The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) has chosen three new Fellows, including two Clinton School students, to join DHS for the 2013-2014 year. During their year with DHS, Fellows work on specific projects that address real DHS issues, policies, strategies, or problems. The DHS Office of Policy and Planning oversees the program for DHS and this is its fourth year. The program’s purpose is to expose the Fellows to the state government sector in hopes they will pursue jobs in public service.
The Fellows work part-time at DHS for a year for up to 1000 hours and are assigned to a division project supervisor who looks at day-to-day aspects of the project. About 70 percent of the Fellows’ time will be spent on their specific project and the remaining 30 percent will be focused on career development and training by taking the Career Development Program through the DHS Organizational Development and Training as well as other training opportunities.
Clinton School DHS Fellows include:
Angela Bukenya, a Master’s of Public Service student at the Clinton School of Public Service, has experience in nursing, public administration, human rights, advocacy, small business management, and many professional and personal experiences with health care in the U.S. She has a passion for access to health care and is very excited about the opportunity to learn about Arkansas’ health care system transformation and how it will impact Arkansans. Angela will work closely with the Health Care Innovations Team as well as several other partner organizations to evaluate consumer understanding, satisfaction, and engagement in the Arkansas Payment Improvement Initiative.
Neena Viel, a Master’s of Public Service student at the Clinton School of Public Service, has a background in communications, and has worked on several qualitative research projects that assessed the needs of underserved youth in poverty, foster care, and other high-risk communities. She has worked on projects that included the Arkansas Out of School Network, Nyaka Aids Orphans Project, and Children’s Homes of Paragould. Neena will work closely with the Social Emotional Health Work Group and the DHS Divisions of Behavioral Health Services, Child Care and Early Childhood Education and Children and Family Services, as well as several other public and private organizations to support the implementation of recommendations from the Work Group’s strategic plan. This may include evaluating the feasibility of implementing the goals and strategies laid out in the plan, working with DHS leadership to determine which strategies should be prioritized, and identifying specific activities needed to support implementation.