- The application process for the 2025-2026 cohort will open in October.
- Meet our 2024 and 2023 CWSP graduates.
Child Welfare Stipend Program
Preparing social work practitioners to engage families, support children and foster connections
Are you interested in child welfare, and working with children and families? If so, check out this important program that will prepare you for a meaningful career in child welfare while offering some incredible benefits.
Next application deadlines
Applications will open again in Fall 2024 for the 2025-2026 cohort.
- Feb. 12, 2025, for the following groups of students:
- M.S.W. on-campus and online students starting their specialization year (third semester) Fall 2025.
- This group includes M.S.W. online students beginning the M.S.W. Program in the Spring 2025 semester on the 16-month track.
- Prospective incoming students for the M.S.W. advanced standing formats*
- Current B.S.W. students going into their senior year Fall 2025
- March 26, 2025, for the following groups of students:
- Prospective incoming students for the M.S.W. regular standing formats*
*Prospective students: You may not yet have your M.S.W. admission decision prior to the CWSP application date; however, you still must apply to be considered, as application packets received after the appropriate CWSP application deadline will not be considered.
About the program
The Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipend Program is a partnership between the Virginia Department of Social Services and four state universities within Virginia, including Virginia Commonwealth University. This specialized training program, funded through Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, prepares social work students for a career in public child welfare. The goal of the CWSP at VCU is to recruit and prepare a caring, competent and innovative child welfare workforce in Virginia.
Program benefits
The CWSP at VCU provides students with the following training and support:
- Field 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
Stipend amount awarded
B.S.W. seniors and M.S.W. students accepted into this program receive a $10,000 stipend per academic year (fall and spring semesters).
Stipulations
In exchange for the stipend and child welfare training, the stipend recipient has a work 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, for one calendar year for each academic year the stipend was received.
Why child welfare?
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 existing child welfare workforce needs additional colleagues to join them in the field who are critical thinkers, diligent workers, full of compassion and agents of change. Child welfare practitioners have been working with policymakers to shift the child welfare system toward family preservation and prevention, while working toward better outcomes for youth currently in foster care. There is still so much important work to do.
How to apply
VCU B.S.W. and M.S.W. students can apply for the stipend. Review the next sections to learn about the application process.
Applicants must complete the CWSP online application form and submit all required documents by the application deadline. Learn more about how to prepare the required documents to apply.
Required documents include:
- A professional reflection
- A current resume
Application packets for the CWSP at VCU must be submitted by the appropriate deadline in order to be considered.
The CWSP team at VCU and advisory committee members review and screen application packets. Once admission to the M.S.W. Program or B.S.W. status is confirmed, applicants selected for the next stage of the process are scheduled for a required face-to-face interview in person or virtually. During the interview, applicants are asked a series of questions and are informed in more detail of the postgraduation commitment. Applicants are selected for the program based on a thorough review of application materials and the face-to-face interview. Following the interview, CWSP applicants will be asked to provide two professional references.
Applicants will be notified in writing via email about the award decision in a timely manner after interviews are completed and references submitted for each group of applicants. Applicants who are offered a spot in the CWSP and choose to accept the financial award will be required to sign the Child Welfare Stipend Program Student Agreement, a legally binding contractual agreement obligating them to seek and obtain employment in a local department of social services in Virginia postgraduation in family preservation, foster care and/or adoption services. Applicants who choose to accept the stipend must also submit other documents required by the state.
- Financial awards are communicated to the VCU Financial Aid Office and disbursed to student aid accounts. Acceptance of this stipend may affect other financial aid that you receive. Applicants must contact the VCU Financial Aid Office to determine the impact of the award upon eligibility for other financial aid awards.
- Monies awarded to student accounts are to be used to cover tuition first. If any monies remain in the student account, they may be used to cover applicable fees and books.
- Your application will be reviewed fully by the CWSP team and community partners tasked with making a recommendation about your admittance to the program.
- Stipend recipients must verify identity and employment eligibility by completing Section 1 of INS Form I-9, providing the required documentation and submitting these to the Child Welfare Stipend Program Coordinator at VCU as part of the admissions process prior to or at the time of signing the contractual agreement.
- Stipend recipients also are required to submit a copy of their valid driver’s license.
- If you are selected for an award, you will be required to complete a Request for a Search of the Child Protective Services Central Registry, a Criminal History Record Request and an Information Request for the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles upon entering your field placement and upon obtaining employment in a state or local department of social services. A history of founded CPS complaints, criminal convictions or poor driving record may be a barrier to field placement and employment in Virginia’s state or local departments of social services and thus may make you ineligible to receive the award if you are not accepted for a placement by a local department of social services. If you have concerns about your eligibility, please email the program coordinator at cwstipend@vcu.edu for more information. Failure to disclose this information or to report any change of status relative to conviction of a crime, any moving traffic violations or a founded complaint of child abuse/neglect may result in dismissal from the Child Welfare Stipend Program and require your repayment of the financial award.
Preparing your application packet
The following steps must be completed and your documents submitted by the application deadline to be considered. Your emailed submission of required documents will be acknowledged within five business days of submission.
Please review and reflect on the following:
- "How the child welfare system works”
- Listen to the podcast Casework: What It Really Takes
- Watch videos:
- Take some time to reflect on the strengths and goals that you have that would make you a good fit for this area of social work practice.
After you have reflected on the material above, please submit your responses to the following questions. Responses should be a maximum length of two pages in total for all five questions. Responses will be evaluated on quality of substance and writing skills; be thorough, yet concise. Note: Please respond in whatever way feels best to you. While we are not picky when it comes to text size, font or spacing, we are looking for content that reflects appropriateness of fit for the program.
- Why are you interested in working with families in the public child welfare system, specifically in family preservation, foster care and/or adoption services?
- What experience have you had in public or private child welfare, as a volunteer, student or employee? How has that experience influenced you? If you do not have experience in child welfare, tell us more about what you understand to be the focus and importance of child welfare work.
- Describe your immediate career goals. How will a social work education with a focus in public child welfare help you obtain these goals?
- Working in public child welfare often means you are working in situations that will challenge you personally and professionally. Tell us about a time when you encountered a challenge where there was no way out but through. How did you work through that experience?
- The Commonwealth of Virginia is investing significant resources to prepare its future child welfare workforce. Tell us what strengths you will add to the child welfare workforce if chosen to participate in this program.
Please submit your professional reflection and current resume to cwstipend@vcu.edu. Your current resume should include education, employment, volunteer and field/internship experience.
To complete your application, fill out and submit the CWSP application form. All application materials must be submitted by the application deadline in order for your application packet to be reviewed and considered.
Following the interview, applicants chosen to move forward in the selection process will be required to submit two professional references using the CWSP reference form.
Both references must be from professionals who have worked with you, preferably one from someone who has supervised you in some capacity.
Application deadlines
The CWSP at VCU solicits applications for full-time current and prospective students each year to apply to join the program as a part of a cohort that begins in the fall semester. Applications for each cohort open in October for the following academic year cohort.
Complete application packets are due according to the following deadlines (exact dates subject to change each year):
- Feb. 12, 2025, for the following groups of students:
- M.S.W. on-campus and online students starting their specialization year (third semester) Fall 2025.
- This group includes M.S.W. online students beginning the M.S.W. Program in the Spring 2025 semester on the 16-month track.
- Prospective incoming students for the M.S.W. advanced standing formats*
- Current B.S.W. students going into their senior year Fall 2025
- March 26, 2025, for the following groups of students:
- Prospective incoming students for the M.S.W. regular standing formats*
*Prospective students: You may not yet have your M.S.W. admission decision prior to the CWSP application date; however, you still must apply to be considered, as application packets received after the appropriate CWSP application deadline will not be considered.
Resources for child welfare practice and research
If you're interested in additional resources, please review:
- Casey Family Programs
- Center for the Study of Social Policy, Child Welfare
- Children’s Bureau
- Child Welfare Information Gateway
- Child Welfare Capacity Building Collaborative CapLEARN portal
- Family First Virginia
- National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW) – Position Statements which include child welfare practice
- National Association of Social Workers (NASW), Child Welfare Practice
- Virginia Department of Social Services (policy and practice resources)
- Virginia’s Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipend Program Handbook (see resource section)
Contact us
For questions about the program, contact the CWSP team at cwstipend@vcu.edu.
The CWSP at VCU has built my resiliency in helping me to understand that learning is a lifelong practice best supported by strong teachers, colleagues and a network of support systems.”
Katelyn Bond (she/her), ’22 M.S.W. graduate
The CWSP at VCU has strongly encouraged self-care and flexibility in practice, and has been a huge system of support in my professional and academic career.”
Zachary Carr (he/him), '22 M.S.W. graduate
The knowledge and experience I have gained from CWSP has expanded my interest in working with children and families on the micro level of direct service work while also working on the macro level in the future to inform equitable policies and dismantle systemic racism in child welfare.”
Abigail Osei (she/her), ’21 M.S.W. graduate
The CWSP has invested time in my professional development to empower me not only to serve in my field, but also to network within the broader social work community.”
Morgan Wood (she/her), ’21 M.S.W. graduate
Check out the CWSP's Class of 2023 and Class of 2024.