About Michigan Primary Care Association (MPCA) 

• Voice of 48 member health centers including Federally Qualified Health Centers, Tribal Health Centers, an Urban Indian Health Program, and other community-based healthcare providers. Our members provide healthcare through over 400 locations across the state and serve one in every 15 Michigan residents.
• We advocate to influence and advance health policy in both Lansing and Washington, D.C.,
• Foster collaboration among health centers and with external partners
• Support health centers in the continuous pursuit of high-quality, patient-centered services.

What is MPCA’s role in this program? 

In 2024, MPCA expanded the Health Center Careers Training Program (HCCTP), a program funded by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), to include paid internships for students training for non-physician behavioral health professions (Licensed Masters Social Workers, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Marriage and Family Therapists) to increase service delivery capacity of health centers and create a direct pathway for the interns to transition to long term employment opportunities in community health centers post-graduation. MPCA is helping coordinate the BH-HCCTP internship between health centers and colleges/universities.

MPCA website: Workforce | Michigan Primary Care Association (mpca.net)

What is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC)? 

Michigan’s Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) provide primary healthcare including behavioral health and substance use disorder services to over 715,000 patients in low-income and medically underserved areas throughout the state. Here is a link with a list of FQHCs across the state: FQHCs and LALs by State (hrsa.gov)

Who is Eligible? 

• Graduate-level behavioral health students preparing for a master ‘s-level licensed provider role that qualifies for Medicaid/Medicare reimbursement in Federally Qualified Health Centers (LLMSW, LMSW, LPC, and LMFT). Eligible interns must also pass required background checks and meet applicable requirements to serve in direct services in a health center.
• Students must be enrolled in a program accredited by their profession’s accrediting body (i.e., MSW Program with CSWE Accreditation). 

Next Steps

• The funding and number of internship opportunities are limited, not all health centers are participating. Students and universities, please do not call health centers. If you would like to inquire if a health center in a desired area is participating reach out to Erin Rogers with MPCA at [email protected].