Fall 2026 Unpaid Social Work Internship (Waterloo)

State of Iowa•Waterloo - 50704 - Black Hawk County, IA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

This is a non-merit internship position with the Health & Human Services - Family Well-Being and Protection. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Division of Family Well-Being & Protection (FWB&P), Child Protective Services, Northern Iowa Service Area is seeking a Social Work Intern to join our team! This internship will be for Spring 2027 and will be based in the Waterloo office and will work in that and surrounding counties. This posting will be open for until filled. As an Unpaid Social Work Intern in the Family Well-Being & Protection Division, you’ll walk alongside our Case Managers and maybe even Child Protective Workers as they work with families, helping them navigate challenges and build stronger, safer futures together. There are two different functions for our Social Workers: A Child & Family Service Case Manager’s primary focus is in providing ongoing case management and support services to families after the initial assessment phase. These vital frontline positions play a key role in preparing and supporting children and families to be successful. They also assist families in realizing their full potential by working with them as experts, case planning with team members, and the courts, and connecting families to community resources. A Child Protection Worker’s primary focus is conducting initial assessments in response to reports of child abuse or neglect. These vital frontline positions require multi-tasking and the ability to gather physical and documentary evidence and analyze information with accuracy and efficiency to assist in protecting the most vulnerable Iowans. Internship hours are typically Monday-Friday between 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM, however, flexibility in schedule is structured with supervisory approval and ideally set before internship begins. There may be opportunities for afterhours experience if requested. If you use your own vehicle, mileage is paid at $0.50/mile travelled according to the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) State Accounting Enterprise Procedures. Our internship opportunities typically provide opportunities working alongside our Child and Family Service Case Managers (Social Worker 2’s, but if desired, some opportunities to observe parts of the Child Protection Worker may be available.

Requirements

Currently enrolled as a student at a college or university.
Ability to work in the United States.
A valid driver’s license is required.
Pass a level 1 background check (Criminal History, Child and Adult Abuse Registry, Sex Offender Registry and National Criminal History).
E-Verify and Right to Work
Applicants for positions in this class must be currently enrolled students in a degree program at an accredited educational institution, as determined by the Iowa Department of Administrative Services – Human Resources Enterprise.

Nice To Haves

Critical thinking skills and plan development
Strong observational and analytical skills
Exceptional customer service including de-escalation of conflictual or adversarial situations
Ability to respectfully engage families as partners in planning for safety and establish a working relationship with families
Excellent oral and written communication and report composition
Teamwork, collaboration, and consultation
Integrity
Strong work ethic
Ability to multi-task
Ability to manage multiple deadlines
Ability to speak more than one language

Responsibilities

Manage a diverse caseload of children and families that require ongoing service provision to ensure safety (These cases may have children placed in foster care and/or oversight by juvenile court)
Address the needs of children and families including safety, basic needs such as food, hygiene, education, health, and mental health
Evaluate the on-going safety and risk of children by conducting home visits with the children and parents, foster parents, relatives, and others involved while providing timely professional documentation of these contacts and report
Upload/e-file timely, accurate and detailed documentation for court involved cases and manage your schedule to accommodate your caseload
Respond to situations decisively and effectively (within policy) as family needs change which would include supervisory consultation as needed
Engage the family in creating a family-centered plan in accordance to policy that analyze and assess the strengths and needs of the child and family and address on-going danger and risk concerns
Assess the ongoing risk to the children, while developing safety plans and make recommendations to various county attorneys and courts
Collaborate with medical/mental health community partners, schools, legal partners, law enforcement, local community resources and others based on case needs
Professional and timely documentation of referred and provided services
Attend court hearings
Attend and participate in various training sessions offered by HHS and other partner agencies
Understand and use multiple computer programs and data systems
Assess the ongoing risk to children, develop safety plans, assess the strengths, and needs of the child and family, and make recommendations to various county attorneys and courts
Frequent interaction with law enforcement, medical/mental health community partners, schools, etc.
Apply Iowa Code, agency policy, and sound professional judgment to highly complex situations involving crises and or chronic abuse or neglect
Home visits, detailed interviews, and thorough narrative documentation
Confront crisis situations and high stress situations in a calm and orderly manner
Maintain confidential information as required by the agency and assuring safety is a top priority for all in the office
Obtain information from a wide variety of sources, including written materials, telephone conversations and through computer databases and to be able to read and interpret the data
Interact in a team environment to manage group processes, facilitates, and encourages cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity, fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals
Interact with employees and customers in a positive customer service manner to resolve problems and answer customer inquiries