Community Agency Internships
Headquarters:
20001 Prairie Street
Chatsworth, CA 91311
Web site: http://www.ccrcca.org
Contact:
Krischa D. Esquivel
Phone: (818) 717-4509
E-mail: TBA
Population Served:
CCRC serves children, families and the community in San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, and Antelope Valley and the entire San Bernardino County - across all demographics and income levels.
Program Mission:
The Child Care Resource Center (CCRC) cultivates child, family and community well-being.
CCRC is a private not-for-profit agency dedicated to the promotion of higher standards in child care and early education through the quality, support, development, and education of children, parents, child care providers, and the community.
For over 40 years, our mission has been guided by our belief that our social and economic future depends on the quality of a young child’s experiences. We encourage the growth and development of children and their families through our creative, informative, and supportive programs and services.
Head Start Department:
CCRC operates 18 Head Start centers in the San Fernando Valley. Head Start is a national program that offers high quality preschool experiences for low income families. Head Start is best fit for students in the Child Development and Family Studies field.
Internship Opportunities:
There are three distinct internship opportunities within the Head Start program:
- Classroom: Work directly with teachers and children in a preschool classroom environment. You will have an opportunity to observe children as they grow and develop social and emotional skills.
- Family Advocates: As a family advocate intern, you will work with Head Start families. Family advocates work with the entire family, helping their child thrive not only at school but also at home. This is a great opportunity for students that are interested in developing administrative and clerical skills, working with families, and working in an office.
- Disabilities/Mental Health Service Area: Work directly with disabilities/mental health specialists to conduct observations, attend assessments and IEps, training on social-emotional development, attend mental health Consultants meetings, conduct research on Mental Health resources in the community and monitoring activities in the classroom.
Resource & Referral Department:
- Professional Development Coach-Student Intern: Under the direct and supervision, the Professional Development Coach-Student Intern will assist staff in providing instructional support, mentoring, and coaching to providers to enhance the quality of early care and education.
- Home Visitation Student Intern: Under the direction and supervision of the Home Visitation Supervisor, the Home Visitation Student Intern will assist staff to plan and facilitate home visits using the Parents as Teachers curriculum to increase parents’ understanding of their child’s development and strengthen the connection between parent and child.
Service Locations:
- CCRC Chatsworth Headquarters
- CCRC Antelope Valley Office
Head Start locations throughout the San Fernando Valley
Periods of Service: CCRC is open 12 months of the year, Monday through Friday
We are flexible in working with intern schedules as well as the CSUN academic calendar
Student Requirements: Fingerprinting is required (expense incurred by Agency); must be authorized to work in the US; TB clearance
Web site: https://www.imagineartsacademy.com
Contact:
Peter Melkonian
peter.lanv@imagineartsacademy.com
Phone: (818) 282-4345
E-mail: info.lanv@imagineartsacademy.com
Population Served:
Students will support lead instructors (Creativity Coaches) in facilitating creative, age-appropriate arts and crafts projects for K–5 children by assisting with set-up and clean-up of materials, providing one-on-one encouragement and guidance during activities, and reinforcing positive, developmentally appropriate classroom behavior. This experience offers students the opportunity to apply child development principles in real-world settings, build skills in lesson delivery and creativity coaching, and develop confidence in small-group facilitation while gaining valuable classroom management and instructional practice.
Program Mission:
At Crayola Imagine Arts Academy of Los Angeles, our mission is to inspire creativity, curiosity, and confidence in children by providing hands-on, arts-based learning experiences that connect to real-world themes. We believe that art is a powerful tool for developing critical thinking, self-expression, and community, and we are dedicated to making high-quality creative enrichment accessible to schools, families, and communities across Los Angeles.
Intern Supervision:
Interns, volunteers, and assistants will be supervised at all times by lead instructors known as Creativity Coaches, who are trained staff of Crayola Imagine Arts Academy of Los Angeles. Creativity Coaches typically hold backgrounds in education, child development, or the arts, and all have prior experience working with children in structured learning environments such as after-school programs, camps, or classrooms. Each supervisor completes training in classroom management, child safety, and arts-based curriculum facilitation, as well as ongoing professional development in creativity coaching and STEAM-integrated instruction. Supervisors are responsible for modeling best practices, providing direct guidance and feedback to interns, and ensuring that all activities align with Crayola Imagine Arts Academy’s standards for child engagement, safety, and creative learning outcomes.
Interns placed with Crayola Imagine Arts Academy of Los Angeles may encounter certain inherent risks associated with working in dynamic educational and community environments. These include:
• Child Supervision Risks: Working directly with groups of children (K–5) may involve managing behavioral challenges, high energy levels, or occasional minor conflicts between participants.
• Activity-Related Risks: Handling arts and crafts supplies (e.g., scissors, glue, paints, and other non-toxic materials) may present minor hazards such as spills, stains, or small cuts.
• Event/Program Logistics: Interns may be asked to assist with carrying or setting up equipment and supplies, which may involve light to moderate lifting, bending, or moving materials.
• Facility Variability: Programs are hosted in a variety of environments (schools, community centers, outdoor events), where lighting, seating, temperature, or space limitations may vary.
• Travel Considerations: Interns are responsible for their own transportation to assigned sites across the Los Angeles area; risks may include traffic delays, parking challenges, or travel to unfamiliar neighborhoods.
• Personal Interactions: As representatives of the Academy, interns engage with children, parents, and community members; these interactions require professionalism and may present interpersonal challenges in diverse community settings. All interns are supervised by trained Creativity Coaches, receive orientation on safety and child interaction protocols, and are expected to follow organizational guidelines to minimize risk and ensure a safe, positive environment.
Student Requirements:
All interns, assistants, and volunteers would be required to be Live Scanned before being able to be placed in any school setting. They would also need to fill out a TB risk assessment form to determine whether or not they would need a TB test or to provide proof of existing negative results. These aren’t required in our community/holiday event settings.
No previous experiences/coursework is necessary or required.
Become a trained volunteer coach monitor and provide court ordered supervised family visits so that children, removed from the care of their parents, can visit their parents in a physically and emotionally safe setting. Each visitation site is filled with toys, games, books and art materials to provide a comfortable environment for children and their parents to have positive experiences together. These visits are an essential service to increase the family’s chances for reunification and reduce the children’s anxiety while in out-of-home placement.
We are especially interested in bilingual volunteers who speak Spanish.
See flyer for more information
Contact: dianne.philibosian@csun.edu
Note: Fall placement requires prior Spring training: dates TBD
Justice Corps
website: www.courts.ca.gov/justicecorps-la.htm
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Program Coordinator: Alexa Ocio -- AOCIO@LACOURT.ORG
JusticeCorps is an innovative approach to solving one of the more pressing issues faced by courts around the country today: providing equal access to justice.
JusticeCorps recruits and trains university students annually to serve in California's overburdening legal self-help centers which specialize in family law, housing, landlord/tenant disputes, or small claims.
Program Benefits:
1. Learn about the law & the legal field.
2. Earn an educational award with AmeriCorps.
3. Provide a much needed service across locations in Los Angeles.
4. Develop networking opportunities.
5. Gain professional experience & transferable life skills by working with court staff & the public.
6. Earn course credit.
Kidspace Children's Museum
480 N Arroyo Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91103
website: http://www.kidspacemuseum.org/
Contact: Heather Grimaldi, Programs Manager, hgrimaldi@kidspacemuseum.org
New Directions for Youth
Website: http://ndfy.org/
Contact: Ani Belichkov, Director of Development
Judy Leventhal, Arts Director
Population Served: High risk youth with behavioral concerns
New Directions for Youth provides a range of diverse services and programs to meet the complex needs of at-risk youth and their families. Services include individual, group and family counseling, job skills training and placement, tutoring and literacy programs, anti-graffiti and environmental programs, health referral, programmatic alternatives to gang involvement, recreational programs, parenting classes and computer courses. Programs range from traditional service provision to innovative, experimental, pilot programs.
Education and Career programs support youth and help them to reach their academic and career goals. Literacy Training provides school-based and community based literacy tutoring, homework assistance and study skills training for youth (ages 10 to 17). NDY’s Summer Youth Employment Program employs 15 to 20 low-income and or/underserved youth who are either currently or previously a part of the foster care or probation systems. Youth gain skills, develop work ethic, and increase their employability through the program. Other academic support and resources include GED prep and a Community Technology Center.
Student Requirements:
- Fingerprinting is Required
- TB Clearance
The Legacy Center
6011 Variel Avenue, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Phone: (818) 458-1656
Email: Info@theLCnet.com
website: https://www.thelcnet.com/
Contact: Jacqueline Bisquera, Director, Jacquie@theLCnet.com, (818) 458-1656
The Legacy Center is a community resource organization “embracing diversity and enhancing opportunity” for individuals and families living with the challenge of disability.
We offer a variety of classes and services under one roof and pride ourselves on the collaborative and creative nature of our curriculum and instruction.
The HUS Legacy Foundation is dedicated to enhancing educational and life opportunities for learners with disabilities and diverse challenges through our programs at the Legacy Center (www.theLCnet.com). We are family inclusive because we know that the greatest advocates and the main support for these individuals are those that live life alongside them. Our programs are literacy based where that definition equates to competency. Our goal is to grow individual skills across all realms of life, from reading literacy to physical literacy. Our core programs include language and communication, academic skills and practice, art and creativity, and movement and fitness. We believe strongly in the ability of technology to level the playing field for diverse learners and integrate assistive technology in all of our programs.
We strive to build and ensure the right of every individual to live a life of rich experiences that challenge the body, expand the mind, and grow the soul.
Student Experience:
Student interns can expect to be involved in many aspects of the center including assisting and facilitating our participants. Programs include day to day tutoring and/or assisting in classroom type programs, a summer camp, body and movement physical literacy sessions, cooking, reading, art and gardening. We also offer Spring and Summer camp on site which include a taste of all our programs plus social outings in the local community. Interns are given training in the basic tenets of the center, the details of each activity and then invited to take leadership roles in either conducting an activity or designing an activity. We believe strongly that our internships should provide self growth, build self confidence and promote advocacy in the form of promoting access and opportunity for diverse learners.
Student Intern Requirements:
- Successful completion of at least one course on special needs populations required of applicants.
- LiveScan, fingerprinting, background check, TB test, required for placement (fees for most of these will be paid by the foundation).
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Volunteers of America, Los Angeles (VOALA)
3600 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1500 Los Angeles, CA 90010
web site: https://voala.org/
Contacts:
Rachel Chalmers, Education Area Supervisor, (818) 897-4124
Elga Urrutia, Child Development Internship Coordinator, (213) 718-4065, Email: eurrutia@voala.org
Volunteers of America is a non-profit human services organization committed to serving people in need, strengthening families, and building communities. Our Head Start and Early Head Start program (located in San Fernando and Santa Clarity areas) offer high quality and comprehensive educational and health services to children and their families from low income backgrounds. We have several sites in the greater Los Angeles area that can welcome and support student interns to link developmental theories to research design and data on children's development.