Good News Friday!

Imagine!’s Case Management department is participating in a student internship program that I believe benefits both the interns and Imagine!.

Each year, two students studying social work are chosen to serve an internship in our Case Management Department. Members of the Case Management department’s administrative team (who have a Master’s level degree in Social Work) are assigned to supervise the interns. The interns shadow Imagine! Case Mangers, work on a few cases, and also work with some families to help them navigate the complex and confusing system of funding services for individuals with developmental disabilities in our state.

The students benefit from getting hands-on experience working at a human service organization, and Imagine! benefits from the new perspectives and ideas the interns routinely provide.

This year’s interns are Anita Doss (who is currently working on a Bachelors degree in Social Work at Metropolitan State College of Denver) and Alyssa Santoriello (who is currently working on her Masters degree at Colorado State University).

I had the pleasure of spending Wednesday with Anita and Alyssa as we attended a couple of meetings in Denver, including a meeting hosted by the Colorado Division for Developmental Disabilities for Community Centered Board Directors, and a meeting of the Government Relations Committee of Alliance.  In both cases, the interns we able to get a sense of the many concerns currently facing the finding and delivery of services in our state.

Despite the complexity of the issues discussed at the meeting, Anita and Alyssa remained engaged and asked some very insightful questions. I am so pleased that they will be part of the Imagine! team this year, and looking forward to working with them throughout the year.

Left to right: Case Management Assistant Director Rick Haskins, Case Management Intern Alyssa Santoriello, Case Management Intern Anita Doss, Imagine! Director of Client Relations Liz Smokowski



Imagine! Case Management Advisor Marianne Nick (right) and Metropolitan State College Field Liaison Doris Goodteacher (left) are working together to create a learning plan for Case Management Intern Anita Doss (center)