Practice area: Child welfare
Prepare to join a much-needed workforce that is seeking compassionate change agents who can emphasize prevention and family preservation.
It is a crucial time for social workers to specialize in child welfare practice, as practitioners and researchers grapple with the history of child welfare and current implications for this area of practice. The VCU School of Social Work supports students at both the undergraduate and graduate level who want to work in the child welfare practice area, particularly through specialized courses, programming and field placements for those who participate in the Child Welfare Stipend Program.
The existing child welfare workforce needs additional colleagues to join them in this area of practice who are critical thinkers, diligent workers, full of compassion and agents of change. Child welfare practitioners have been working with policy makers to shift the child welfare system toward family preservation and prevention, while prioritizing safety and working toward better outcomes for youth currently in foster care.
CWSP students attend a workshop with a social work alum.
About the CWSP
The CWSP trains social work students for careers in public child welfare, focusing on foster care, adoption and in-home services. This ensures that vulnerable children and families receive support from well-trained social work practitioners.
B.S.W. and M.S.W. students must apply separately from VCU admission to join the program, which awards a $10,000 stipend to each student; B.S.W. students can participate for one year, M.S.W. students for up to two. There is a post-graduate payback requirement to work at a local department of social services within the commonwealth of Virginia, in foster care, adoption and/or in-home (family preservation) services, one calendar year for each academic year the student participates in the CWSP.
Students receive the following training and support:
- Agency-based placement experience within a local department of social services
- Required training through the Commonwealth of Virginia Learning Center
- Child welfare-specific coursework
- Topical and skills workshops
- Support in the employment search process
- A supportive network of professionals, including current child welfare workers, community partners, cohort members and university coordinators
Featured courses
CWSP students are required to take a policy course with a focus in child welfare and a child welfare practice course. Students may also choose to take additional courses focused on child and adolescent trauma and substance use.
Courses for M.S.W. students
Concentration Social Policy. 3 Hours.
Focuses on advanced policy analysis through an in-depth, focused examination of a particular social policy area or population. Extends basic knowledge and skills of policy formulation, development and impact analysis/evaluation, as these affect practice on behalf of clients.
Full description
Social Work Practice in Child Welfare. 3 Hours.
Identifies the major social, demographic and economic changes in child welfare services that impact children -- a vulnerable population -- and their families. Full description
Trauma and Social Work Practice: Theory, Assessment and Intervention. 3 Hours.
The course surveys the history of the development of trauma theory, as well as the neurobiology of trauma. The concept of resilience and its mechanisms will also be explored. Students will consider various forms of trauma, with particular emphasis on developmental and complex trauma and their long-term effects. Full description
Social Work Intervention in Substance Use and Addictive Disorders. 3 Hours.
Provides students with the physiological, emotional and behavioral manifestations of substance use disorder, DSM-V-based assessment, a range of relevant evidence-based intervention strategies, and the role of social workers in evaluation and intervention. Full description
SLWK 761. Interpersonal Violence in Clinical Social Work Practice. 3 Hours.
The purpose of this course is to increase clinical social work students' theory-based and practice knowledge and understanding of interpersonal violence as it relates to various client systems throughout the lifespan to include: prenatal exposure to interpersonal violence, child abuse and neglect, teen dating violence, intimate partner violence, children's experience with intimate partner violence, and elder abuse. Full description
Courses for B.S.W. students
Social Welfare, Policy and Practice. 3 Hours.
Analyzes social welfare policy as related to social values, social problems and social structures. Full description
Topics in Social Work. 3 Hours.
SLWK 391 offers different special topics courses, so please check with your advisor as to availability in a given semester. Possible topics
Agency-based field placements
Each CWSP recipient completes a field placement at a local Department of Social Services (LDSS) agency in a foster care, adoption and/or in- home (family preservation) services role. For B.S.W. students and M.S.W. advanced standing students (one-year track), the LDSS field placement is the only placement in the CWSP.
For M.S.W. students in the regular standing two-year track or 16-month track, the CWSP requires at least one LDSS field placement in foster care, adoption and/or in-home services (family preservation), plus an additional field placement that can be completed in another child-serving agency.
Community partner agencies benefit by having the opportunity to train students, who become passionate and prepared graduates with practical, hands-on experience in LDSS settings. This partnership enhances workforce retention, contributing to a stronger child welfare system that prioritizes safety, permanency and well-being, and leading to better outcomes for children, youth and families.
Specialized learning and training
A variety of enhanced learning activities are available to CWSP students. In addition to topical monthly seminars that often feature a guest speaker who is currently working in child welfare, there are a number of workshops and trainings that take place throughout the academic year. Topics and workshops include:
- Professional use of self and maintaining wellness in practice
- Engaging families in child welfare using Motivational Interviewing (MI)
- Assessment and service planning in child welfare
- Utilizing clinical skills in child welfare practice
- Child welfare case simulation workshop
- Practical skills training utilizing local and state training resources
- Transition from education to employment workshop series
This annual event is hosted in partnership with VCU Career Services, Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) Human Resources and LDSS partners, and includes instruction around the LDSS job search process, state and deviating agency applications, resume/cover letter writing and mock interviews. Additionally, students hear from panels of LDSS professionals and CWSP alumni, who coach students on the interview process, and the transition from education to employment.
This annual event includes collaborating with simulated clients from the VCU Center for Human Simulation and Patient Safety. It provides an opportunity for students to participate in live role plays with actors and observe their peers in a simulated case. The live simulations involve cases that are child welfare-specific, which allow students to gain experience in a controlled environment and receive feedback in real-time.
Students are able to get feedback from their peers, the actors and current child welfare professionals, including CWSP advisory committee members and alumni. This is also an opportunity for students to practice Motivational Interviewing (MI) skills – focusing on the Spirit of Motivational Interviewing, Engaging, Focusing and Evoking
This tool is used to define and describe the skills and activities associated with effective practice by LDSS agencies. It covers 11 key skill sets across the child welfare continuum from child protective services to permanency. Introducing this tool to emerging child welfare professionals provides them with a concrete way to operationalize best practices in the field early on.
The practice profiles are based on the Children’s Services Practice Model, which sets forth a vision for services delivered by child-serving agencies across the state, such as the departments of social services, juvenile justice, education, behavioral health and developmental services, and comprehensive services. It is foundational to ensuring the state’s mission of ensuring safety, permanency and well- being for Virginia’s children and families.
CWSP students are required to complete a number of training sessions that are mandated for local DSS employees prior to graduation through the Commonwealth of Virginia Learning Center (COVLC), a learning management system used by state employees for professional development. Having access to this system prior to starting employment gives students an advantage when they first start as a new worker.
This is also advantageous for agencies because it means that less time is spent in training their first few weeks in the agency and more time can be spent in the field with seasoned workers in the live onboarding process, which builds real-life experience applying training in those early weeks. Given that new workers often inherit existing caseloads, this is a major benefit.
Career outlook
Salary estimates can vary based on geography, job type and professional experience, including factors such as degree, training and certifications. The National Child Welfare Workforce Institute indicates more than half of child welfare caseworkers in the United States work with a government agency, while one-third are in the private sector.