REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
October 7, 2025
FROM
GEORGINA YOSHIOKA, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Non-Financial Agreement with Loyola University Chicago for the Student Internship Program
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve non-financial Student Internship Program Agreement with Loyola University Chicago, for the provision of Social Work Student Internship training and field experience, for the period of October 7, 2025, through December 31, 2029.
(Presenter: Georgina Yoshioka, Director, 252-5142)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Create, Maintain and Grow Jobs and Economic Value in the County.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost) as the Student Internship Program Agreement (Agreement) is non-financial in nature.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) employs qualified professionals in multiple disciplines including medicine, nursing, psychology, marriage and family therapy, and social work. As a result, DBH can provide necessary tutelage and guidance to student interns participating in a variety of behavioral health-related educational programs. Reciprocally, the use of interns to assist the County’s workforce is a valuable means of maximizing available public resources. Through student internship programs, DBH provides learning experiences that will help students develop the skills they need to prosper in their chosen profession, which aligns with the Countywide Vision.
Since 2008, DBH has operated an internship program through agreements with schools and other institutions, which establish the terms and conditions under which DBH will accept student interns. This Agreement will enable interns to earn the required internship hours while working under the supervision of qualified DBH staff.
This Agreement with Loyola University Chicago (LUC) offers opportunities for Social Work interns (Interns) to gain a wide range of clinical experience with adults, children, and families. Interns will work with highly trained DBH staff gaining experience with: triage and initial screening; crisis assessment and intervention; clinical assessment and diagnosis; individual and group therapy; case management and complex care coordination; participation in a multi-disciplinary team; collaboration with professionals in other agencies such as Probation, Law Enforcement, Children and Family Services; and linkage and referral to additional community programs and supports. Interns in community settings may also be placed in programs providing services to crisis response and homeless outreach teams.
On February 27, 2024 (Item No. 21), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved a Standard Agreement Template (Template) for private schools and other institutions. However, the recommended Agreement with LUC contains modifications to the insurance language provisions, which have been reviewed and approved by the Department of Risk Management. The Template remains in conformance with County Policy 11-05. Since changes were made to the standard template, the Board must approve the student internship agreement with LUC.
DBH recommends approval of this Agreement as it will allow students from LUC to participate in a valuable learning opportunity and provide DBH with additional staffing resources for delivery of services.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health (Diana Barajas, Acting Administrative Supervisor I, 388-0862) on August 11, 2025; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on September 4, 2025; Risk Management (Gregory Ustaszewski, Staff Analyst II, 386-8655) on September 8, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on September 22, 2025.