Department of Civil Service

Description:

The student intern will join an established team and assist Department of Health staff with developing and implementing a statewide program in school environmental health. The mission of the NYS Clean, Green, and Healthy Schools program is that every child and school employee has the right to a safe and healthy learning and working environment that is clean and in good repair. Contaminants such as mold, allergens, certain chemicals, and inadequate ventilation have been linked to health symptoms, including respiratory conditions such as asthma and allergies, and poor indoor air quality in schools has been linked to poor health outcomes as well as to higher absenteeism and poorer academic performance in students. Understanding the health effects associated with the school environment is particularly important because of the amount of time spent there by students. The student intern will work in a team environment, but will also be able to work independently on small pieces of the project to be brought back to the team for review and incorporation into the overall program.

Expected Student Outcomes and Deliverables:
* Create various templates for schools to use as part of an environmental health program.
* Prepare materials for posting to website, includes preparation of materials related to school environmental health for DOH and stakeholder review.
* Research regulation/policy/best practices in the area of school environmental health from other federal and state (NYS and others) agencies.
* Assist team with organizing a statewide conference on school environmental health. If possible, attend said conference to be held this fall.
* Attend conferences and/or stakeholder tradeshows as part of the school environmental health team.

Project is on-going. Scheduling is flexible. Office is staffed Monday to Friday from 7:30am until 4:30pm.

Skills:

writing

networking

project implementation

best practices

Internship Areas: Education, Health Services, Planning/Analysis/Research, Public Policy