Project PROVIDE Intern (SY26-27)

Behavioral Health Services BHS Project PROVIDE Interns

Behavioral Health Services (BPS School Psychology Department) has received a grant and seeks to develop a talent pool of interns working to complete their licensure in School Psychology, School Counseling and Social Work. This opportunity will occur weekly from August 18, 2026 to June 30, 2027. The number of working days a week will vary depending on the submitted intern application.

Project PROVIDE: Partnership for Readiness to Offer high quality and Valuable Interventions in Diverse Educational Contexts, is a Mental Health Demonstration grant funded by the US Department of Education to Boston Public Schools in connection with multiple local Institutes of Higher Education. Project PROVIDE is a preparation program for school psychologists, school counselors, and social work professionals who (1) are knowledgeable of BPS, have built connections to the community of youth and providers in the district, and are on a pathway to employment and retention within the district (2) are prepared to provide evidence-based and culturally, linguistically, sustaining mental health services, and (3) are ready to build connections between schools and community mental health services.

Eligibility:

• BPS employees are not eligible if they continue to work as an employee during the school year that they choose to participate in Project PROVIDE.
• School Counseling interns: interns who are enrolled in a dual school counseling program, may ONLY apply to Project PROVIDE in the school counseling role.
• Social Work interns: Preference will be given to social work interns seeking to complete their second year program requirements for 3 days a week.

Responsibilities:

• Remain in good standing with your university;
• Comply with all district requirements and policies;
• Meet weekly with your supervisor;
• Attend and track professional development (PD) activities during the school day and attend monthly professional development after school. This will include but is not limited to:
• A set of required trainings (Trauma 101, De-escalation) due by October 2, 2026 and;
• Eight additional trainings offered by Project PROVIDE due by June 5, 2027. PD must be approved by program administrators to remain in compliance with DoE grant expectations.
• For virtual meetings, cameras must remain on for all virtual sessions for engagement and data collection purposes;
• Attend a virtual kick-off event on Monday, September 14, 2026?11:00am 1:00pm;
• Attend an all-day in-person behavioral health conference planned for January 4, 2027;
• Complete all Project PROVIDE data collection and evaluation activities including the weekly supervision and professional development tracker forms, all exit tickets, and post-completion surveys administered by the evaluation team to monitor your progress after graduating from Project PROVIDE;
• Must complete the CORI and fingerprinting processes;
• School Psychology only: Collaborate with the NASP Exposure Project, and present at least once to a group that can include but is not limited to: high school students, undergraduate students, or the BPS school committee;
• Optional but encouraged: All participants are strongly encouraged to attend a 2-day Project PROVIDE community orientation on August 18 & 19, 2026, as part of the School Psychology Behavioral Health Service Department's Internal Coaching Institute (ICI);
• Sign and date an official service agreement.
• Abide by the service obligation outlined below;

Service Obligation:

All Project PROVIDE Interns will be required to commit to work as a school-based mental health services provider in a high-need Local Education Agency (LEA), which can be BPS, or another LEA, for one year within 4 years of graduation from their program. Project PROVIDE interns must provide proof of their employment (or document unsuccessful attempts at employment) for each of the four years following graduation.

Interns are not guaranteed a position at BPS after graduation.

Failure to adhere to the Project PROVIDE expectations will result in the following: (1) if failure to comply occurs during the academic year (e.g., not attending professional development activities), interns may not receive the full stipend allocation, and (2) if failure to comply occurs beyond the academic year (e.g., not fulfilling service obligation), interns may not be granted a letter of recommendation and obligated to repay a portion of their stipend.

Stipend Information:

Accepted Project PROVIDE interns will be designated as BPS employees and will receive a daily compensation rate (to be determined) not exceeding:

• $16,100/year for School Psychology interns who work 5 days a week
• $9,600/year for second year Social Work and School Counseling interns who work 3 days a week
• $6,400/year for first year Social Work interns who work 2 days a week

Please note that this program is funded by the US Department of Education (DoE). As such, stipends are dependent on the DoE's continued ability to allocate funds.

Interns will begin receiving pay in September, and pay will end once they receive the above rate which typically takes place around December or January. Interns will not be paid until they submit their timesheets. Project PROVIDE interns will be paid a daily rate that will not exceed the above stipends. Final details regarding payment will be shared before the start of the program.

Qualifications - Required:

• Currently enrolled in an institution of higher education (IHE) completing a program;
• Completed the Project PROVIDE Intern application form.

BPS values linguistic diversity and believes that candidates who speak another language bring added value to the schools and district culture and diversity. BPS is particularly interested in candidates who are fluent in one of BPS' official languages: Spanish, Creole (Cape Verdean), Creole (Haitian), Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, & Somali.