MinnesotaStateUniversityMoorhead

WELCOME

Congratulations! You are either interested in or have been selected as a stipend recipient for the Minnesota BSW Title IV-E Child Welfare Consortium Stipend program supported at the Minnesota State UniversityMoorhead School of Social Work. We are delighted to provide you this opportunity to support your academic development as child welfare professionals. As a potential child welfare stipend recipient or as a recipient, you are part of a select group of undergraduate students, not only in Minnesota, but across the United States who want to work with children and families.

Children and their families are the heart of a healthy society and are often the most underserved populations. Child welfare work can be very demanding as well as extremely rewarding. This profession experiences a high degree of turnover in staff, nationally and locally, and in many states, it is one of the most under-trained professional groups in human services. The purpose of this stipend program is to address those issues by ensuring that a cadre of new professional social workers is prepared to accept those challenges.

Social Work students and future social work professionals who have chosen child welfare careers are provided, through this stipend program, the opportunity to better prepare themselves for practice with children and families. Research has proven that well trained social work professionals do make a difference in the lives of children and families that they serve, in the agencies where they are employed, and in the communities in which they live. This difference contributes to a better quality of life for all citizens.

The Minnesota BSW Child Welfare Consortium Program staff in the Minnesota State University Moorhead School of Social Work is Professor Sue Peterson. Professor Peterson has prior professional experiences in child welfare practice. She is available to assist you in planning for your career, completing your application, planning for and coordinating training activities, helping you find ways in the curriculum to increase your knowledge and skills in working with children and families, keeping you up to date on the latest in child welfare information and resources, and helping you to negotiate the requirements and related paperwork as a child welfare stipend recipient.

Thank you for considering this program and for your commitment to improving the welfare of children and families in Minnesota and the United States.

Sue Peterson

Child Welfare Director

Table of Contents

Background…………………………………………………………………………………………………...... 3

Grant Origin and Goals………………………………………………………………………………………....4

Frequently Asked Questions……………………………………………………………………………………5

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………...... 6

Resources……………………………………………………………………………………………………….6

Communications and Internet Access…………………………………………………………………………..6

Child Welfare Meetings………………………………………………………………………………………...7

Stipend Recipients Responsibilities…………………………………………………………………………….7

Child Welfare Sequencing……………………………………………………………………………………...8

Field Placement Requirements…………………………………………………………………………………9

Child Welfare Social Work Competencies and Learning Contracts…………………………………………...9

Employment Requirements……………………………………………………………………………………..11

Graduation/Employment Checklist……………………………………………………………………………..13

Minnesota Merit System………………………………………………………………………………………..13

CountyListing…………………………………………………………………………………………………..14

Map of MinnesotaCounties and Tribal Reservations…………………………………………………………..17

Appendix A……………………………………………………………………………………………………..18

Definitions of Terms Pertinent to the IV-E Grant………………………………………………………….19

Appendix B……………………………………………………………………………………………………..23

IV-E BSW Child Welfare Stipend Application…………………………………………………………….24

Appendix C……………………………………………………………………………………………………..27

Memorandum of Agreement………………………………………………………………………………..28

Intent to Renew……………………………………………………………………………………………..30

BSW Consortium Release Form……………………………………………………………………………31

MSUM Consent for Release of Photo or Other Information for Public Use……………………………….32

Appendix D……………………………………………………………………………………………………..33

Job Search Documentation for Child Welfare Scholars……………………………………………………34

Confirmation of Child Welfare Employment………………………………………………………………35

Completion of Child Welfare Employment Requirement………………………………………………….36

Notice of Withdrawal from the Minnesota BSW Title IV-E Child Welfare Consortium………………….37

Appendix E……………………………………………………………………………………………………..38

Timeline of Major Federal Legislation Concerned with Child Protection, Child Welfare, and Adoption....39

BACKGROUND

The child welfare system serves some of our most vulnerable and troubled children and families. The goal of child welfare services is to aid children who have been abused or neglected; children with special medical and mental health needs; delinquent children; and children who do not have adult caregivers. This “system” has been dubbed by some experts as merely an amalgamation of programs with efforts to prevent out-of-home placements, reunify families, and provide long-term care and solutions to families in need. Regardless of how it is characterized, all services in the child welfare system seek to protect children from harm that may occur in their own homes or at the hands of their caretakers.

Historically, social workers have played a key role within the child welfare system by protecting children at risk and supporting families in need. Indeed, the social work profession is strongly rooted in the tradition of social reform, much of which was directed toward alleviating the problems of children in post-industrial society. Concerned citizens and public officials created voluntary agencies and governmental services for children during the past 70 years.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) led the field in the development of best practices for social workers in child welfare. The NASW Standards for Social Work Practice in Child Protection (NASW, 1981) has served as an initial effort to formulate standards in this important and continually evolving area of practice. Because it is essential that these standards reflect and promote sound social work practice, they have been revised and expanded beyond child protection to reflect changing practices and policies for social work practice in a variety of child welfare settings. These standards can be regarded as a basic tool for social work practice in child welfare that might include family preservation and support, out-of-home care, family foster care, kinship care, residential group homes, adoption, independent living, child day care, adolescent pregnancy and parenting services, hospitals, and non-traditional settings such as faith-based facilities.

Since the NASW child protection standards were published in 1981, there have been many profound changes in the child welfare system. Many of these were driven, in part, by high profile child death cases and an overwhelmed foster care system, resulting in increased attention to the needs of these vulnerable children. There were also several important shifts in law and policy, particularly with the passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA). ASFA focused on the safety, permanency, and well being of children in the child welfare system; for example, by further tying funding to agency performance and stipulating casework time frames in cases of out-of-home care. The implementation of ASFA has had profound implications on social work practice as the delivery of services has become more outcome-based, with a focus on staff and supervisors who have the values, knowledge, cultural competence, and skills necessary to assist the families they serve. This law sets specific guidelines and timeframes for moving children from unstable, out-of-home placements to permanent, loving homes.

As the next decade unfolds, a range of economic, social, and political factors will affect the child welfare system and the number of children needing adoption and other types of supportive services. These forces are likely to challenge current policy and practice and place greater demands on the child welfare system to respond to the needs of a growing number of foster children who cannot be reunited with their birth families, a disproportionate number of which are children of color. Public policies will need to address the growing number of children in the child welfare system, which is a truly troubling phenomenon.

Grant Origin and Goals

Funding for the Minnesota BSW Child Welfare Consortium Stipend Program originates in the U.S. Department of Children, Youth and Family Services (a division of the U.S. Department of Human Services) Title IV-E Training Block Grants. The Minnesota Department of Human Services manages these funds for county human services and for educational institutions. Training funds are distributed to The Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW) at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work and CASCW distributes funds to each of the five MnSCU member institutions of the Minnesota BSW Consortium Child Welfare Stipend Program (see Consortium Members listed on the inside back cover of the handbook). Liz Snyder, Project Director, at the CASCW located at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work, coordinates the consortium training, research, and curriculum development activities. The Principal Investigator for this project is Professor Jim Reinardy, Director of the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota.

•One of the primary goals of this program is to strengthen the preparation and education of BSW social workers intending to work in Title IV-E public child welfare agencies in Minnesota in non-metro areas. Title IV-E funds are used to encourage the development and introduction of child welfare content in undergraduate social work programs or as specialized elective classes, all subject to the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accreditation. Training, professional development opportunities, new information and access to educational and professional resources will be made available to stipend recipients as funds and time permit.

•A key purpose of federal Title IV-E funding is to counteract the trend among states and counties toward de-professionalization of public child welfare work. It has achieved marked success, in that the number of BSW and MSW graduates who are employed in public child welfare services nationally has significantly increased.

•Child Welfare Agencies in Minnesota, particularly rural Minnesota, will benefit from the increased numbers of undergraduate students as potential employees who possess increased knowledge and skills in working with at-risk children and families. Between fifty and sixty undergraduate students are supported during their junior and senior years in their respective member BSW programs at $1900 per student per semester.

•Stipend recipients will complete their senior field placement in an approved child welfare placement. In consultation with each recipients Director of Field instruction, a field site will be selected in which the student completes approximately 480 hours in a title IV-E eligible agency. Upon graduation from the BSW programs, child welfare stipend recipients agree to apply for and accept a social work position in a title IV-E eligible agency in non-metropolitan areas.

•County social services directors anticipate that the collaboration between Minnesota state universities and the University of Minnesota will significantly boost recruitment and retention of social work-educated child welfare employees in rural areas. They are excited at the prospect of new workers with improved knowledge and skills in child welfare, and are ready to provide internship sites for undergraduate social work students.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What is a “Title IV-E eligible” client?

Two factors are used by the county to determine basic IV-E eligibility: the agency that makes the out-of home placement must have legal responsibility for the care and supervision of the child; and the child must meet the eligibility requirements of AFDC (as of July 1996), which include dependent child, citizenship, deprivation factors, unemployed parent, family income and assets, etc. IV-E eligibility usually refers to foster care clients who meet the other eligibility criteria.

2. What is “public” child welfare?

In Minnesota, public child welfare refers to services provided by the county social services agency or by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, funded by public funds from the local, state, and federal level. For purposes of field placements and employment, recognized American Indian Tribes are also considered public social service providers, as they are sovereign governmental entities.

3. What is a “contracted agency”?

Counties and the state write contracts with non-profit or profit agencies and pay them to provide specific services to specific clients. The employees of the contracted agencies are not employees of the county or state; therefore, a field placement or job in a contracted agency does not meet the Title IV-E requirements for field or employment (unless a job is not available in a public agency).

4. What is an “approved” field placement for a child welfare student?

See page 8 for full details. In general, an approved field placement is in a county child welfare unit for your “required” placement.

5. When can I start my job search for a Title IV-E job?

You can start any time before graduation; however, your payback time does not begin until the date of your graduation. You must document your employment search process.

6. What is “approved” Title IV-E employment?

It is any job in a county or the state agency in which you are working with IV-E eligible clients. Usually this means a child welfare unit in foster care, adoptions, child protection, etc. or a combination of services to clients.

7. If I work part-time after graduation, how is that counted in “payback” time?

Part time employment is pro-rated. If you work less than 40 hours a week, your payback time in months will double (For example, if you received the grant for 18 months and work part-time, or 20 hours a week, your payback in months is 36 months).

8. If I am a part-time student, does it affect my total job payback time after I graduate?

Payback time is counted month for month that you received a Title IV-E stipend, regardless of whether you were a full time or part time student.

INTRODUCTION

We have developed this handbook as a resource to help guide you through the BSW/Title IV-E Child Welfare Program. Hopefully it will be of use to you as you maneuver your way through the new school year, whether it is your first or second year as a student. This handbook was developed by The Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW), The University of Minnesota’s School of Social Work, and The Title-IV-E Child Welfare Consortium.

Sue Peterson, Child Welfare Director (CWD), is available to answer your questions. Sue can be reached at 218-477-4001 or via e-mail at . The University of Minnesota Child Welfare Coordinator is Liz Snyder who can be reached at 612-626-3831 or . If you are outside the 612 area code and need to phone the Twin Cities faculty or staff, please feel free to use their toll-free number: 1-800-SSW-UOFM (1-800-779-8636).

RESOURCES

Please utilize best practices to address any questions you may have.

Center Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW) Web Site (

The Center’s redesigned web site offers an IV-E Scholar section providing information about requirements of and obligations to the Title IV-E Child Welfare Program. The site also offers many publications including Child Welfare News (the Center newsletter) & Practice Notes (the Center’s guide to best practices) as well as proceedings, papers, and reports about child welfare issues. Also posted are notices of events, public child welfare job postings, and curriculum modules that can be used for child welfare workforce training. Please note that many of the Title IV-E requirements may pertain only to MSW students.

COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERNET ACCESS

Most correspondence with Child Welfare students is distributed via e-mail. It is mandatory that you access your MSUM email account (or provide us with a preferred address) and check it regularly.

Computers in the Lommen Hall BSW lounge are available for student use. There are also computer labs around campus for those who do not have access to a computer at work or home. Locations and hours are listed at:

The University creates internet accounts for all incoming students. Your account will not be usable until you “initiate” it by defining a password. All new students can initiate their accounts once they declare their intent to come to the University. Activate your student account at:

CHILD WELFARE MEETINGS

Periodically there will be mandatory child welfare meetings; additional events may include workshops, guest speakers and/or other training sessions. Remember to check your e-mail regularly for updates on events.

Each semester there will be two mandatory child welfare meetings. Each meeting will be from

9:00 AM to 10:00 AM in the Social Work lounge unless noted otherwise.

Fall Semester

•Orientation the first Wednesday in September.

•Check-in the third Wednesday in November.

Spring Semester

•Orientation the third Wednesday in January.

•Check-in the first Wednesday in April.

STIPEND RECIPIENTS RESPONSIBILITIES

This section is intended to clarify the information about the stipend and your responsibilities related to the grant. All of the information regarding your award is contingent on Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) receiving the Title IV-E funding.

MSUM cannot pay tuition costs directly. You are responsible for your educational costs, including tuition, student services fees, any late fees, and for books or other required course materials. Questions about bills and payments should be directed to the Business Office, 218-477-2221. Information on bills, payments, tuition and fees can also be found on the web at If you do not pay your tuition or you pay below the minimum, you will be charged a one-time $30 late fee until the bill is paid. If you want to pursue information on financial aid through the University’s Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, go to Applications for federal loans are accepted on an ongoing basis and an online link to FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is provided at this web site. When applying for loans, MSUM’s financial code # is 002367. The Title IV-E Scholarship may impact your eligibility for other types of financial aid or scholarships.

Full-time students (those who have registered for 12 or more credits) will receive a total of $3,800 for the academic year (i.e. a lump sum payment of $1,900 per semester).

We will not be able to provide a stipend for coursework taken during the summer session.

Lonnie Carlson runs student payroll at MSUM. She can be reached at 218-477-2223 or . Her office is located at 214C Owens Hall. The CWD checks your registration each term, and will communicate the appropriate stipend amount to the Payroll Office.