Residential Compliance Intern

The Residential Compliance Intern supports the programs adherence to state licensing requirements, accreditation standards, internal policies, and trauma-informed best practices. This internship provides graduate social work students with hands-on experience in regulatory compliance related to behavioral health treatment and out-of-home placement, quality assurance, documentation review, and youth rights/protections within a residential treatment environment. Interns will collaborate with program leadership to strengthen service delivery, safeguard youth safety, and ensure consistent, ethical, and developmentally appropriate care.

This is an unpaid position.

Qualifications

Education:

Currently enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's level Social Work program or an Associate degree internship program

• Will demonstrate effective verbal and written communication skills
• Will work cooperatively with other team members following The Centers values system

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Assist in monitoring compliance with Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) rules applicable to Behavioral Health Services and Residential Facilities.
• Review internal policies to ensure alignment with state, federal, and accreditation standards.
• Review documentation and existing procedure to assess and provide feedback on quality and compliance improvement.
• Participate in audits of environment-of-care walkthroughs.
• Support and use logs, dashboards, and data for effective reporting of compliance results.
• Assist in youth rights activities such as discussing rights with clients, responding to concerns, and advocating for youth voice and choice in the program.
• Attend team and treatment meetings as relevant to duties and projects
• Provide support to supervisors and frontline staff by communicating compliance updates and clarifying expectations.
• Assist in the creation or revision of training materials, checklists, and process guides.

Learning Objectives

This internship will provide opportunities to develop competencies in:

• Regulatory and licensing requirements for residential treatment
• Quality improvement methodologies
• Ethical decision-making and professional boundaries in youth care
• Trauma-informed residential practices
• Documentation accuracy and confidentiality
• Interdisciplinary communication and systems-level thinking
• Organizational policy evaluation and development

Work Environment & Physical Requirements

• Internship takes place in a Youth Residential facility with regular interaction with youth, staff, and multidisciplinary teams.
• Occasional exposure to behavioral escalation or crisis situations (training and supervision provided).

Supervision & Support

• Supervision will be provided by a licensed social worker or designated supervisor meeting field education standards.
• Interns receive structured onboarding, access to training opportunities, and ongoing feedback to support skill development.

Time Commitment

• Typically 16-24 hours per week, depending on university requirements
• Semester or academic-year placements available.

The Centers is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.