Human Services Intern

The Larimer County Department of Human Services is seeking empathetic and self-motivated students for non-paid, temporary internship opportunities in our Aging and Adult Division and in our Children, Youth, and Families Division!

Students will have the opportunity to shadow caseworkers, assist with follow-up tasks and responsibilities, observe case staffing, and engage in supervised client interactions.
 
Interns may have the opportunity to observe while caseworkers: assess the functioning of clients in the context of their chosen environments, identify strengths and needs, develop case plans, determine their capacity to make life choice decisions, coordinate the delivery of services from community agencies, document cases, prepare reports, and more.


Internships will allow for students to shadow and assist caseworkers in the following duties (all of which will be supervised by a certified caseworker): 

Children, Youth, and Family Services Interns:
https://www.larimer.gov/humanservices/cyf

• Home visits, court, and family meetings.
  
• Supervise parenting time.
  
• Complete and document contacts with parents, collaterals, and other professionals.
  
• Attend and engage in team meetings, consultations, and group supervision.
  
• Review various files for information, paperwork, and reports relevant to casework.
  
• Transport youth and parents to appointments. 

Aging and Adult Services Interns:
Adult Protection Unit
https://www.larimer.gov/humanservices/aging/adult-protective-services

• Assess allegations including safety and risks of referral cases, completing intake and assessment, and conducting interviews with collaterals and victims.
  
• Assess strengths and needs of at-risk adults to include physical status, environment, finances, medical, and mental cognition.
  
• Design case plans to address and facilitate support network involvement, available resources, and coordinate client services and referrals.
  
• Participate in new referral staffing.
  
• Perform research to obtain additional information from other agencies and individuals as needed.
  
• Provide crisis intervention and case management as needed to assist clients in decision making and problem resolution; acts as an advocate for clients.
  
• Coordinate client services and safety with other County departments and collateral professionals and agencies (i.e. law enforcement, medical and mental health personnel, and legal professionals).  
  
• Collaborate with other Caseworkers.
• May initiate Social Security and Medicaid Services for clients to receive benefits.

Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program 
https://www.larimer.gov/humanservices/aging/ooa/long-term-care-ombudsman 

• Support and advocate for residents in times of concern.
• Attend resident council meetings.
• Offer training and support for both assisted living and skilled nursing facilities.
• Learn documentation requirements for case management of the residents.
• Build relationships with facility staff, residents and their families. 

Office on Aging
https://www.larimer.gov/humanservices/aging/ooa 

• Shadow and assist in a vast array of case management duties.
• Assist with options counseling, Medicaid applications, offer information and referral to clients regarding aging resources, advocacy efforts. 
• Observe and assist with the caregiver program including case management, classes, and finding resources and support for the caregivers of the clients.

To view the full description, visit https://www.larimer.org/hr/careers/job-descriptions#/app/detail/Human_Services_Intern_TEMP 

Undergraduate Internship

• One (1) year of college education in a Human Services or directly related field required.
• Concurrent enrollment in a course that requires work experience hours through a Human Services Internship required.
• High school diploma or GED required.
• Possession of a valid Driver's License by date of hire required.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) skills preferred.

Graduate Internship

• Enrollment in a Masters of Social Work program
• High school diploma or GED required.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) skills preferred.
• Possession of a valid Driver's License by date of hire required.

This is not a paid internship.

The position will be located at one of the following three locations: 1501 Blue Spruce Drive, Fort Collins, 2555 Midpoint Drive, Fort Collins, or  200 Peridot Avenue, Loveland. 

All new employees and rehires will be required to submit fingerprints for a CBI criminal background check (c.r.s. 26-6-104).

All staff working in the Options for Long Term Care Unit, Adult Protection Unit, or Office on Aging will be required to submit information for a Colorado Adult Protective Services data system check (c.r.s. 26-3-1-111).

An offer of employment is contingent upon the successful completion of required pre-employment testing. Depending on the position, these checks may include, but are not limited to; reference checks, motor vehicle reports, employment verification, education verification, fingerprinting, criminal history information, physical, and a drug screening. As marijuana is an illegal substance under federal law, testing positive for marijuana (medical or otherwise) or any other substance for which the county tests, will result in the contingent offer of employment being revoked. Successful completion of the drug screen is defined as obtaining a negative result.

This posting is "Continuous" as the internship has ongoing vacancies. Applications will be reviewed as vacancies become available.

Larimer County is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment in all employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation), national origin, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, military status, or any other characteristic protected by law or regulation.