Title IV-E Child Welfare Training Program

History
In 1990, The Deans and Director of California Schools of Social Work and the County Welfare Directors Association created the California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC) in order to improve the training of social workers for the publicly supported social services.  In 1992, CalSWEC entered into a contract with the California Department of Social Services to prepare MSWs for careers in public child welfare.  Support for these students is provided through federal Title IV-E training funds managed by the Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.  About 400 stipends for full-time study are now available statewide.  Tuition and other aid are provided to current social service employees for part-time study.

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About CalSWEC
CalSWEC, the California Social Work Education Center, is the nation's largest state coalition of social work educators and practitioners.  It is a consortium of the state's 18 accredited social work graduate schools, the 58 county departments of social services and mental health, the California Department of Social Services, and the California Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

CalSWEC's main office is located at the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley.  Their Web Site: http://Calswec.berkeley.edu.

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Mission
In June 1999, CalSWEC's Board of Directors met to reaffirm its commitment to a variety of public human services in California and revised its mission statement, as follows:

The California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC) is a partnership between the schools of social work, public human service agencies, and other related professional organizations that facilitate the integration of education and practice to assure effective, culturally competent service delivery and leadership to the people of California.

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Goals
CalSWEC's mission is supported by the following goals:

• Recruiting and preparing a diverse group of social workers for careers in public human service with special emphasis on child welfare;
• Defining and operationalizing a continuum of social work education and training;
• Engaging in research and evaluation of best practices in social work;
• Exploring other models and structures of operation that provide maximum opportunity for accomplishing CalSWEC's mission.