The Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS)

The Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS)

The Consortium of Social Work Education

and the

Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies

(COFCCA)

Amy Watkins Scholarship Fund – Fall 2008/Spring 2009

First Time Applicant Application

Eligibility Information, Agency Nomination and Application Form

Purpose

The Amy Watkins Scholarship Fund encourages and supports workers committed to working professionally in the field of child welfare to attain their BSW and/or MSW degrees at accredited institutions (with accredited BSW or MSW programs) of higher learning, through grants for tuition assistance. The goal is to help improve the quality of services delivered to some of the most vulnerable children and families in New YorkState through a workforce that can earn a social work degree while remaining employed in child welfare. The retention of graduate-workers along with increased advancement opportunities into supervisory and management roles are related objectives. The participation of bi-lingual speaking and underrepresented worker populations is encouraged.

Who Was Amy Watkins

Amy Watkins (1973-1999) was a social worker from Topeka, Kansas, who was murdered while walking down the street on March 8, 1999, in Brooklyn, New York. Her death sparked widespread dismay in New York City, and days later 300 marchers expressed their grief with a candlelight march on her Prospect Heights street. Watkins graduated from the University of Kansas in 1996, and was a student at the Hunter College School of Social Work at the time of her death. Both institutions established scholarships in her name.
Watkins, who was 26, had been working at the New Settlement Houses in the Bronx as a counselor to battered women in addition to attending school. She was also an artist who believed art could be used to foster human relationships and combat social ills.

Eligibility information:

Any currently matriculated student, or accepted for an MSW program effective Fall ’08in an approved (CSWE accredited) MSW degree program or Junior or Senior in a BSW program.

Students must have a minimum of one year employment with a child welfare agency.

Students must be in good standing at their agency and school (i.e., not on probation or other progressive disciplinary track, etc.)

Nomination must come from a child welfare agency that contracts with at least 1 of the 19 eligible counties (list attached).

Important Notes:

1.

Application Deadline – June 17, 2008

All Applications must be received at COFCCA no later than 4:00 p.m. on June 17th (Email ; fax 212-929-0870, US Mail: 254 West 31st Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY10001).

1. All grants are contingent on continued legislative funding.
2. Receipt of prior Amy Watkins scholarship does not guarantee or impact consideration of scholarships for the 08/09 academic year.
3. This application is for both Fall 2008 semester and Spring 2009 semester. (Note: There will NOT be a separate application for the Spring 2009 semester.)
4. There is a limited amount of funds available for Fall 2008. The maximum award for Fall 2008 will be $1000 for approximately 30 students (whose applications for this scholarship receive the highest rating from the reviewers). If you are one of the recipients for Fall 2008, you will automatically be granted a Spring 2009 award PENDING your continued attendance in good standing at your school and that you maintain an overall GPA of B. The amount of the Spring 2009 awards will vary with a maximum award amount of $3000.
5. If you are selected as an Amy Watkins recipient, but not in the top 30, while we are unable to provide a Fall award to you, YOU WILL RECEIVE A SPRING 2009 award pending your continued attendance in school with an overall GPA of B.
6. Notification of awards or non-awards will be made by August 1, 2008.
7. If you are awarded a scholarship, you will be given a date by which all your paperwork is due into our office. Failure to meet this date will result in loss/withdrawal of award.

Bilingual Speaking Persons and Other Under-represented Populations,

Are Encouraged to Apply

For internal COFCCA use only:

ID#______

Part I: Agency Information – to be completed by Agency

Representative (supervisor, director, executive director, etc.)

Name of Agency
Agency Address
Your Name
Your Title
Phone:
Email:
Relationship to Nominee (co-worker, supervisor, program director, etc)
Name of Nominee (student)
Title
Number of Years at Agency
Is this nominee in good standing at the agency? / Yes No
Does your agency currently have a tuition assistance program? / Yes No
If yes, how much does your agency pay towards tuition / $per person? $per credit? Total??

Note: These grants are not meant to supplant or substitute for an existing agency tuition reimbursement program. Agencies should not reduce their commitment to overall tuition and related supports. **Amy Watkins Scholarship Funds will not exceed the total tuition costs to participating staff.

In addition to completing the above information, please answer the following question (on a separate sheet of paper):

Why have you chosen this nominee and what contributions do you believe she/he will make to the field of child welfare?

Signature of Person Nominating the Applicant:

Date:

Part II: Nominee (Student) Information

Name:
CurrentSchool
School Address
BSW Program
or
MSW Program 1 yr 2 yr / If BSW Program: Jr. or Sr.
If MSW, how many credits completed?
Nominee Address:
Home Phone: / Work Phone:
Email:
Are you bilingual speaking?
Yes No / If yes, what language(s)
Other than years at current job, do you have any other child welfare experience? / Yes No
If yes, how many years total:

Essay Questions and Instructions

Please complete each of the questions below on separate sheets of paper (unless you are using this in e-form).

All answers must be typed, 12 pitch font, double spaced.

Each question must be answered in approximately150 words.Be sure to answer the questions asked.

Each question should be answered in detail.

Good written communication skills are critical in social work practice and will be recognized in the application reviews. (Double proofreading is highly suggested.)

Spelling and grammatical errors will reflect on the overall evaluation of your application!

For internal COFCCA use only:

ID#______

1. Identify what you see as primary causes of abuse and neglect in our society and consider how at least two specific aspects of your personal life experience prepares you for a social work career with families who enter into the child welfare system.

1. The purpose of the Amy Watkins Scholarship Fund Tuition Relief program is to improve the quality of the services delivered to some of the most vulnerable children and families in New YorkState and to increase the diversity and professionalism of the social work force in child welfare services agencies. How do you currently see these goals influencing your educational and career goals?

1. We all bring our race, class, and culture to work. How do your race, class and culture a) influence and enrich your work with clients of diverse backgrounds; and b) contribute to your agency’s cultural sensitivity and competence in achieving outcomes of safety, permanency and well being of children and families?