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| Icyf < Service_learning < Students < Internship < Meet_the_interns < Intern_stories < | |||||||
Intern Stories
Lisa PainterAgency: Aviva Children's ServicesTerm: Spring - 2003
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| Hello! My name is Lisa Painter and I am doing my internship at Aviva Children's Services. Through Aviva's volunteer program, I work as a case aide for Arizona's Child Protective Services (CPS). Aviva is a non-profit organization that works with CPS to provide resources to the children and families within the CPS system. There are three main programs within Aviva: the volunteer program, the visitation program, and the Arizona Children's Fund. The volunteer program offers many opportunities for individuals to work with the children, parents, and case managers of CPS. As a case aide through the volunteer program, I work with a CPS case manager and perform a variety of tasks. My responsibilities include home visits, writing reports, disclosing documents to the court, attending staffings and court hearings, scheduling appointments, case filing, and researching case records. I wanted to do an internship with Aviva because I have always wanted to work with abused and neglected children. I was also undecided about whether I wanted to get my Masters Degree in Social Work and thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to test the waters. I've been volunteering for Aviva for almost a year and although I don't necessarily want to work with CPS, I now know that I want to become a Social Worker. After graduation, I plan on getting my Masters Degree in Social Work at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and working as a therapist. Since starting this internship I have learned many things about the CPS system, the legal system, and also myself. I continue to learn more as I intern, but so far I know the processes of CPS and the steps that are taken when abuse or neglect is suspected. I must say that working as an intern has given me a great deal of insight about my own decisions as a future social worker. For example, my decision to become a social worker has been strengthened by some of the families I have come in contact with during my internship. One family was recently reunited with their child after the parents completed the case plan that was laid out by the court. A case plan is basically a list of tasks such as counseling, parenting classes, random drug tests, etc. that the parents must complete within a year in order to get their children back. With our help, the parents completed the case plan quickly and completely and the court gave full custody back to the parents. Witnessing success stories such as these gives me confidence that social workers really can make a difference in the lives of families. Anyone thinking of going into Social Work should definitely think about interning at Aviva. It is a great opportunity to experience a wide variety of families and issues involved in this field. Professional social workers deal with families within CPS all of the time. An internship with Aviva would better prepare you for a job in any career involving children and families in need. If you are thinking about interning with Aviva, you should be prepared to see some shocking and sad situations, but also remain positive and confident that you can make a difference. |
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