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 Student Internship Program Agreement with National University
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve non-financial Student Internship Program Agreement with National University for the provision of Nurse Practitioner Student and Nursing Student Intern 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
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost) as the recommended 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 student 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 interns. This Agreement will enable interns to earn the required internship hours while working under the supervision of qualified DBH staff.
This Agreement, with National University (NU), will allow nurse practitioner and nursing student interns (Interns) placement in DBH clinics and/or programs through the internship program. Interns will perform specialty Nurse Practitioner duties involving examination, evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of behavioral health patients. Interns will advise and counsel patients or legal guardians on mental health treatment and diagnosis and perform related duties as required on assigned patients under DBH standardized procedures and protocols. Interns will also report to a designated supervising Nurse Practitioner in the outpatient clinics to develop the experience required to perform at a fully qualified working level.
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 NU 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 NU.
DBH recommends approval of this Agreement as it will allow students from NU to participate in a valuable learning opportunity and provide DBH with additional staffing resources for the delivery of services.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health (Diana Barajas, Acting Contracts Supervisor, 383-3962) on August 21, 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 3, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on September 22, 2025.