Policy Intern - Fall 2026

The Center for Family Representation Inc. (CFR) is an award-winning, innovative law and policy organization that serves primarily Black and Brown families and youth in Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island with an interdisciplinary legal defense model that serves more than 2400 clients every year. CFR was originally founded in 2002 to dramatically change the trajectory of indigent parents being prosecuted by the City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). Our goal is to defend and protect our clients’ rights, reduce the harm of family separation and prevent or minimize the time any child spends in the foster system.

The Center for Family Representation is seeking an enthusiastic and motivated intern to support our Policy team with a variety of projects and daily operations. In this role, you will assist the Policy department by conducting policy research and analysis, monitoring legislative and regulatory developments, supporting stakeholder engagement and relationship-building efforts, and helping to strengthen systems and processes that advance CFR’s policy and advocacy work. The intern will have opportunities to contribute to substantive projects, develop research and analytical skills, and gain firsthand experience in the areas of public policy, legislative advocacy, family defense, and systemic reform.

Responsibilities

Policy Research and Analysis

Under the supervision of the Senior Policy Counsel, the policy intern will have the opportunity to:

• Conduct research on family defense, the family policing system, racial equity, systemic reform and other related policy issues affecting families.
• Monitor relevant legislation, regulations, agency policies, court decisions, research, and emerging policy developments at the city, state, and federal levels.
• Gather, organize, and analyze qualitative and quantitative data to support CFR’s policy advocacy efforts.
• Prepare research briefs, policy memoranda, talking points, testimony, background materials, and other written products for internal and external audiences. ● Support the development of policy recommendations grounded in research, client experiences, and CFR’s mission.
• Track and synthesize news coverage and public discourse related to family defense.

Relationship Building and Networking

Under the supervision of the Senior Policy Counsel, the policy intern will have the opportunity to:

• Research and maintain information on policymakers, government agencies, advocacy organizations, community-based organizations, researchers, and other stakeholders relevant to CFR’s policy priorities.
• Support outreach and engagement with external partners and stakeholders, including scheduling meetings, preparing briefing materials, and documenting follow-up items. ● Attend relevant coalition and/or campaign meetings, legislative hearings, briefings, webinars, and community events and share key takeaways with the team. ● Help identify opportunities for CFR to build partnerships, participate in coalitions, and strengthen its presence in policy and advocacy spaces.
• Maintain organized records of stakeholder relationships, contacts, and engagement activities.

Capacity Building and Systemization

Under the supervision of the Senior Policy Counsel, the policy intern will have the opportunity to:

• Support the development and improvement of systems for tracking policy developments, legislative activity, stakeholder engagement, and advocacy opportunities. ● Create and maintain organized databases, trackers, research libraries, and other tools that improve the team’s ability to access and use information.
• Help develop templates, protocols, and workflows that make recurring policy and advocacy processes more efficient and consistent.
• Document research processes, institutional knowledge, standard operating procedures (SOP) and best practices to support continuity across the team.

Special Project

Throughout the semester, the Policy Intern will have the opportunity to develop and complete a special project aligned with CFR’s policy priorities and the intern’s interests and skills. The project will allow the intern to take ownership of a substantive policy issue or organizational need, conduct independent research and analysis, and develop a final product that can support CFR’s ongoing advocacy and policy work.

Potential projects may include developing a policy brief, conducting a landscape analysis, creating a stakeholder or legislative tracker, drafting a bill, or developing a resource or system to strengthen CFR’s policy capacity. The intern will work closely with members of the Policy to refine the project scope, receive feedback, and present their findings or recommendations at the conclusion of the semester.

CFR will consider undergraduate and graduate students with a demonstrated interest in our and/or related work. All applicants must be affiliated with an accredited program for academic credit internship and/or paid fellowship.

Application Instructions: To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, one to two-page writing sample, and list of Senior Policy Counsel, Jessica Persaud, (jpersaud@cfrny.org). Kindly put "Fall 2026 Policy Intern" in the subject line. Please also include any relevant information regarding your for-credit internship or fellowship program through your school or funding provider. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Anticipated start date is September 14th, 2026. End date is based upon the candidate's individual program/funding affiliation requirements.