Several Winona State University students receive first-hand experience in the social work field through Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipends.
Nine WSU social work students, from the Winona and Rochester campuses, were awarded the $1,900 stipends by the BSW (Bachelors of Social Work) Child Welfare Consortium. This consortium is a partnership between the University of Minnesota and the social work departments at Bemidji State University; Minnesota State University, Moorhead; Minnesota State University, Mankato; St. Cloud State University; and Winona State University and the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
Each WSU student will complete 480 hours of supervised experience in a county agency working in child protection during their final semester. The students are currently working with Winona, Wabasha, and Filmore counties. Arlen Carey, assistant professor of social work in Rochester, said each student performs numerous roles while placed with county offices.
"Students often focus their efforts on the Child Protective Services division of the Department of Human Services," said Carey. "There they learn about a wide range of child welfare policies and develop professional social skills that enable them to protect and advocate for children in the foster care system and/or with histories or risks of being abused or neglected."
The students working in the county agencies, as well as social work students who participate in practicums for other organizations, report to their assigned field site Monday-Thursday. On Friday, the students come to campus for a three hour integrative seminar class that helps them process what they have been experiencing during their time at the agency. Ruth Charles, co-director of WSU's social work program, said this practicum is not work experience but a learning experience.
"The IV-E students have numerous things they accomplish while doing their practicum," said Charles. "Everything from completing a research project using original data to finishing a learning contract promoting the welfare of all children through child protection, foster care, adoption, family services and tribal social services."
The goal of this program is to strengthen the preparation of social work students intending to work in Title IV-E public child welfare agencies in Minnesota in non-metro areas. Upon graduation, these students will apply for and accept a social work position in a Title IV-E agency in non-metropolitan areas. WSU senior Alison Tanghe, a social work student in the program from Tracy, Minn., said her experience has helped her understand exactly how a county agency works.
"The Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipend offers students a chance to work in this field through their practicum and after graduation while also receiving money to help pay for their schooling," said Tanghe. "I thought this was a great opportunity to become more familiar in the field that I was going to be working in and to learn from people who have a lot of experience working in county child welfare."
The stipends come from a federal grant given to the University of Minnesota who subcontracts the funds with five of the state universities. The grant also provides funds for faculty to coordinate and run the program.
A key purpose of federal Title IV-E funding is to counteract the trend among states and counties toward deprofessionalization of public child welfare work. So far, the number of professionals with bachelors and masters degrees engaged in public child welfare services has significantly increased nationwide.
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