Overview for Sites
Thank you for your interest in providing Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) students with the opportunity to serve an internship under your supervision and mentorship. The experiences students gain through internships help them to ground their theoretical learning with real world experience. Your expertise and guidance provide them a strong foundation towards their development of human services or child development professionals.
Types of Interns
OSU-Cascades has several types of internships available to HDFS students.
HDFS 209- Requires 90 hours of work on-site over 10 weeks (prerequisite is HDFS 107)
HDFS 410 HS Human Services-Requires 300 hours of work on site over 10 weeks (prerequisite is HDFS 209)
HDFS 410 CD Child Development-Requires 270 hours of work on site over 10 weeks (prerequisite is HDFS 330)
Requirements of site supervisors and sponsoring agencies/schools:
Human Services option: Be an agency that performs human services activities. For more information on what human services is, please visit: http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/what-is-human-services.
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Provide a direct supervisor (with a bachelor’s degree or higher or equivalent field experience) who is able to dedicate time to supervise one or more interns.Preferably, this person will hold a degree in one of the many fields of human services. In addition, this person must be employed by the agency and should not be a volunteer.
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Provide interns the opportunity to deliver direct services, under supervision, to individuals, families, or groups.
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Provide interns the opportunity to analyze the needs of clients, develop goals, and design and implement a plan of action.
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Have no legal or ethical investigations or violations in process.
Child Development option: In a school, typically working at the preschool, kindergarten or first grade level.
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Site Supervisor will be the classroom teacher.
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Provide the interns the opportunity to work directly with the children under the supervision of the teacher.
Benefits of having an Intern:
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Interns bring new ideas and perspectives.
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Expand your pool of qualified potential hires.
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Potentially increase retention: Interns hired after internships are more likely to stay with the agency (NACE, 2012, Experiential Education Survey).
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Provide practical skills and knowledge to incoming professionals; shape and promote the field of human services and/or school settings.
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Potential cost savings in training, recruiting, and evaluating potential employees.
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Support OSU-Cascades HDFS students and the community
Inappropriate Activities for Interns:
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Clerical activities as the primary function of their internship. (No more than 20%)
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Childcare as the primary function of their internship. (Unless the student is on the child development track.)
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Providing services to clients with no supervisor available.
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Academic research.
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Fundraising as the primary function of their internship.
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Activities that conflict with required seminar/course attendance. Students cannot miss seminars due to internship responsibilities.
Application Process and Timelines
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Students researcher sites and work with OSU-Cascades Internship Coordinator, Kelly Scheuerman, to determine their top choices for their internship.
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Internship Coordinator contacts the chosen site 2-4 months before expected placement to determine if the site is interested in hosting a Cascades’ student.
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If the site is interested in hosting, Internship Coordinator sends student’s resume to site supervisor.
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Internship coordinator instructs the student to schedule an interview with the site within two weeks of initial contact with the site.
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After the completion of the interview, the Internship Coordinator contacts the site and the student to confirm both parties are interested in proceeding with the placement.
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If both parties have agreed on the placement, the student will be instructed to contact the site to complete any paperwork, training, and figure out start date and work schedule.
Criminal Background Check Policy
It is not OSU policy to perform background checks on OSU students, and OSU does not certify or vouch for the background of the students who participate in this internship. Accordingly, sites must conduct their own background check or require the student to obtain a background check if the site would like to use that information to determine fitness for duty.
Site Supervisor Responsibilities
By having an OSU HDFS intern, the Site Supervisor agrees to:
- Orient the intern to the agency/firm/school, including any training normally given to new employees at the professional level.
- Provide opportunities for the fulfillment of the Intern’s goals
- When necessary, work in cooperation with the Intern and the Program Coordinator to revise Intern goals
- Provide individual guidance and supervise the Intern’s work during the field placement.
- Facilitate, whenever feasible, the Intern’s participation in staff/employee activities of a professional nature.
- Confer with the Internship Instructor on any problems or ways in which the Internship Program Coordinator may assist with the achievement of the Intern’s goals.
- Complete a written evaluation of the Intern at the end of the term.
- Meet with the intern to discuss weekly assignments, with the understanding that it is the intern’s responsibility to initiate these meetings.
Intern Responsibilities
As part of the internship work, the interns agree to:
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Work a total of 90 (HDFS 209) or 270 (HDFS410/CD) or 300 (HDFS 410/HS) hours at the internship site.
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In the event of illness, notify the Site Supervisor immediately.
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Follow all pertinent policies and regulations of the agency/firm/school.
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Provide all personal expenses connected with the internship, including transportation to and from the place of work, housing and other personal/professional needs.
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Keep the Internship Instructor informed of progress on assigned responsibilities, including problems that I encounter, changes in my internship responsibilities, and any other relevant matters.
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Conduct oneself in a professional manner.
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Abide by the ethical standards specified by my internship site and as outlined in the human services code of ethics.
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Accept responsibility for providing own liability, health, and accident insurance.
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Participate in all seminar components of the internship experience.
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Complete all assignments given by the Internship Instructor, including weekly meetings with site supervisors.
Internship Program Instructor Responsibilities
The Internship Instructor agrees to:
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Serve as a liaison and resource person for the Intern and Site Supervisor to facilitate the Intern’s goals.
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Supervise the Intern via contact with both the Intern and the Site Supervisor.
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When necessary, help to resolve problems between the Intern and his/her Site Supervisor and terminate relationships that are not working.
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Provide leadership for the seminar component of the internship experience.
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Evaluate the Intern’s written assignments.
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Assess the Intern’s midterm and final evaluation, completed by Site Supervisors.
Assign a grade upon completion of the internship and seminar experiences.
Site Supervisor Onboarding Checklist
Before the internship
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Ensure that all paperwork has been turned in before the official start date
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Confirm start date and weekly schedule with intern, advise her/him on dress code and outline what student should bring the first day.
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Set up a workstation (if applicable) for intern (key /FOB, email, computer, etc…)
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Prepare orientation schedule/training for intern for first week
First week
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Take the intern on a tour of the facility and introduce him/her to the staff
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Provide training on any systems/procedures they will need to use
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Schedule weekly or bi-weekly check ins with the intern
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Review general day to day responsibilities
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Explain how interns assigned duties/projects will add value to the agency
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Review the learning agreement document that the student will provide
During the internship
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Provide feedback on intern’s performance and address any areas of improvement
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Communicate any feedback from the team members and other employees
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Ask for feedback from the intern about their experience with your agency
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Allow time to answer any questions the interns may have about their work or the work of the agency.
End of Internship
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Fill out the internship evaluation form provided to you by the student
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Attend the 20-30-minute evaluation meeting scheduled with the intern and OSU-Cascades Internship instructor
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Provide any additional feedback to the instructor or site placement coordinator