This on-site Core Services internship will allow undergraduate students to apply their knowledge and skills in a professional, non-profit environment. Duties will be primarily in the areas of direct services which involves working directly with clients as well as staff from Mission Kids’ Programs Department. Interns may also have the ability to work in other Mission Kids’ departments which may include development, community outreach, and prevention education, as needed. Essential skills required include, but are not limited to: exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, strong proficiency in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, strong communication skills, the ability to make positive interpersonal connections, maintain a professional demeanor and the capacity to remain optimistic while dealing with difficult cases. 15-hour work week required (majority spent on-site).

MISSION KIDS CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER

Mission Kids is a nonprofit Child Advocacy Center where a team of professionals respond to allegations of child abuse in Montgomery County. At Mission Kids, child victims are interviewed in a centrally located, child-friendly center by a trained forensic interviewer who specializes in asking age appropriate and non-leading questions to lessen the stress of the interview process. The investigative team observes the interview in real time from a nearby room, providing them with all of the benefits of an in-person interview without subjecting the child to multiple, repetitive interviews that can re-traumatize the child. While the interview is being conducted, the non-offending caregiver meets with one of Mission Kids’ trained Family Advocates. In addition to assuring that the family’s immediate needs are met, the advocates provide referrals for medical care through the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and mental health therapy through one of several providers who specialize in providing treatment to child abuse victims. All services provided at Mission Kids are designed to put the child on the road to healing faster.