R&P Case Management Intern (UNPAID) Fall/Spring

TITLE:  R&P Case Management Intern (UNPAID) Fall/Spring
LOCATION:  Wichita, KS
START DATE:  Fall 2024
DURATION:  2 semesters (Fall 2024- Spring 2025)
SALARY:  UNPAID

PURPOSE:
Intern positions are requested to strengthen our capacity to serve clients, to support direct services, assist with management of program documentation and general administrative support.

SCOPE OF WORK:
The Reception and Placement (R&P) Program is a 90-day period of intensive case management services, where clients are assisted and referred to resources and providers, such as social security, food stamps, medical screening, school enrollment, childcare, ESL, etc. Refugees are supported by R&P funds that go toward necessary expenses like rent, utilities, and other personal-need costs. These monetary funds are designed to promote rapid self-sufficiency upon initial resettlement, to cover living expenses prior to employment. While the needs and goals can vary depending on the individual or family’s case, all new refugees need to learn and access certain systems and resources to enhance their ability to become independent. For example, they need to learn public transportation, U.S. health systems, emergency protocols and accessing benefits. The more education and information they receive and digest, the more successfully they will adjust and achieve.
Other goals of the R&P program include increasing food security and empowering clients with the tools to gain confidence in their own abilities. We use a client-centered and strengths-based approach to assist clients with meeting their goals.

The R&P Intern will work closely with the R&P Caseworker and other direct service staff to
support case management and provide referrals to community resources to address the needs of our clients.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assist with pre-arrival procedures, completing benefits applications, housing set-ups, ordering groceries.
  
• Assist clients with navigating transportation systems, including use of google maps.
  
• Assist with class instruction for clients.
  
• Obtain electronic documents from various platforms.
  
• Attend client reception at airport and orient them to hotel room.
  
• Drive clients to various appointments and necessary places in town.
  
• Show clients how to access shopping facilities and buy groceries.
  
• Basic in-office duties: make copies; scan documents, print documents, maintain electronic files.
• Maintain internal information boards
• All other duties and miscellaneous activities as assigned.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

• Gain an understanding of case management and the key components of the US Refugee
• Resettlement Program.
  
• Understand the journey a refugee must go through to assimilate into our community, including the psychological, emotional, and practical components.
  
• Understand how to incorporate trauma-informed care principles into case management
  Skills
  
• Gain practical experience in
  communicating in a meaningful way without a shared language.
  
• Working with interpreters
  
• Overcoming barriers for newcomers
  
• Understanding local social services in the community
  
• Navigating and advocating for clients within benefits and health systems
  
• Classroom experience, communicating abstract concepts, adapting teaching techniques to different levels and checking for understanding
  
• Organizing and handling service documentation and case file maintenance in the social services sector