August 4th, 2010
Texas State receives $781K grant to educate social workers

STAFF REPORT

Texas State has received a $781,000 grant from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to prepare students for careers in Title IV-E public child welfare.

The grant will benefit students and faculty in the College of Applied Arts, the Center for Children and Families and the School of Social Work.

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.

Through the partnership, 42 social work students will receive specialized education and support, while faculty will develop innovative, research-based curriculum modules for best practices in the field of public child welfare.

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