Social work intern's efforts through parent program create lasting impact

Debbie Molina landed an internship with the Parent Involvement & Community Outreach program of the Jurupa Unified School District last fall. She visits twice a week with each family, first showing parents how to enrich the development and school-readiness of their youngest children from infants to three-year-old preschoolers. She follows up with a second weekly visit to track progress.

Molina uses specific types of books and toys with the children to enhance fine and gross motor skills and other forms of development as part of verbal interaction stimulus materials, or VISMS. She says parents are proud of the progress they see in their children, and Molina is also pleased with their achievements. One child in particular experienced transformative change by learning to speak first words identifying colors on a box of ABC nesting blocks. Molina says her goal is for the child to speak a five-word sentence to his mother.

The parent involvement internship was the job Molina most wanted out of three possible internship sites because it involved working with children. She made the right choice, she believes, as the work is new and interesting each week. What she didn’t anticipate was the way in which she herself would be impacted.

“All of my social work teachers have seen a difference. I’ve been opening up more, asking more questions,” said Molina, who describes herself as a typically shy person. “They tell me they see a spark in me.”

Now in its second year, the district’s parent involvement outreach has 30 families enrolled with 13 undergraduate and graduate social work students conducting home visits, said Jennifer Briseño, a social worker with the district who oversees the program.

“Interns are an invaluable piece to our department. With a small staff, our department would not be capable of expanding our services to maximize reach,” she said. “Interns have such an impact on the work we do, whether they are helping inform our processes or supporting our staff and families. They also highlight the need for these types of services in our district.”

Graduate interns also function as school site counselors as part of the Student Assistance Program and take part in outreach events and parent programs, she said.

Molina, a native of Corona, Calif. has three older brothers and balances college studies with a 35-hour-a-week job as a customer service associate with Walmart. She is the first of her family to attend college and she did so with the help of various forms of financial aid and assistance. “I wanted to be a change and a difference in my family,” she said. She plans to earn a Master of Social Work degree following graduation.

Molina’s religious faith is important to her --- she and her family attend a Catholic church in Fullerton. La Sierra’s Christian foundation and spiritual atmosphere are among the reasons she selected the Riverside university. But her interest in La Sierra was actually piqued years earlier when she visited the campus with her 3rd grade class from Orange Elementary School in Corona and again during high school for a field trip.

“My impression was seeing how beautiful the campus is and peaceful. The teachers are great, paying attention to the needs and desires of the students,” Molina said. “La Sierra University is a very inviting, welcoming campus.”