M.A. students are required to do either a research thesis or a practicum (some choose to do both). Ph.D. students have the option of doing a practicum during their program. Practica involve working at an external site that is of interest to, and arranged by, the student to get hands on experience working with and/or on child and family policy or advocacy. The following is a non-exhaustive list of online directories and previous sites that students have gone to for their practicum experience in recent years.
Fairfax County Human Services Resource Guide (HSRG)
Virginia’s Information & Referral System for Human Services
Alzheimer’s Association
Cognitive Aging / Dementia
National Capital Area Chapter
11240 Waples Mill Road, Suite 402 / Fairfax, VA 22030
Contact Betty Ransom: 703-359-4440
American Institutes of Research
Muna Shami mshami@air.org
APA
Merry Bullock, Office of International Affairs, mbullock@apa.org
Rena Subotnik, Center for Psychology in Schools and Education, rsubotnik@apa.org
AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation
Chavaughn Brown cbrown@appletreeinstitute.org
Argus House
Duties: supporting staff to implement program, tutoring, working on the monthly newsletter, and documenting of resident behaviors, possibly attend court hearings, interact with probation officers, and one-on-one work.
2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 511 / Arlington, VA 22201
Contact Quinea Postell: (703) 228-3111, qposte@arlingtonva.us
Caliber Associates – Summer Fellowships Opportunities
Research Assistant, Associate-Education Studies, Resource Coordinator, Data Analyst / Programmer, and more…
10530 Rosehaven Street, Suite 400 / Fairfax, VA 22030
Fax: 703-218-6930 Email: careers@caliber.com
Center for Applied Linguistics
Donna Christian Dchristian@cal.org 202 355 5902
Child Care Services
Duties: assist in implementation of program, variety of administrative and program responsibilities relative to child care.
2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 511 / Arlington, VA 22201
Contact Quinea Postell: (703) 228-3111, qposte@arlingtonva.us
ChildHelp USA
Crystal Berry 703 208 1500
Child Trends
Marty Zazlow mzazlow@childtrends.org
Children’s Defense Fund
25 E Street NW / Washington, DC 20001
Contact Della Hoffman: 202-628-8787
Children’s Hospital National Medical Center
111 Michigan Ave. NW / Washington, DC 20010
Contact Penny Glass, PhD: (202) 884-2132, pglass@cnmc.org
Clarendon House – Unpaid
Duties: assist with mental illness day program; lead social activities; work with current events group and computer skills group.
2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 511 / Arlington, VA 22201
Contact Quinea Postell: (703) 228-3111, qposte@arlingtonva.us
DC Children’s Hospitals
Child Life Supervisor –
Contact Terry Spearman: 202-884-5733
Economic Independence/Customer Service Center – Unpaid
Duties: meeting customers, assessing needs, searching databases for client information, answering phones in the Call Center, short-term projects, and other assistance to the Center.
2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 511 / Arlington, VA 22201
Contact Quinea Postell: (703) 228-3111, qposte@arlingtonva.us
Economic Independence/Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Program – Unpaid
Duties: variety of administrative tasks, short-term projects.
2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 511 / Arlington, VA 22201
Contact Quinea Postell: (703) 228-3111, qposte@arlingtonva.us
Fairfax Partnership for Youth Suicide and Depression (YSAD) and Support on Suspension (SOS) Initiatives
Mental health outreach and community trainings, mental health screenings, working with diverse/underserved communities within Fairfax County, academic assistance, counseling, adult supervision, prevention programming
Contact Susan Lydick: 703-324-5292, Susan.Lydick@fairfaxcounty.gov www.fairfaxyouth.org
Family Compass
Duties: research of interventions in various areas, conduct studies of outcomes of interventions
Contact Moshe Shtuhl: familycompass@aol.com
Infant-toddler Connection of Fairfax - Falls Church
3750 Old Lee Hwy / Fairfax, VA 22030
Contact Debbie Billodeaux: (703) 246-7191
INOVA Fairfax Hospital for Children
Internship & Practica Coordinator
3300 Gallows Road / Falls Church, VA 22042
Contact Gail Goodman: 703-645-3969 (phone) / 703-204-4982 (fax)
Jewish Community Center Northern Virginia – Preschool
Amit Hickman, Center Director, amit.hickman@jccnv.org
Kingsbury Day School
Developing social skills curriculum
5000 14th Street, NW / Washington, DC
Contact Maggie Butbr: 202-722-5555 ext. 2529
Monocracy Neurodevelopmental Center
Requires: ABA Training
65 Thomas Johnson Drive, Suite A / Frederick, MD 21702
Contact Ralph McBee, PhD: 301-662-3808
Mount Vernon Elementary School
Train research team
2601 Commonwealth Avenue / Alexandria, VA
The National Association for the Education of Young Children
1509 16th Street, NW / Washington, DC 20036
Contact Marelou Hyson, PhD: 202-328-4581
National Head Start Association – Unpaid, but partial metro reimbursement provided
Research internship: perform research and literature reviews, attend and report on research-related events, learn about early childhood assessments, assist staff with projects, maintain library of reports and journal articles.
Qualifications: undergraduate or graduate major in Political Science, Psychology, Family Studies, Sociology, Child Development, or Public Administration; excellent written and oral communication skills; ability to work well with others.
1651 Prince Street / Alexandria, VA 22314
Contact Benjamin Allen, PhD: (703) 884-2132, ballen@nhsa.org
New Pathways
Social work / case management / foster care follow-up
540 East Belvedere Avenue, Suite 201 / Baltimore, MD 21212
Contact Jeff Lambert: 410-464-2600
Parenting Playgroups, Inc.
Comprehensive, interactive, & research-based parenting course; rewarding teaching experience!
6161 Fiuler Court / Alexandria, VA 22310
Contact Rene Hackney, PhD: 703-922-0044 or 703-313-7797, rene@parentingplaygroups.com
Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia
Leadership on (a) studies that identify information needs in KY, TN, VA, WV and (b) studies of short duration that relate to the goals of No Child Left Behind.
4825 Mark Center Drive / Alexandria, VA 22311
Contact Sarah Friedman, PhD: 703-824-2443 (phone) / 703-824-2949 (fax)
SRCD Washington Policy office
Meredith McCabe mmccabe@srcd.org 202 289 7902
Washington Center for Psychiatry
Psychotherapy practice
5225 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, #104 / Washington, DC 20015
Contact Alen Salavian, MD: 202-244-9000
Westat
Debra Rog Debrarog@westat.com 301 279 4594
William A. Morrill Public Service Fellowship Program – Paid commensurate with experience
Duties: work on project-related activities, research & evaluation, training & technical assistance, develop protocols & survey questions, conduct site visits, analyze quantitative & qualitative data, engage in research & literature reviews, assist with proposal writing, write papers & reports
Qualifications: Master’s or PhD students in social science or public policy fields
E-mail: hr@caib.com
Wolf Trap
Contact Mia: (703) 255-1933, www.wolftrap.com