Grant encourages careers in Title IV-E public child welfare

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
August 2, 2010 

Texas State University-San Marcos has received a grant from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to prepare students for careers in Title IV-E public child welfare.

The $781,000 grant will benefit students and faculty in the College of Applied Arts, the Center for Children and Families and the School of social work.

Through this university/agency partnership, 42 social work students will receive specialized education and support, and faculty will develop innovative, research-based curriculum modules for best practices in the field of public child welfare. Currently, fewer than 25 percent of child protective service workers in Texas hold a bachelor's or master's degree in social work.

Education and training will focus on enhancing caseworker skills necessary for administering the Title IV-E foster care program. In addition to providing support for current students, the funds will support training for current DFPS Title IV-E staff and foster and adoptive parents in Region 7 and Region 8 of Texas.

In the past 16 years, Texas State has prepared more than 300 students for public child welfare. The program is co-directed by Regents Professor Nancy Feyl Chavkin and Professor Emerita Karen Brown.

For more information about these educational opportunities, contact ccf@txstate.edu.