The Open Doors Intern Program

CFHC is helping students build a bright future for family planning, providing paid field placements in reproductive health care and family planning agencies in California. Participants can choose from over 90 possible placement sites in rural or urban settings in County Health Departments, Community Clinics, Free Clinics, or Family Planning Clinics. Recruitment of minority students is a program priority.

The Open Doors Program is a project of the California Family Health Council, Inc. in cooperation with over forty participating health care and family planning providers.

Career Track Opportunities

For graduate students in public health, health science, education, communications and related fields, the program benefits include:

• Stipends are not guarenteed. When available, stipends are based on the total hours the student works in the agency
• Year round placements with flexible hours
• Opportunities to develop relationships with professionals in the field
• Opportunities to serve in ethnically and culturally diverse communities
• Real life experience in all aspects of the field of reproductive health care

Since its inception in 1991, over 500 highly motivated students have been placed in internships. Participating agencies have benefited from more than 450,000 hours of work performed by interns and dozens of interns have gained employment with their placement agencies. Others have secured employment in other family planning agencies: 95% of program participants have gone on to pursue careers in the field of public health.