Children's Health Opportunity

BACKGROUND: The Children’s Legal Services (CLS) program in New Jersey provides legal representation to unaccompanied children. To be eligible for services, unaccompanied children must be under the age of 18 at the time they enter the CLS program, have no immigration status, and, at the same time, have been officially designated as an unaccompanied child by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). We help clients understand the immigration systems, prepare them for hearings, evaluate and advise them on the types of immigration applications they can file, and assist them with preparing their filings.

RESPONSIBILITIES:  

The Children’s Health Promotion Intern will assist the Children’s Legal Services (CLS) program with a variety of activities and services, such as Medicaid/New Jersey Family Care application and follow-up, transportation orientations, supported health referrals, and researching and developing health resources for CLS clients. The Children’s Health Promotion Intern will also provide other direct services to CLS clients as needed.

This is an unpaid internship but may be pursued for academic credit. If you are planning to obtain academic credit through the position, please indicate this in your cover letter. 

• Assist clients with Medicaid/New Jersey Family Care follow-up, including application and documentation submission, advocating for and with clients on NJFC hotline, and updating client information with NJFC.  
• Facilitate health and wellness transportation orientations to empower clients to use public transit or other transportation options. 
• Accompany clients to appointments to facilitate check-in, presumptive eligibility Medicaid coverage, and confirm interpretation services.  
• Under the supervision of the CLS team, assess and monitor client needs and make appropriate community referrals. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:  

1. The student will learn about immigrant communities in NJ, with a key focus on CLS clients’ physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.  
2. The student will learn how to effectively navigate health systems that clients frequently use.  
3. The student will develop outreach and advocacy skills.  

REQUIREMENTS:  

• Currently pursuing a master’s degree in public health, social work, or related field. 
• Experience working with diverse populations, ideally in the context of health and wellness.
• Lived or working experience with refugee and/or immigrant populations is highly desirable. 
• Fluency in Spanish is required.