Human Services - Internship Opportunities

Shape Tomorrow's Community Today

Launch your career in public service with Dunn County’s DHS Internship Opportunities. Gain hands-on experience while transforming your classroom knowledge into real-world impact.

Whether you’re pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master's Degree, Dunn County Human Services provides meaningful internship experiences that let you make a difference while building your career.

Turn your education into action. Build your future while strengthening your community.

About Us:

Dunn County DHS works to encourage and foster professional growth and development in our staff and community through utilizing interns and students. Our focus is to ensure interns are gaining experience and knowledge to help clients and improve the health, well-being, and safety of our community. Furthermore, we aim to increase the quality and quantity of a highly trained workforce. By engaging interns, we are able to maximize our programs, services and expertise which ensures the provision of the best practices.

The Department of Human Services Internships are designed for a broad range of degrees:

Associate degree: Human services, Psychology  
Bachelor Degree of Social Work
Bachelor Degree of Psychology, Human development and Family studies, Vocational Rehabilitation
Master Degree of Social Work (generalist and clinical)
Master Degree of Counseling, Vocational Rehabilitation, Marriage and Family therapy

Some programs for which we are able to provide student placements: 

Speech- Language Pathologist (SLP)
Special Education 
Occupational Therapy (OT) 
Physical Therapy (PT)

DHS Program Areas that Offer Internships

Adult Protective Services (APS)

What we do:

APS works with vulnerable adults who maybe experiencing abuse, neglect, self-neglect or financial exploitation.

What an internship might include:

Shadowing APS social workers during intake, investigation, and service planning.
Developing skills and advocacy, mandated reporting, guardianship processes, and interdisciplinary collaboration with healthcare providers, law enforcement, and community agencies.

Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC)

What we do:

ADRC assists older adults, adults with disabilities and caregivers and families with connection to services that support independence, safety, and quality of life.
This includes information and referrals, options counseling, benefits counseling, elder abuse and APS screening, health promotion and nutrition and transportation services.

What an internship might include:

Shadow and assist ADRC staff in providing the above services.
Gain skills in direct services, community education, data entry, and quality improvement projects.

Birth to Three

What is the Birth to 3 Program?

Birth to 3 is an early intervention program for infants and toddlers who have delayed development or special needs.
County Birth to 3 staff work in partnership with parents to identify goals and outcomes for their child and family which will support the child's ability to grow, learn, and communicate.
They also provide opportunities for children to participate in peer group activities and connect families to other resources.

What an Internship Might Include

Shadowing B-3 team while attending home visits or visits to daycares.
Coordination and monitoring of services for families.
Being part of developing service plans, comprehensive evaluations & assessment reports.
Developing skills in maintaining case documentation including progress notes, intervention plans.
Attending regular team meetings, statewide meetings and trainings with the B-3 team and other Human Services staff.
Collaborating with community partners to ensure coordinated and holistic care.

Child Protective Services (CPS)

What we do:

Child Protection Social Workers respond to reports of abuse and neglect of children and provide case planning services to support safety.

What an internship might include:

Shadowing social workers taking child abuse or neglect reports, completing initial assessments, and ongoing case management of CPS cases.
Developing skills in maintaining case documentation, court reports, collaboration with service providers and other community resources.

Community Support Program (CSP)

What we do:

The CSP Team works with adults coping with serious and persistent mental illness. CSP supports clients in managing their mental health in the least restrictive community setting.
CSP provides a variety of services and supports through our interdisciplinary team to be able to assist clients in living their best life while managing their mental health symptoms.

What an internship might include:

Hands-on experience providing mental health services, shadowing intakes, and ongoing case management in an Intensive Behavioral Health program
Developing skills related to building rapport, supporting mental health symptomatology, building social skill groups and advocacy.

Mental Health Crisis

What we do:

Crisis services provide 24/7 support to individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis.
Crisis staff are training in crisis assessment, identification and support for suicidal and other dangerous behaviors, and creating meaningful connections to community supports and resources to ensure least restrictive options are utilized.
Involuntary mental health court involvement and case management.

What an internship might include:

Observing and assisting with crisis calls and mobile response.
Assisting with completing crisis risk assessments and safety planning.
Gaining skills in crisis intervention, systems navigation and trauma informed practices.

Outpatient Mental Health Clinic

What we do:

The Dunn County Behavioral Health Clinic provides mental health counseling to individuals 11 years and older along with medication management to individuals 12 years and old who are residents of Dunn County.
The Clinic provides initial mental health assessments, psychiatric services, medication management, and outpatient mental health counseling to assist individuals in managing their mental health and wellness.

What an internship might include:

Experience and expertise in County mental health environments.
Direct individual psychotherapy in a certified clinic within two weeks of start date.
Perform psychosocial assessments and create treatment plans in collaboration with clients.
Opportunity for family, couples and group therapy.
Weekly clinical supervision provided by a team of licensed professionals, both individually and in groups.
Gain experience with collaborating with CCS, CSP and other interdisciplinary teams.

Youth Justice (YJ)

What we do:

The Youth Justice team works with youth ages 10-18 who have been referred for law violations, truancy, or other behavioral concerns.

What an internship might include:

Shadowing social workers completing juvenile intakes, developing case plans, and coordinating and monitoring services with youth and their families.
Developing skills and advocacy, motivational interviewing, working alongside interdisciplinary teams, and trauma informed practice.