Title V MCH Internship Program — Title V Agencies

To support states:

• We review applications from a competitive pool of graduate and undergraduate applicants who are required to have some MCH experience, either in the field or through their coursework. Once we accept students into the program, we match a pair of interns with each state project based on interest and experience. Undergraduate interns are always paired with a graduate-level intern.
• We pay the students a $5,000 stipend for their work in the 10-week program, plus a housing stipend. Our program handles all financial paperwork.
• Our internship program staff provide ongoing support to preceptors before and during the internship.

The program also provides structured support directly to the interns to help them achieve success and expand their state’s Title V capacity:

• The interns attend learning webinars that provide them with an overview and history of Title V. We teach them about National Performance Measures (NPMs), Evidence-Based Strategy Measures (ESMs), and how to navigate the Title V Information System (TVIS). They also attend learning workshops in the Center’s key skill areas: change management, adaptive leadership, systems thinking, evidence-based decision making, and engagement with families and communities.
• Each team of interns is required to create a work plan for their 10-week project, and we offer them training and support in how to create the work plan and how to work together effectively as a team.
• Undergraduate students receive additional support to ensure they can thrive during the internship experience.

While the internship program provides many supports to the interns to help them achieve success in their 10-week projects, preceptors will still need to provide supervision and support. The program expects that:

• At least one preceptor will be available to meet with student teams on a regular basis. This might mean that a team of preceptors is established due to the need to accommodate busy schedules and summer vacations.
• Preceptors (and/or other Title V staff) will provide students with an orientation to their agency’s Title V program before the end of their first or second internship week.
• Students will be given opportunities to attend a variety of meetings and events taking place at the Title V Agency and/or with partners of the Title V Agency.
• Students will be provided with access to the resources needed to complete their projects.
• Preceptors will attend two support check-ins with the Center in June and July 2026.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to detail your idea for a collaborative, well-defined project at your agency. Interns are allowed to participate in additional individual projects as time, resources, and interest allow.

Most projects involve two to three objectives, which might include deliverables such as:

• A literature review or landscape analysis.
• Development of data collection instruments (interview guides, focus group facilitation guides, or surveys).
• Data collection (implementing interviews, focus groups, or surveys).
• Data analysis (qualitative or quantitative) or data visualization.
• Development of communication plans and materials.

Not sure what projects interns could work on at your agency? Here are examples of projects completed by interns in the 2025 program:

• A team of interns worked with the District of Columbia Health to support the completion of the state overview and comprehensive needs assessment for the annual Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Block Grant report and application. This project was designed to provide a clear understanding of the health needs, priorities, and areas for targeted improvement for MCH populations within the city, ensuring that the District’s efforts are aligned with data-driven insights to promote health access.
• Hawaii’s interns planned and developed ways to highlight the data on the selected 7-10 Title V priorities that emerged from the 2025 Title V needs assessment. They created Hawaii Family Health Services Division (FHSD) priority fact sheets to highlight data, the significance of the issues, strategies, and key partnerships/efforts to address each health concern. The fact sheets will be used to promote the priority issues and to engage new partners around improvement efforts.

Please see the application for more details about project requirements.

At the end of our 2025 internship program, these were some of the comments we received from preceptors in response to our evaluation survey:

• “The internship experience adds a lot to the work we are doing with our programs. The fresh viewpoints and enthusiasm are a huge boost to our staff!”
• “It is so helpful to have support on projects that otherwise would have to wait due to staff capacity. The interns were prepared and very interested in whatever we could offer to them, and it made the process easy and very helpful for our team!”
• “Our interns were well-prepared, professional, and very capable in completing the projects. They were also interested in collaboration and adaptable to various related project opportunities.”
• “There’s an investment of time in applying and in organizing and training the students, but it’s well worth it as we get a lot of value out of it.”