Student Satisfaction with an Innovative Internship: Collaboration between Research, Practice and Field

Presenter(s)

Michel S. Holien, LCSW

Director of Dissemination, Fostering Healthy Futures
University of Colorado
Allison Malen, MSW

Director of Training and Fidelity, Fostering Healthy Futures
University of Colorado

Youth with disabilities and other marginalized groups are overrepresented in foster care (Mandell & Chaiyachati, 2024) yet often lack support. Fostering Healthy Futures® trains students to work with diverse children using a Positive Youth Development approach. Insights from 100+ interns highlight the impact of training, supervision, and research-practice collaboration.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, attendees should be able to:

Upon completion, participants become familiar with key components of a successful internship model implemented in both research and community-based settings.
Upon completion, participants will be able to identify resources needed to provide the components necessary for student satisfaction with an internship experience as part of a larger prevention program.
Upon completion, participants will be able to explore the options for research faculty, clinical staff and field internship programs to work collaboratively.