Child Welfare Stipend Program & community impact

Our graduate pipeline creates a more sustainable, thriving child welfare workforce, strengthening connections with families. 

The Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipend Program at VCU is a crucial university-state partnership tackling the challenges within child welfare: high caseloads, staff turnover and burnout. The program proactively addresses the need for a robust, highly skilled and sustainable workforce by providing specialized training and agency based placements – and a $10,000 stipend – for up to 29 undergraduate and graduate students each year.

Title IV-E is a federally funded program that runs through the VDSS, supporting the statewide Child Welfare Stipend Programs at VCU as well as George Mason University, Norfolk State University, Radford University and Virginia State University. 

By investing in our emerging social work professionals, the VCU School of Social Work and our colleagues are empowering students to build the skills to manage demanding caseloads more effectively. This allows them to shift from administrative burdens to deeper, more impactful engagement with families. It’s an approach that builds a foundation for greater job satisfaction and reduces burnout, fostering an environment where our social workers can truly thrive.

(CWSP graduates) are a little more committed. ... They do seem a little better prepared than other students that I’ve had and a little ... more understanding of the challenges that they’re going to run into and the kinds of things that they’re going to see. ... They’re not looking at it with the same rose-colored glasses, and that’s a good thing.”

– A VCU M.S.W. alum working as a director at a rural Virginia LDSS agency

Child Welfare Stipend Program staff and students at an advocacy event.

Professional development & expertise

The CWSP provides community partners with trained students for agency-based placements and graduates with practical experience. It enhances workforce retention by supporting professional development and ultimately contributes to a stronger child welfare system that prioritizes safety, family preservation and prevention, leading to better outcomes for children, youth and their families.

Motivational Interviewing: The school is piloting a Motivational Interviewing elective in the Fall 2025 to further meet the need for child welfare workers to have additional training in Evidence Based Practices (EBPs) directly applicable to their work in the community and which are reimbursable under the Family First Prevention Services Act. This is one of several opportunities for continuing skill-based professional development for community partners.

Academic opportunities for working professionals: The school also focuses on recruiting current child welfare professionals to continue their professional development by enrolling in the B.S.W. and/or M.S.W programs to enhance their knowledge and skills in working effectively with families impacted by a myriad of issues, including trauma, alcohol and/or other substance use disorder (AOSUD), and other mental health challenges.

A recent study states that “public child welfare agencies that value and support their employees to pursue the MSW degree through the Title IV-E MSW student-employees program tend to have workers who are more committed to the agency, resulting in better outcomes for children and families” (Castañeda & Han 2025).

Infusion of expertise: The CWSP-VDSS partnership is instrumental in cultivating essential expertise directly within local DSS agencies. Through focused training and financial support, the Title IV-E program is actively preparing a new and emerging generation of highly qualified professionals who bring core social work knowledge, skills and values directly to the front lines, strengthening the continuity of care and engagement between caseworkers and the families they serve. This investment has immense potential to drive improved outcomes for children and facilitate timely interventions, stable placements and, ultimately, build stronger family foundations across our communities.

Addressing challenges

The Title IV-E CWSP is well positioned to support the commonwealth's child welfare agencies as they navigate workforce challenges.

Workforce shortage: Virginia is experiencing a workforce shortage in public child welfare. Statewide, among all 120 local Department of Social Service agencies, there is a 40% turnover rate. The CWSP provides a steady stream of educated professionals who can help fill these gaps.

Workforce preparation: The CWSP also contributes to the professionalization of the field. The values and ethical guidelines of the social work profession align well with the VDSS Practice Profiles and Virginia Children’s Services practice model.

Fast transition into the workforce: CWSP students are required,  prior to graduation, to complete a number of training sessions that are mandatory for local DSS employees. The Commonwealth of Virginia Learning Center (COVLC) is a platform that state employees utilize for training and 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 an added advantage for agencies because it means less time is spent in new worker training and more time can be spent in the field with seasoned workers, building real-life experience. Given that new workers often inherit existing caseloads, this is a major benefit.

I believe that the program provides agencies with a strong foundation for their workforce. In a field often marked by high turnover and burnout, the specialized training and education offered by the CWSP prepares emerging workers to effectively manage the challenges they will encounter in this profession."

– Alum Kristen Van de Riet (M.S.W.’09), LCWS, Chesterfield (Va.) County Government