Over the years, representatives from various Title IV-E child welfare educational partnerships discussed the pooling of data from these partnerships to develop a bigger, and eventually, a national picture of these partnerships. These discussions resulted in the formation of a National Title IV-E Child Welfare Evaluation Taskforce at the 2011 Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting. Taskforce members called for a National IV-E Child Welfare Evaluation in which partnerships could contribute data for their program’s stipend recipients with a goal of building a national data set to better understand how Title IV-E stipend programs are structured, who stipend recipients are, and what we know about their use of the program. The following details procedures for participating programs.
The goal of the Taskforce is to implement the National IV-E Child Welfare Evaluation by developing a national data management system and managing data relating to graduates of Child Welfare Educational Partnerships. The data management system, found on this website, centralizes demographic and other data on Child Welfare Educational Partnership programs and their graduates, in an effort to develop a national picture of the workforce (e.g., who they are, where they are, how they are prepared for child welfare work, and how long they are staying).
The data management system sets the foundation for a future research efforts that will include more complex analysis of student/alumni data, with the ultimate goal of a multi-state Title IV-E outcome study.
Individual programs will not be identified until a minimum of two programs per region are participating.
University of Pittsburgh Child Welfare Education and Research Programs
Participating Universities:
1. Bloomsburg University
2. Bryn Mawr College
3. California University
4. Edinboro University
5. East Stroudsburg University
6. Kutztown University
7. Lock Haven University
8. Mansfield University
9. Marywood University
10. Millersville University
11. Shippensburg University
12. Slippery Rock University
13. Temple University
14. University of Pennsylvania
15. University of Pittsburgh
16. West Chester University
17.Widener University
Minnesota State University Moorhead
The Minnesota State University Moorhead School of Social Work educates competent entry-level social work professionals with the core knowledge, values, and skills necessary to engage in ethical and empowerment-based generalist practice with all people in a dynamic and diverse society.
St. Cloud State University
The St. Cloud State University Department of Social Work prepares to think critically, and work effectively and collaboratively in the professional world of social services.
Southwest Minnesota State University
The SMSU Social Work Program, in conjunction with the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare at the University of
Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Human Services, offers individualized, specialized training in child welfare through a contract with Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. This contract enables qualified BSW students to build and enhance professional skills in foster care management, adoption assistance and case management. In exchange for the stipend, the IV-E scholar is required upon graduation to fulfill an
employment with a public or tribal child welfare agency.
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota School of Social Work, Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare brings together county, tribal, state, and community services in a partnership dedicated to improving the lives of children and families involved in public child welfare by focusing its efforts around three primary areas: Professional Education, Outreach, and Research & Evaluation.
Winona State University
The Winona State University Social Work Department focuses on community engaged learning activities in the classroom. Throughout the major, students learn the values, skills, and knowledge necessary to be generalist social work practitioners.
Texas State University Title IV-E Child Welfare Partnership (CWP) Program
The Title IV-E Child Welfare Partnership (CWP) program is a collaboration between the School of Social Work at Texas State University and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). The CWP program aims to increase the qualifications and numbers of BSW/MSW graduates who enter the field of child welfare, and to enhance the knowledge and skills of selected DFPS employees through graduate social work education. Students in the program receive financial assistance and ongoing training while completing their social work degree, in exchange for working for DFPS for a period of time after graduation.
University of Houston Child Welfare Education Project (CWEP)
The Child Welfare Education Project (CWEP) prepares master’s level social work students for the challenging and rewarding work found in children’s protective services. CWEP provides MSW students who want to pursue a child welfare career a stipend so that their tuition, books, and some miscellaneous costs of studying in the Master of Social Work (MSW) program can be covered. Also included are child welfare-oriented classes and field internships, special seminars and workshops focused on child welfare issues to enhance the educational experience, staff assistance to give focused advising and field internship support, and employment in Children’s Protective Services (CPS) after graduation with rewarding opportunities to improve the lives of children and families.
The Center provides significant financial support and a path to securing employment through the Title IV-E Stipend Program. Stipends are awarded to undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in work experience in public child welfare after graduation.
Utah State University is collaborating with the Utah Department of Human Services Division of Child and Family Services and Division of Juvenile Justice Services in offering a Child Welfare Traineeship program. This program, which is funded by Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, is designed to recruit students majoring in Social Work to careers in public child welfare services. Current State of Utah Department of Human Services employees working for either the Division of Child and Family Services or the Division of Juvenile Justice Services who are accepted into the Utah State University Master of Social Work Part-Time (3 year or the accelerated 1.5 year) Programs may be eligible to receive the Title IV-E Stipend plus the MSW Program’s 30% tuition waiver.
The federal Social Security Act Title IV-E funds subsidize child welfare services to keep children in their families when possible, provide permanency planning services, and place children in out-of-home care. Public child welfare services are those provided by state or county child protection, foster care, adoption, and family service agencies. Title IV-E funds may also be used to strengthen child welfare service systems through the training and education of current and potential child welfare workers who serve families and children eligible for Title IV-E services.
Title IV-E Child Welfare education programs operate at the BSW and MSW levels and support students at public universities by providing financial and educational resources to students committed to post-graduate careers in public or tribal child welfare. Primary elements of Title IV-E funding to students include: financial support (stipends), educational/programmatic expectations and requirements, an employment obligation, and career development and support.
Interested in contributing your school’s data to the National Title IV-E Data Warehouse?
Questions? The Data Manager can answer questions and provide schools with technical assistance.
Email the Data Manager, CASCW, or call (612) 624-4231.
