Applied Developmental Psychology Minor

Community-Engaged Early Childhood Internships, Spring 2025

Our 2024-25 "A" cohort students completed at least 180 hours at their UCLA childcare site and and at least 50 hours in their community-engaged internship. Some community-engaged internships are designed to be remote, some hybrid, and some in-person throughout metropolitan LA. Some of our partners are new to us, while others have been hosting our students since the height of the pandemic in January 2021. To date, 100 ADP students have volunteered over 9,200 hours total with our community partners! We cherish each of our community partners and thank them for the care, creativity, and generosity with which they have mentored our students. Please read about the spring 2025 internships below!

Child Development Institute

2025 ADP CEECI interns: Darla Burnett & Hannah Lin

The Child Development Institute promotes developmental growth by providing therapeutic services and supportive environments for children and families. At CDI, interns primarily supported social skills groups by assisting therapists and encouraging emotional regulation, relationship building, and facilitating peer interactions. Additionally, interns were given the opportunity to observe one-on-one speech, occupational, and physical therapy sessions. Using these experiences as well as outside research, the interns also organized independent research projects to present to clinicians and directors at CDI. Topics such as supporting siblings of children with diagnoses (Hannah) and incorporating multilingualism into group therapy settings (Darla) were covered, including recommendations for implementing a wider range of strategies during treatment. Holistically, CDI aims to support the entire family system by fostering a dynamic relationship between parents, children, therapists, and interventionists using relationship-based floortime techniques, meeting each individual child where they are at developmentally. For more information, please visit CDI’s website at https://cdikids.org and their Instagram @child.development.institute.

Homeboy Industries

2025 ADP CEECI intern: Talia Emrani

Homeboy Industries (HBI) is the largest rehabilitation and re-entry program for previously incarcerated and gang-affiliated individuals, families, and communities. Here in Los Angeles, thousands of individuals receive various services, including 18-month employment and re-entry programs, tattoo removals, and parenting classes.

HBI offers a class called “Parenting for Tweens, Teens, and All Ages.” Facilitated by two USC Clinical Psychology PhD students, Regina Brodell (ADP Cohort B 2017!) and Gabriel Leon. Through a guided group discussion, class participants learn about feelings and their impact on parenting, and strategies to help children with emotional language, using tools like The Feeling Foxes and The Feeling Thermometer.

In class, I listened to and learned from parents’ experiences and stories during class, and learned from the co-facilitators how to support the HBI community. Outside of class, I maintained digital records and create topic-focused resource sheets to support and inform the parents and facilitators. - Talia Emrani, ADP B '24

(from left) Julie Taren, Tiffany Johnson, Annie Cox, Faith Cropper, and Marcus Lansing

Infant Development Association of California

2025 ADP CEECI interns: Faith Cropper, Marcus Lansing, & Tiffany Johnson

The Infant Development Association of California (IDA) is a statewide network of professionals throughout the early intervention (El) field, including occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech and language pathologists. IDA provides its members with valuable information, policy updates, and evidence-based strategies to support EI clients. Through trainings and educational resources, IDA encourages its members to engage in thoughtful conversations about developmentally appropriate best practices.

As interns, we have had the opportunity to work directly with IDA's membership co-chair Julie Taren. After attending meetings for the events and policy committees, we identified the need to create a policy brief aimed at informing California legislators, early intervention providers, and families about how Early Intervention services could be jeopardized by the Trump administration's recently proposed Medicaid budget cuts. We researched how eligibility and access for children and families would be affected, then translated these complex policy topics into clear, accessible language for diverse audiences, calling them to action to say no to Medicaid budget cuts.

After finishing and sending out our policy brief, we assembled a survey for families to share their experience raising a young child with developmental delays and their experiences with early intervention services to amplify their voices, raise awareness, and create change. Our favorite part of our internship was visiting the CHIME institute inclusion program at CSUN, ran by IDA board member Annie Cox, and seeing how they made inclusion and education for toddlers and young children with disabilities attainable in the classroom.

Please visit IDA’s website https://www.idaofcal.org or follow their Instagram @idaofcal for more information.

Jewish Family Service LA

2025 ADP CEECI interns: Joscelyn A. Alvarado, Gianna Clarot, Laila Tran, & Mo Wu

Jewish Family Service LA (JFSLA) is an organization that offers a diverse range of services such as food pantries, shelter, counseling, prevention services, educational services. Our internship was at a transitional house that supports victims of domestic violence.

The transitional housing program provides trauma informed care through their trained staff to help survivors get the support that they need. Trauma informed care includes individual therapy sessions, support groups, and access to community resources. We provided respite care for the families at our shelters by assisting parents with child care so that they would have time to access resources and attend to other critical needs such as personal care. Our services included planned activities such as drawing, yoga, dancing, singing, and inviting the children to explore the space on their own.

Koreatown Youth & Community Center's Kids Town Preschool

2025 ADP CEECI interns: Aaron Ruiz, Alexa Garcia, Kyle Lee, Jocelyn Ricoy, & Pamela Perez

Kids Town is a year-round preschool in Koreatown serving children ages 2.5 to 5 years old through play-based education that celebrates the vibrant community it serves. As part of the Koreatown Youth and Community Center (KYCC), the school builds on the parent organization’s legacy of culturally responsive services for diverse families.

Located in one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Koreatown has a rich history rooted in waves of Korean immigration and later becoming a multicultural hub for African American, Latino, and Asian American communities to coexist. Kids Town reflects this unique cultural background through its trilingual model, and fosters an inclusive learning environment.

As interns, our mission is to support and aid in the developmentally and culturally appropriate practices and curriculum implemented within the classrooms. We have created activities for preschool-wide events such as Week of the Young Child and Earth Day. Our internship has now culminated in the creation of Cozy Corners that will allow the children the physical and mental space to regulate their emotions, assisting in their socioemotional development.

For more information about KYCC Kids Town and KYCC’s multitude of services, please visit their website, https://www.kyccla.org, or their instagram @kyccla.

Mar Vista Family Center

2025 ADP CEECI interns: Akshata Panda, Fernando Vasquez, & Ysabel De Jesus

The Mar Vista Family Center has long been a beacon of hope and empowerment for families, providing a range of programs within three main areas: Early Childhood Education, Youth, and Community. Through these diverse array of programs—from early learning to after-school initiatives, from food drives to high school study support—the Center creates a lasting impact that goes far beyond a single moment in time.

The Center operates on a sustainable Shared Responsibility Curriculum model which emphasizes collaboration and mutual accountability among families, staff, and the community. Their focus on community collaboration and social equity addresses the unique challenges facing low-income families by fostering active involvement across generations, this model empowers families to take ownership of their growth and success, ensuring long-term, sustainable impact within the community.

For more information, please visit the MVFC’s website at https://marvistafc.org/ and their Instagram @marvistafamilycenter.

National Emergency Child Care Network

2025 ADP CEECI interns: Aryonna Epps, Kelsie Hull, & Marissa Teng

The National Emergency Child Care Network (NECCN)’s mission is to provide accessible, free, trauma-informed childcare for families experiencing a disaster or crisis. Aryonna, Kelsie, and Marissa had the privilege of working with NECCN's CEO, Silke Knebel, in learning more about the behind-the-scenes work. Through attending events on behalf of the organization and lots of outreach, Aryonna, Kelsie, and Marissa were able to advocate and support families in need throughout East LA. As interns, we have focused on connecting with other organizations in the LA community, writing informative articles, and providing childcare for families affected by the LA fires. NECCN trains and dispatches vetted volunteers to families in need of childcare to allow families to begin to rebuild their lives. Regardless of the type of disaster, families are forced to cope with unexpected changes, long-term developmental effects, in addition to daily stressors. Childcare is a major financial stressor for these families as they are rebuilding their lives after disasters. Thus, NECCN works to minimize stress through free and quality childcare. NECCN's goal is to ensure that all families have equal access to free, high-quality child care in the midst of a crisis or disaster.

For more information on NECCN's transformative services of accessible childcare amidst disasters, please visit their website at https://emergencychildcare.org or contact the Founder and CEO, Silke Knebel, at silke.knebel@emergencychildcare.org.

Refugee Children's Center

2025 ADP CEECI interns: Audrey De Kunder, Desirée Izaguirre, Leslie Sanchez, Melany Solares, & Sylvanna Olivas Beltran

The Refugee Children’s Center (RCC) offers a range of programs that support individuals and families who have recently arrived in the United States, all of whom have endured the difficult and often dangerous journey from the south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Within RCC, the Nuevos Comienzos program provides a safe, nurturing environment for children ages 2–5, where they can engage as active learners in developmentally appropriate and intellectually stimulating activities.

Our work at Nuevos Comienzos is grounded in principles of cultural humility, sensitivity, and trauma-informed care. As interns, we were committed to creating a space that honors the unique cultural identities, experiences, and strengths of the children and their families. We designed and implemented a culturally responsive classroom inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, which emphasizes hands-on exploration, creativity, and connection. Through our work, we sought to foster meaningful relationships, support the children’s holistic development, and contribute to a community of healing, learning, and belonging.

Santa Monica Early Childhood Task Force

2025 ADP CEECI interns: Suhail Delgado & Abby Runyen

The Santa Monica Early Childhood Task Force (SMECTF) is a group of community members who advance their civic vision to support young children by guiding resources and stakeholders to effective action. SMECTF aims to reduce barriers to access and ease the financial burden of child care and early education for Santa Monica families. Their efforts highlight the urgent need for high-quality, affordable care (especially for infants and toddlers) while increasing collaboration, funding, and community support systems for young children and their families.

ADP interns in SMECTF interviewed and surveyed Santa Monica families about cost and access to childcare to put together a presentation for the Santa Monica City Council. Digital flyers with survey links were sent out to various Santa Monica organizations such as the Growing Place, Connections for Children, and SMMUSD. Interviews were conducted at Virginia Avenue Park and the Santa Monica Arts & Literacy Festival. Surveys and interviews were offered in both Spanish and English, and had 35 respondents overall. For more information about SMECTF, please visit https://www.earlychildhoodsm.org/.

Get in touch! We'd love to hear from you. Contact ADP's director, Elisheva Gross, at egross@ucla.edu.

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