Kansas Child Welfare Scholars Program
Educating undergraduate social work students to work in public
child welfare to strengthen families
I was born to two months premature to an alcoholic mother. My brother
and I were placed in foster care a couple years later. That's when I met
Kari Simpson. She was our social worker. She spent a lot of time with my
brother and I making us feel comfortable and safe. She made us feel loved.
For the next few years, my brother and I were in and out of foster care.
Through the years, Kari was the only constant in our lives.
PURPOSE: The Kansas Child Welfare Scholars Program seeks to enhance child
welfare service delivery in Kansas by increasing the number and diversity of
professionally educated social work staff with the Kansas Department of Social
and Rehabilitation Services (SRS).
PARTNERS: The Scholars Program is a collaborative effort between SRS and
the eight undergraduate social work programs in Kansas that make up the Social
Work Education Consortium - Bethel College, Bethany College, Fort Hays
State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University,
University of Kansas (KU), Washburn University and Wichita State University.
The KU School of Social Welfare administers the program through its office
of Child Welfare and Children's Mental Health.
Kari would come to visit us and take us out to lunch. She would talk to
us on our level, and genuinely cared what we were saying. On our birthdays,
she would either call or send a card. On days that I did well in school,
I would call her and she would get so excited for me. After a few more years
in foster care, my brother and I were placed for adoption. I was excited,
but at the same time, I was sad. I thought I would lose the one constant
friend that I had made. I was wrong. Kari and I have kept in contact through
the years. Although our contact is not as often as before, we still talk
and get together. She really did care about my brother and I.
HISTORY: The State of Kansas has a long history of supporting professional
social work education. Since the 1950's, the state has supported programs,
under various federal auspices, to help child welfare workers acquire social
work degrees. With the infusion of Title IV-E funding, the state's social work
programs joined together to offer social work education for SRS employees and
students preparing for SRS employment in child welfare across the state. From
1991 through 1996, the program supported 186 BSW and MSW graduates committed
to working for SRS. In 1996, the program was halted to assess the impact of
privatization on child welfare services on state employment needs. The program
was re-started at the undergraduate level in 1999.
FUNDING: The Program accesses federal funds authorized for child welfare training
through Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. The majority of required state
matching funds are provided through the Social Work Education Consortium.
When it came time to start college, I knew what I wanted to be when I "grew
up." I wanted to be a social worker. When I learned about the Child Welfare
Scholars Program, I applied and got an interview. When asked why I wanted
to practice social work, I told the interviewers of my past in foster care
and about my social worker. When I told them her name was Kari Simpson, they
were shocked. She was a graduate of this program.
SCHOLARS: The Scholars Program supports students for up to four semesters
to complete a bachelor's degree in social work. Students receive a "value-added" education
including a specialized course in child welfare services, a 480 hour field
practicum with SRS and a scholarship to attend child welfare-related conference.
Following graduation, students must commit to employment in child welfare
with SRS for a minimum period of twice the amount of time supported while
in school. Students unable to complete degree requirements or the work obligation
are subject to repaying the amount of support.
RESOURCES: The Scholars Program sponsors child welfare curriculum development
mini-grants to social work faculty, a state-wide field instructors training
project, and opportunities for resource sharing among consortium schools. Other
current initiatives include work with a tribal social worker to develop training
on the Indian Child Welfare Act and a partnership with the Washburn School
of Law to create a mock court seminar preparing students for courtroom testimony.
After taking a few classes I have learned that Kari went above and beyond
the call of duty. She did not have to send us cards. She did not have to
talk to us almost on a weekly basis. I am learning more and more about the
decisions that Kari made for my brother and me. At the time, I did not understand
but now I do. She was acting in the best interest of us, the children.
IMPACT: Since 2001, 61 students have graduated through the Kansas Child
Welfare Scholars Program and 15 are currently receiving support. Due to the
partnership between universities, students are able to attend school and
often become employed with SRS in or near their home communities. Program
graduates are currently employed in all SRS regions across the state. Scholars
represent 32% of social workers hired by SRS from 2001-2004.
Numerous studies
show that social work education results in better prepared workers who
are more effective in service delivery and who are more likely to remain
employed in public child welfare.
Turnover rate for program graduates is 8%
compared to a 12% turnover overall for SRS social workers. In a recent
evaluation, the majority of program graduates currently working at SRS indicated
an interest in long term employment with the agency.
In 2005, the Kansas Child
Welfare Scholars Program received the Academic Excellence Award from the
American Public Human Services Association for outstanding contributions
in the field of human services.
I know because of this program, I will be a better social worker. I do
not have to worry about working, I can concentrate on my schooling. Had it
not been for this program, I do not know if I would have been able to get
into social work now. I would have had to take a couple years off to work
for the money and who knows if I would have gone back to school?
I have recommended this program to many of my peers. This program gave
me the very best social worker. Now hopefully I can be as good of a social
worker to a child, as she was to me. -Andrina Parker, current Kansas Child
Welfare Scholar.
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