Internship Location: Remote
Organization Type: Nonprofit
Policy Areas: Social Welfare/Child Welfare
As Policy Extern, I researched the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018 (FFPSA) and interpreted how this policy impacts the overall landscape of child welfare advocacy programs. I collected and studied information from multiple sources including governmental agency videos, insider podcasts, legislative language, press releases, budget office reports, newspaper articles, peer reviewed studies, agency program memos, state implementation plans, and other data. Through this research I learned FFPSA’s history and intention, details, finances, changes made with successive legislation and memos, and I gave consideration to the perspectives of FFPSA’s critics. The information was synthesized into three written products to be distributed nationally to local agencies. I gave a presentation of Family First updates to the organization’s leadership and developed an index to outline and summarize the captured material. As a Community & Nonprofit Leadership (CNPL) major, pursuing a public policy certificate, it has been insightful to research not only how a national policy is developed and evolves, but also how policy impacts organizations working outside of government.