About the Alliance
The Alliance for Children’s Rights is a nonprofit organization that provides free legal services and advocacy for children, youth, and families impacted by the child welfare and juvenile justice systems in Los Angeles County. Our interdisciplinary team works to help young people access stability, education, healthcare, public benefits, and other supports they need to thrive. Since 1992, the Alliance has assisted more than 150,000 children.
Position Description
The Alliance is seeking a dedicated fall-term intern for our Healthcare and SSI Programs. The internship is intended to run during the fall academic term, generally from early September through mid-December, with exact start and end dates to be coordinated based on the intern’s school calendar and availability. Interns should generally be able to commit to an 8–10 hour weekly minimum, with flexibility in how those hours are scheduled around coursework, exams, and other school commitments. The intern will gain practical experience in disability and healthcare advocacy, client interviewing, reviewing medical and administrative records, and learning how legal advocacy can support youth and families navigating complex systems.
Within the Healthcare Program, interns will work as part of the Alliance’s medical-legal partnership, a collaborative model that brings legal advocacy into healthcare settings to help address legal and administrative barriers affecting a child’s health and stability. Our partnership is located at the MLK Hub in Wilmington, CA. The Hub is a specialized pediatric clinic with expertise in child abuse pediatrics, where many children in foster care receive forensic evaluations, routine care, and support from physicians with highly specialized experience serving this population.
This position is expected to be fully remote. Interns who live locally may choose to participate in optional in-person client meetings.
Key Responsibilities
As an intern, you will support meaningful advocacy for youth and families by assisting with SSI, Medi-Cal, and related healthcare benefit issues; helping gather records and documentation; participating in client interviews; and working with staff to identify barriers, next steps, and possible supports. You will also help keep cases organized by entering case notes into LegalServer, tracking updates, organizing documents, following up on next steps, and flagging new information that may affect a client’s case.
Interns may also assist with research and analysis related to healthcare access, Medi-Cal managed care benefits for youth in foster care, SSI disability-determination practices, and other issues affecting children and families involved with the dependency system. Interns will participate in trainings, workshops, and regular 1:1 supervision meetings. Interns are also expected to follow organizational policies, confidentiality standards, and ethical guidelines.
Qualifications
• Current undergraduate student
• Demonstrated interest in public interest advocacy
• Ability to work patiently and compassionately with individuals who have experienced abuse, neglect, and trauma
• Availability for a part-time fall-term internship, generally from early September through mid-December, with an 8–10 hour weekly minimum and flexible scheduling around school commitments
• Spanish fluency preferred
• Time-zone accommodations available
Application Instructions
Please submit a cover letter and resume to Susan Flores at sflores@alliancecr.org. The cover letter should confirm fall-term availability, ability to meet the 8–10 hour weekly minimum, anticipated weekly hours, and any school-based requirements or preferred start and end dates. Applicants are welcome to briefly note any scheduling constraints so that availability can be discussed thoughtfully.
Commitment to Equity
The Alliance for Children’s Rights is committed to building and supporting a culturally diverse and inclusive environment that values all staff members’ backgrounds and perspectives in our work. We strongly encourage individuals from all traditionally underrepresented communities to apply. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, and prohibit discrimination against employees or applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, veteran status, or any other unlawful basis.