer also. Students will be working with about 16 kids, aged 3.5-5.5 depending on the year. Intern responsibilities include assisting teachers with classroom activities, running errands as needed, monitoring and supervising the children, and taking the children outside. Interns serve as teachers assistants, and are never left alone with the children. Interns learn, observe, and ask questions during their time at the CDC. Additionally, they are given an assignment once a week, which can be anything from reading an article for discussion to doing a project revolved around a specifically aggressive or timid child.

To apply, students should coordinate with Dr. Gray in the psychology department. Students should register for the class for credit, fill out the required paperwork and health forms, and go through a routine background check. The CDC loves and welcomes interns!

For more information, click here.

Horace Mann Elementary School

             Horace Mann Elementary offers students an opportunity to learn about and work with children aged 3-11. Interns at this site are usually paired with a particular teacher or classroom, an art program, or “high-risk” students who are in need of extra help with school. The assignment is based on the student’s interests.

 The school has had several AU students join their community in years past, one of which is now on staff full-time. While they are not routinely seeking interns, they are happy to accommodate one or two should the candidate be seen as a good fit. The school emphasizes the importance of carrying one’s self in a professional manner, including the need for punctuality. Students at the school will likely form strong bonds with college interns, so reliability and dedication is of upmost importance.

To Apply: Contact Nora Dean, LCSW at 202.282.0206 or nora.dean@dc.gov.

Location: Horace Mann Elementary is located at 4430 Newark ST, NW WDC 20016 (across Nebraska Ave. from AU).