Internship : Justice Related Services

Access Services is seeking an intern who will learn from, support, and work alongside a treatment court specialist to support individuals served through our Justice Related Services program in the Lower Bucks County, PA area. This internship will begin in January 2025 and continue through May 2025, or longer as determined by mutual agreement of Director and Intern. 

Location: This internship will be completed in the towns of Levittown, Langhorne, Morrisville, Yardley, Fairless Hills, with an office base in Plymouth Meeting, PA.   

Field Experience/Supervision: The Justice Related Services (JRS) intern will work alongside our treatment court specialist to help those living with mental illness, substance use disorder, on probation, or those who have some form of forensic involvement.  Field experience for this internship will involve serving this population effectively by providing support with administrative work and client engagement.  To be selected, the intern must meet all qualifying and ongoing job- criteria including background checks, physical examination results, and clearances.  The Director of JRS will directly oversee the intern, and potential additional clinical supervision may be provided for school requirements if needed.

What skills, passion, and experience should a Justice Related Intern have? The Justice Related Services Intern will be an individual who is passionate about serving people who live with mental illness.  This JRS intern will have some experience with mental health, or in the forensic field –whether lived experience, volunteer, or work experience.  The intern will be able to manage their time effectively, be transparent, compassionate, flexible, and willing to be challenged for growth. This individual will know how to creatively engage with clients and work within a treatment court team to identify needs and work towards client goals. The intern will be successful in this role if they are good with organization, communication, problem solving, and proactive in prioritizing tasks well. 

Pay: Unpaid internship, due to no billable clinical hours being worked.  

Key Responsibilities of the Justice Related Services intern:  

• Collaborate and support the treatment court specialist with transportation, visits, and administrative duties.  

• Engage adults with a diagnosed mental illness, substance use disorder, and forensic involvement. 

• Enter case notes, assessments, and documentation into an electronic health record platform.  Have confident Display ease and ability to learn and implement use of technology as required to document.  

• Attend and observe treatment court proceedings, county meetings, committee meetings, and meetings with those people served. 

• Maintain regular and predictable attendance. 

 Schedule: A minimum of twenty hours weekly, to be completed Monday – Friday, primarily daytime hours, with occasional evening availability.  

Requirements

Requirements and Qualifications: 

 Education:  

• Have completed a bachelor’s degree in social work (completed) or a related field.

     OR  

• Currently working on completing bachelor’s degree in social work or a related field, with prior experience in mental health.  This could include:

1. Volunteer, personal lived/family member’s lived experience, or an internship completed in a forensic setting.
2. Prior work or internship in a mental health setting.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Experience:  

• Ability to communicate effectively and efficiently.  

• Ability to develop positive, creative, and programmatic goals.  

• Demonstrate initiative and strong organizational skills; ability to direct and prioritize own work. 

• Knowledge of the criminal justice system.  

• Knowledge of serious mental illness.  

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.  

• Ability to use technology platforms to complete work as directed. 

Essential Working Conditions/Physical Demands:  

• Work in program sites and the community routinely providing direct care and/or support with clients and use knowledge of mental health systems in the county to connect people with proper support. 

• Stand, sit, or run by self, or provide proper care and supervision with a client.  

• Able to move and stay with a client to keep him/her safe, both in home environment and community, even when client may be difficult or uncooperative, both at near and far distances. 

• Able to assist a client who has fallen, regardless of weight or size.

• Walk, climb stairs by self, or in order to provide direct care and/or support.  

• Work in a standard office environment.  

• Utilize desktop computer equipment daily.  

• Able to lift or move items associated with sedentary work and light work (exert up to 20 lbs.)  

• Able to travel daily to provide community-based supports as directed.