A supervisor on site three days a week, for two years

The CDC places public health associates with host organisations for
two-year terms. Host sites can be **state, tribal, local and territorial
public health agencies; non-governmental organisations** such as
community-based organisations, public health institutes and associations; and
academic institutions.

Assignments must suit **recent graduates with a bachelor's or master's degree
and little or no work experience in public health.**

The requirement that does the real filtering

**The primary or secondary host site supervisor must be onsite, with the
associate, at least three days per week**, ensuring that associates can
access meaningful professional development opportunities during their
two-year assignment.

Three days a week, in the same place, for two years.

That is a substantial commitment for any organisation, and it is stated as a
requirement rather than a preference for a reason. The programme places people
with no public health experience. What they learn comes from watching
someone do the work and being corrected — which does not happen over email or
in a weekly call.

An organisation that wants the extra pair of hands but cannot commit a
supervisor's physical presence is exactly the host site this rule is designed
to exclude.

How sites are chosen

**Selection is based on the scope and quality of the work plan submitted with
the application.** Criteria typically include **detailed descriptions of the
assignment activities and deliverables** — what the associate would actually
do, in specifics.

The host site is also **responsible for helping associates achieve the
applicable performance requirements**. The obligation runs both ways: the site
gets two years of work, and owes two years of development.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.