About

In 1980, through the passage of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act, the Social Security Act was revised to include Title IV-E. Title IV-E allows states to claim a portion of the cost of care of children in foster care for those children who would have been eligible for AFDC under the 1996 eligibility rules. Title IV-E also allows states to draw down "match" federal dollars to cover a portion of the costs of training for those who are providing services in public child welfare systems. This includes both short-term and long-term training such as people who in social work degree programs; and it includes those “who are employed or preparing for employment in a public child welfare agency.” 

Through the creation of Title IV-E, policymakers aimed to “improve the quality of care of children in foster care, reduce the number of children in foster care, return children to their homes as soon as conditions permit, and facilitate the adoption or permanent placement of children who cannot be returned to their homes.”

The ASU Child Welfare Education Program began in 1988. It is a collaborative effort between the Arizona State University School of Social Work and the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS). The program provides paid tuition packages, a specialized curriculum, and a public child welfare practicum to social work students. The Principal Investigators of the grant are Dr. Elizabeth Lightfoot and Dr. Tonia Stott.

The mission of the program is to prepare social work students to empower families and promote the safety, permanency, and well-being of the children involved in Arizona's public child welfare system.

The goals of the program are:

1. Foster students' development of anti-oppressive and socially just critical decision-making capacities.
2. Prepare students to view problems and collaborative solution-seeking through culturally-grounded, trauma-informed, relationally-based, and resiliency perspectives.  
3. Coach students in the acquisition of advanced skills in engagement, assessment, and intervention that are specific to safety planning and the promotion of both legal and felt permanency among children and families involved in child welfare systems.

Students who are accepted into the program receive payment of their in-state tuition and mandatory course fees through Title IV-E funds. This is federal funding that is administered by DCS. Students who receive this funding sign a contract committing them to work for DCS upon graduation for a contracted amount of time. While working at DCS, students under contract receive the same rate of pay and benefits as all other DCS employees of their same grade and are able to promote within the agency when they are eligible.

The purpose of the program is to strengthen the public child welfare workforce by strengthening the competencies of child welfare social workers.