 Testimonials
from Title IV-E Child Welfare Scholars Alumni
"As the State Program Manager for the Supreme Court's Guardian ad Litem Program,
I have found my training and educational preparation through the IV-E Scholar
program to be indispensable. The complex set of interlocking systems we call
the Child Welfare system requires broad based knowledge and high-level skills
on the part of the practitioner if the best interests of families and children
are to be protected and promoted. Great harm can be done to the integrity of
families and to the welfare of children when inexperienced or poorly supervised
workers are given the grave and weighty responsibility of trying to manage
the safety and service needs of families who have come to the attention of
the legal system.
The IV-E child welfare scholars program ensures that front-line practitioners
and their supervisors have the training they need to intervene in family
life only when required to protect children and to do so in the least intrusive,
most helpful way possible ."
- Mark Toogood, MSW, State Program Manager,
Supreme Court's Guardian ad Litem program
"As an Alumna recipient of the grant managed by the University of Minnesota
School of Social Work, I would like to highlight the valuable contributions
that it made to my life as a professional in Social Services. The Center for
Advance Studies in Child Welfare provided the educational resources that enhanced
my ability to address multi-systemic family issues. The skills acquired in
my studies provided by the grant created the opportunity to help families find
stability in the community; assist youth placed in foster care prepare for
independent living; and the development of community based collaborations,
which provide outreach services to those challenged by mental illness. Without
this training grant and it's focus on the issues of Child Welfare, communities
will become vulnerable over time, thus causing cost draining dynamics for our
future ."
- Paula A. Sanders, MSW, Hennepin County
Human Services Program Manager
"I continue to hold the position of Human Services Director for the White
Earth Tribal Council. I moved into this position at the time I received my
MSW from the U of M. The funding I received from the Title IV-E training
grant was critical in helping me to receive my degree . As you are
aware I had to travel 180 miles round trip to attend classes. A number of my
staff, who are also Native American, have since received this funding; and
an additional ICWA social worker will soon be graduating with her MSW (from
the U of M-Duluth). Four additional staff will soon be applying either through
the U of M Twin Cities or Duluth campuses. This funding is very beneficial
for any rural student who pursues an MSW degree ."
- Marshall Brown, MSW, Director,
White Earth Human Services
"In 1996, I had been working part time for several years providing home visits
for at-risk parents and their infants. Although I loved the work, program funding
was cut over and over again, requiring that I find new employment every three
years or less. With the help of the Title IV-E grant I was able to
get a Master's degree in social work, and found a position in a county home
visiting program . An important part of my education was grant-writing;
I have now been in this position for almost five years, and we've patched together
funding through 2007!"
- Jill Simon, MSW, Case Consultant
Dakota Healthy Families
"It was an honor for me to be selected by the School of Social Work at the
U of M as a Title IV-E Child Welfare Scholar. The program has many
strengths, including the opportunity for Distance Education that links rural
sites so that students can interact with the professor on courses such as:
Child Welfare and the Law, Child Welfare and Substance Abuse, and Child Sexual
Abuse . Having most professors teaching course work who were concurrently
practicing in the field is a stellar quality of the Social Work program and
in particular the child welfare emphasis. The quarterly symposiums held at
the school brought together leaders in the field of Child Welfare with students
on issues such as relative/kin placements, working with involuntary families,
addressing domestic violence, and child welfare issues.
I am now working as a Supervisor for Nicollet County Social Services. Our
County is beginning to see an explosion of methamphetamine, which has numerous
implications for child protection, chemical dependency, the criminal justice
system, etc. Our Region has adopted a policy that addresses safety and health
issues for child protection workers who assist law enforcement in the removal
of children from homes contaminated by methamphetamine cookers. The County
has also developed policies to prevent placement reentries by screening all
placements with a child placement team and looking at other options to placement."
- Sue Serbus, MSW, Supervisor,
Nicollet County Social Services
"The Title IV-E Grant meant so much to me as I completed the MSW program;
it certainly gave me the ability to re-enter the work force with expanded knowledge
which benefited children and families in my work. Following the completion
of MSW program, I supervised mental health services in county systems and eventually
moved into direct practice through therapeutic intervention. My work
with family systems has been indisputably enhanced by the opportunity given
by Title IV-E funding for the MSW program. We need people who desire to improve
their skills for intervention and prevention. This is good for children, families,
and community ."
- Patty Spielman, MSW
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