Lead Care Manager InternAt — Child Guidance Center

The Enhanced Care Management (ECM) Lead Care Manager (LCM) Intern at Child Guidance Center provides community-based care coordination and support to children, youth, and families with complex behavioral health and social needs. Interns assist with case management, resource linkage, outreach, documentation, and collaboration with providers while gaining experience working with underserved populations in clinic and community settings. All services are provided in clinic, except for community outreach events. 

Tasks:

Students in the Enhanced Care Management (ECM) internship will engage in professional and pre-professional duties that support the development of case management, care coordination, communication, advocacy, and documentation skills within a community mental health setting. Duties will include, but are not limited to:

* Conducting outreach and engagement efforts with children, adolescents, and families enrolled in ECM services through phone calls, telehealth, home/community visits, and clinic-based meetings.
* Assisting with intake appointments, gathering psychosocial and care coordination information, and identifying client and family needs related to medical, behavioral health, educational, and social services.
* Coordinating care with multidisciplinary providers, including therapists, psychiatrists, schools, primary care providers, social service agencies, and community-based organizations.
* Linking clients and families to community resources such as food assistance, housing resources, transportation, educational supports, recreational programs, and healthcare services.
* Monitoring client progress toward care plan goals and participating in follow-up care coordination activities to support service engagement and continuity of care.
* Completing professional documentation in the electronic health record, including progress notes, assessments, care plans, outreach attempts, referrals, and case coordination documentation in compliance with agency and CalAIM standards.
* Participating in individual supervision, team meetings, case consultations, trainings, and interdisciplinary discussions to strengthen professional development and clinical reasoning skills.
* Observing and applying trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and ethical practices when working with diverse children and families.
* Assisting with problem-solving and advocacy efforts to reduce barriers to care and improve access to services and supports.
* Attending community events, outreach activities, and resource fairs to represent the agency, increase awareness of ECM services, and strengthen community partnerships.
* Supporting program operations through limited clerical and administrative tasks related to client care coordination, such as organizing referral information, preparing resource materials, tracking outreach efforts, and maintaining documentation workflows.
* Gradually managing a supervised caseload and demonstrating increasing independence, professionalism, communication skills, and accountability throughout the placement experience.

Training:

Students participating in the ECM internship will receive comprehensive training and supervision designed to support the development of care coordination, case management, and professional skills within a community mental health setting. Training begins with a general agency orientation that includes an overview of Child Guidance Center’s mission, policies, confidentiality/HIPAA requirements, safety procedures, documentation standards, and the CalAIM Enhanced Care Management (ECM) model.

Students will receive training on ECM services, including outreach and engagement strategies, care coordination, assessment of social determinants of health, linkage to community resources, crisis response procedures, and culturally responsive, trauma-informed care practices. Interns will also be trained in the use of electronic health record systems, documentation requirements, and compliance expectations related to Medi-Cal and CalOptima standards.

To facilitate learning, students will participate in weekly individual supervision meetings with their field supervisor to review cases, discuss professional development, strengthen clinical and case management skills, and receive ongoing feedback. Students will also engage in job shadowing opportunities, observe client and provider interactions, and gradually transition into independent responsibilities as competencies develop.

Additional training methods include case consultations, team meetings, review of sample documentation and workflows, assigned readings and training materials, and participation in agency and community workshops/trainings when available. Students will receive ongoing support and contextualization of assigned tasks to promote integration of academic knowledge into real-world practice.

Learning Outcome:

1) By the end of the academic internship, the student will be able to provide Enhanced Care Management (ECM) services to children and families by conducting outreach, coordinating care, linking clients to community resources, and documenting services in compliance with CalAIM and agency standards.
2) By the end of the academic internship, the student will be able to demonstrate effective professional communication and collaboration with multidisciplinary providers, schools, caregivers, and community partners to support client care coordination and service engagement.
3) By the end of the academic internship, the student will be able to identify and address barriers impacting client well-being, including social determinants of health, through advocacy, resource navigation, and culturally responsive care coordination practices.
4) By the end of the academic internship, the student will be able to develop proficiency in case management documentation, including timely completion of progress notes, assessments, care plans, and other required ECM-related documentation within agency expectations.
5) By the end of the academic internship, the student will be able to apply ethical decision-making, professional boundaries, and trauma-informed approaches when working with children, adolescents, and families within a community mental health setting.